MCO 2342 Blog Analysis Assignment

MCO 2342 – Blog Analysis Assignment

Neil Pasricha shares the impetus for his very successful blog “1000 Awesome Things” http://1000awesomethings.com/ (76.5 shares) in his TED Talk: “The 3 A’s of Awesome” (2010) http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome?language=en (2.4M+ views).

In his TED Talk, Neil reported that 50K blogs are started each day (2010). He found what he calls the three secrets to leading an “awesome” life and blogs about those everyday things that have meaning for him. On Twitter, Neil is @1000Awesome with 26.1K followers.

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For this assignment, READ the article “Critical Analysis of Blogging in Public Relations” by Michael Kent, 2008, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811107001610 . Explore the concept of “issue framing” and the role of PR professionals as influencers of both “individuals and publics” (35). Think about one of Kent’s arguments:

Allowing or encouraging visitors to an organization’s web site to participate in how online news and information is framed is possibly the greatest strength of blogs and the feature of the most importance to public relations practitioners. (35)

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WRITING Assignment: Search for two blogs and rhetorically analyze them using rhetorical elements we have discussed in class.

1) The first blog needs to be an inspirational or informational blog, written by a person like Neil, who started the blog to share personal insights with other people or to help people improve their lives in some way.

2) The second blog needs to be one that relates to your annotated bibliography research topic in some way.

In two separate rhetorical analysis documents[at least two pages each], I invite you to explore, identify, analyze, and write about the following rhetorical elements:

 What is the overall purpose of the blog? What is the theme, argument, or voice (advocacy, inspiration, entertainment) that stands out the most for you? [How many followers? How many posts or how long has the writer been posting?]

 Who is the intended audience for the blog you selected? Analyze and describe fully both the intended and unintended audiences for the blog. Is the blogger’s site interactive? Is there push-back? Who is responding to the writer? Are there conflicting replies, or does the writer have a sympathetic audience?

 Does the blogger have a Twitter account, FB page, and/or Website, Tumblr, WordPress or other blog/website besides the blog you are analyzing? Does the blogger write in different online or social media venues for the same or different audiences or occasions? Why?

 What is the blogger’s ethos? What elements in the blogger’s writing reveal the character, authenticity, and/or credibility (or lack thereof) of the blogger to you as the reader. Why did this writer start blogging? Evaluate the efficacy of the bloggers work—in your opinion, what seems to be the reality the writer is trying to create? Is this writer on a mission? Does this writer want the reader to do something or act in some way? In other words, do you believe the blog is argumentative? Why or why not?

 How does the blogger use pathos? Name the kinds of pathetic appeals the writer uses (sexy, provocative, nationalistic, etc.) and does the writer effectively use visual images, video, inflammatory or other special terminology?

 How does the blogger use logos? Analyze logos within the writer’s blog postings. What sources does the blogger cite, if any? Does the writer use statistics, data, studies, or point to other resources on the web or in other blogs?

 Is the blog effective? Does it speak to you? How is kairos important in relation to this blog—is this the right time for the blog’s messaging—is the information timely? Give a general recommendation to your classmates—would you recommend that they follow the blog, avoid at all costs, or just ignore it?