So today, i walked in on my dad and found him reading the koran (the muslim holy book) off of his month old iPad. We’ve all seen and used eBooks such as kindle, but i never expected for an arabic book, especially the koran to be hosted on such new technology in such a short period of time. Last year, i took a course with a professor who was a member of the team that created an Arabic version of Microsoft Windows operating system, hearing him describe the process, got me fascinated by the extent at which globalization is expanding. Looking at things from a rhetorical perspective, reading holy texts off of an iPad is proof of the compatibility of religion and modernity. The notion of religions being “old-school” and out of date, is broken by these proofs of technological embraces. My father, being a devout muslim as well as a tech fan, has been able to combine both and integrate them in new ways.
Hi, Brb, Ttyl.
It is amazing how the rise of the internet, also saw the demise of the proper english language as it was once spoken. The introduction of instant messaging, meant that fast typing was required, this led to abbreviations or shortcuts, such as BRB (be right back, LOL (laugh out loud) etc. Over time, and as instant messaging along with texting rapidly transformed into a social norm, these abbreviations became integrated into our everyday language. Typing U instead of You has become a habit for some, me included. and sometimes in essays i find myself writing ‘u’, simply because it is easier to type. Will this impact continue ? Will these abbreviations no longer be considered abbreviations to the younger generations ?
Change
Here is a video i found that illustrates the evolution of media and technology since the beginning of the modern era. This video contains some very interesting facts related to digital rhetoric.
The Effect of the Internet on Social Contact
The internet has become an almost natural element of almost everyones lives. Email, social networking, video sharing, stock exchange, you name it ! The internet is used by millions around the world for almost every reason conceivable. The way in which communication through the internet has altered social structures is a topic that has been closely observed since the birth of the internet in the mid 1990s.
The impact of the internet on our everyday lives is one that has amazed me ever since my first encounters with the internet as a child. Seeing the development of social networking and experiencing this development as a first hand user, i have found the study below very interesting. This is a study i came across while researching this topic.
‘Capitalizing on the Internet: Social Contact, Civic Engagement, and Sense of Community’ is a study carried out by researchers at the University of Toronto that investigates the effect on the internet on social interaction and relations between family members and friends. This study was carried out in early 2002, nowadays the information uncovered by this study might seem quite outdated and unreliable. Since 2002, the internet and the information technology world have developed at surprising rates, with the introduction of WiFi, PDAs and wide spread global internet access, the ways in which the internet is used have varied greatly since the beggining of this century. Internet World Usage, an organize that documents statistical information of internet usage worldwide has recorded tremendous growth in the number of internet users from the year 2000 to 2009. Here are some examples to highlight this growth :
| World Regions | Internet Users Dec. 31, 2000 | Internet Users Latest Data | Growth 2000-2009 |
| Africa | 4,514,400 | 67,371,700 | 1,392.4 % |
| Asia | 114,304,000 | 738,257,230 | 545.9 % |
| Europe | 105,096,093 | 418,029,796 | 297.8 % |
| Middle East | 3,284,800 | 57,425,046 | 1,648.2 % |
| North America | 108,096,800 | 252,908,000 | 134.0 % |
| Latin America/Caribbean | 18,068,919 | 179,031,479 | 890.8 % |
| Oceania / Australia | 7,620,480 | 20,970,490 | 175.2 % |
| WORLD TOTAL | 360,985,492 | 1,733,993,741 | 380.3 % |
More recent studies have revealed contradicting information to earlier studies. The traditional perspective of the negative effects of internet contact on social interactions have changed. In her article, psychologist Laura Owens claims that “Despite early studies suggesting that internet use leads to anti-social behavior, later findings indicate positive aspects of engaging in online socializing.” Social networking websites and instant messaging have recently been noted to have positive effects on maintaining current relationships and forming new ones. They help long lost friends and relatives get back in touch, and also friends to share information, photos and videos on a realtime basis. The phenomenon of internet dating has also proved very successful in forming new and long lasting relation ships.
The studies revealed:
- People were better able to express their “true selves” (aspects they felt were important but they weren’t able to present in public), and;
- When internet partners liked each other, they tended to (more than the face-to-face group) to project qualities of their ideal friends on each other.
Over the past decade, the effect of social networking and instant messaging on social interaction is a subject that has been widely discussed and studied. For years the stereotype of the ‘computer geek’ that remains glued in front of a computer screen, forgetting the nature of relationships and human interactions has been stuck in our minds. However in recent years, the introduction of websites such as Facebook has made his stereotype much more common and not only in its traditional form. Average teenagers and young adults have become socially awkward due to the easy and safe interaction offered by such websites. Avoiding actual human interaction seems to be the main cause behind the popularity of such websites like Facebook
Digital Rhetoric on Campus
Digital rhetoric has found its way into all aspects of our lives. Digital Rhetoric is a very vivid element of life in AUC. Since the move to the new campus, AUC has modernized most of its systems and made most of its procedures online and electronic. Amongst the student body and faculty , Social Networking has become a very important part of their lives. Websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are a big hit amongst university students. Social networking has become a norm amongst teens and young adults as well as one of the primary means of communication and keeping in touch with your friends. AUC is actively involved in the Social Networking scene. On Facebook for example, there are groups for many AUC clubs and activities such as the Model United Nations club, and groups about the different Student Union experience. This semester i am taking a class in which the professor asked us as students to create and maintain a Facebook group where we can all discuss the course content and share information and visual sources. A gossip group about AUC students has also popped up recently, the group is called ‘Overheard at AUC’ and members of the group post funny conversations or situations they have witnessed on campus. The role of social networking on campus is a prominent one and must be explored and regulated in order to maintain the friendly nature of the student body and to avoid any further trouble.
http://newsweaver.co.uk/alt/e_article000993849.cfm
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/How-Social-Networking-Affects/4627/
Facebook : A Procrastinator’s Best Friend
Why is it that I cannot focus for a solid 10 minutes on my homework or reading an article assigned by a professor, but that I can play around on Facebook for 10 hours straight not only ignoring my homework, but also, eating, sleeping and the 100 other things I have to do.
If I know I’m bound to repeat this behavior, why do I go on it in the first place? Well let me take you through the painful daily process:
It always starts innocently, just checking my e-mail, just doing some online research, or even just checking blackboard. The little voice in my head tells me “Go on, check what are your friends are doing, see if someone wrote on your wall”. I make a deal with myself “I’ll only go on for 5 minutes and check my profile.” Then before you know it the whole day is gone, I have 5 missed calls, my whereabouts are unknown, and I have nothing to show for it except some new useless knowledge of which of my friends is having a bad day, and who broke up with who.
Facebook isnt just photos and wallposts, its become a whole new world of games, videos, groups, applications and quizzes. Wether its playing a quite pointless game, checking my friends holiday pictures, chatting with friends, our good friends at Facebook have the ability to keep me entertained and distracted all the time.
What is Digital Rhetoric ?
Digital Rhetoric has been defined as :
1) The rhetorical conventions of new digital genres in everyday discourse
2) Public rhetoric via electronic distributed networks or hypertext
3) Scholarly methods of interpretation for the critical analysis of new media
4) The verbal and visual culture of information
Examples of new genres of Rhetoric :
E-mail
Web Pages
Electronic Slides/PowerPoint
Videogames
Web logs/Blogs
Databases
Wikis
Video Mash-ups
Photoshopped Images (1)
(1) www.digitalrhetoric.org
The Pros and Cons of Open Collaborative Wikis
Over the past 5-6 years, almost all of us have become accustomed to collaborative open wiki sites such as Wikipedia, WikiAnswers and WikiHow. From children to college students to senior citizens, almost everyone turns to wiki’s when they are puzzled or confused. One of the wikis i am familiar with the most is Wikipedia, which is one of the most visited websites in the world. It contains 3,193,091 articles in the english language, and is one of the most used sources for general knowledge and information. I have assembled a list of Pros and Cons of wikipedia based on my experience and knowledge of Wikipedia.
PROS
1. Vast number of articles. The enormous content available guarantees a very high possibility of finding what you’re looking for.
2. Free. Hours of research wont cost you a thing.
3. Always available. Rarely any problems of the website going down or server errors..
4. Easy to use. It is very easy to use and has a very simple interface.
5. It can be edited. Sloppy grammar or incorrect information can be edited by anyone.
CONS
1. It can be edited. This is a double edged weapon, its editable nature can lead to acts of vandalism, or incorect information being posted
2. Unreliable. Its is considered by many teachers, professors and scholars to be an unreliable source of information due to its editable nature.
3. Many pages are not up to date. Many pages have groups of dedicated editors that update the page with fresh information, while others are abandoned for years with misleading and old information
Intro
Hello everyone, i’m starting this blog to keep track of my research on Digitial Rhetoric for my RHET 334 course. I am very excited to start exploring the world of Digital Rhetoric and learn how this affects me and how it will affect me in the years to come. I find the very rapidly evolving technology of today very fascinating, and i am invested in exploring how technology can be used to enhance education.
