Dawson effectively validates her argument that celebrities greatly influence videos that go viral by having a well-balanced approach to rhetorical strategies.
In this article, Lia Dawson discusses how certain YouTube videos have gone viral while some have not, even though they follow the same pattern as the popular videos. There are copious factors that can contribute to a video’s popularity, including: “the ability to parody it, its unexpectedness,” etc., but she contends celebrities are the most influential factor in deciding how popular a video will become. From here, she begins crafting the evidence to support her argument (using ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos). Using the arguments of Henry Jenkins, an American media scholar, and Grant McCraken, “an expert in the field of celebrity endorsement,” she points out that without celebrity backing, the minority (non popular) YouTube population is repressed since "celebrities offer a range of personality and lifestyle meanings that someone without high
…show more content…
Dawson employs ethos, stating celebrities greatly influence the YouTube community. For example, she names a few well-known celebrities (establishes credibility) who have made videos go viral (proves her point). These celebrities include: Jimmy Kimmel and Taylor Swift. “Double Rainbow” by Paul Vasquez, published in January 2010, had less than 100 views before Kimmel tweeted it in July of the same year. Because of the tweet, its’ popularity, exponentially increased from 100 to 40 million. The same thing can be seen with Taylor Swift and Louisa Wendorff’s cover “Blank Space // Style.” After tweeting the video, views on Wendorff’s cover increased to over 22 million views. By establishing credible celebrity sources, it can clearly be seen they truly do affect how popular a video becomes and can help YouTube videos go