Digital Media Rhetoric Examples

Today technology is an integral part of lives, the digitized age has incorporated itself into nearly every aspect of our culture. This even includes the methods by which we persuade defined specifically as rhetoric. I will discuss three examples of digital rhetoric, each example will be representative of a distinct form of digital media. I will then explain the manner in which the respective examples use the appeals of persuasion. I will follow up by describing how the various appeals are presented to persuade the target audience. All in all I will provide an illustration of digital rhetoric and its significance in modern digital media. To begin, Clash of Clans is a mobile game that pits you against tens of thousands players and allows you

Expanding on pathos appeal, the game's use of clans allows players to team up. This relationship can become crucial as the progresses and a players grows to depend on his or her clan. A strong sense of community can develop and speaking from personal experience may become the main reason a player chooses to play the game. All of these variables are carefully constructed to persuade the target audience to play the game. The target audience in this case being people that enjoy strategy and base building games as well as group play. Other factors such as incorporation of social media, an achievement system, simple interface and availability persuade the target audience. Theoretically it accessible to anyone with a smart phone and is a perfect example of delivery “understanding and using systems of distribution” (Eyman 7). The strongest case of persuasion Clash of Clans makes is the fact that it is a game. Described by Teena Carnegie “Rhetorically, higher levels of interactivity and thus involvement produce higher levels of acceptance, making the user more disposed to persuasion.” (Carnegie

Hollow is an interactive web documentary that depicts the struggles of Mc Dowell county a small West Virginia county, in the hopes of building support for the community. Hollow's message is spoken mostly through the people of the county, contributing to a very emotional documentary. This establishes Hollow is a perfect example of the use of pathos appeal. By sharing the unfortunate story of the county's inhabitants and using imagery the documentary creates a powerful message. Furthermore, to show similarities between Mc Dowell's inhabitants and the viewer provokes an emotional response. Using methods such as these as well additional tactics like a dark background and quiet music enhance the response of the viewer or audience. All of these aspects contribute to the style which is central to successful