At the conclusion of “Composing with Rhetorical Velocity” the authors provide questions that rhetors must consider when aiming for rhetorical velocity.
First, the rhetor needs to decide where his text is going. This applies to our rhetorical analysis, because finding the right platform for an organization’s posts is crucial. Each student also has to contemplate whether certain platforms might cause issues for their content. If a problem arises, the student needs to pick another platform or alter their media.
Then, the content organizer needs to identify what factors best circulate content. It might rely on people retweeting, sharing, and liking the post or non-human factors could be at play. The creator needs to find which factors give them the best chance for rhetorical velocity and adjust their content accordingly.
It is also important for the creator to protect himself. The creator needs to think risks that could arise from the content. Maybe their is offensive content in the post that would backfire on the organization and, therefore, needs to be removed.
Justified or not, people may share negative comments about the post online. In the rhetorical analysis, each student needs to find strategies to limit this from happening. The creator should not give someone a reason to ruin their chances at rhetorical velocity.
Wysocki’s approach focuses on the content on the screen and how to guide the readers attention. The strategies above focus on how to deliver content. In light of current social media practices, however, the authors fail to acknowledge how common it is for others to alter original content.
In the authors eighth chapter “Case Study: The D Brand”, the authors analyze a Detroit campaign’s objectives to positively influence the public’s perception of Detroit city. The authors main argument is not to endorse D Brand, but to analyze whether it’s strategies would be applicable in the classroom and in public rhetoric. They focus on kairotic coordination, which can create moments of great accomplishment and lead to others success in the future. Most importantly, the authors are interested in finding a model for public rhetoric that pays attention to “the broad arc of circulation, including the way compositions are produced, reproduced” (Anthony) and etc.
ENG/IMS 224 C 