Blog Intro Post

Do you read any blogs? Why or why not?
Yes! I try to read blogs related to the industry I plan to work in post-graduation. There are a lot of advertising, PR and marketing agencies that blog regularly about industry trends, work they have done, and news as it relates to the industry. I also will read blogs relating to some of my interests.

If you do, which blogs do you read? Who writes them? What do you think motivates them to blog? Link us to them, if you'd like.
As I mentioned in the previous answer, I read some Ad/PR agency blogs. I don't really read any regularly, just what catches my eye in my Twitter feed. These blogs are written by employees of the agencies. It seems like a great way for them to reflect on their work and share their ideas with others, as well as give possible clients or prospective employees and idea of what their agency is all about.

As for the blogs I read about my hobbies and interests, I feel that these are done more for leisure- they can even become a hobby themselves. It is a way to share their passion with the worldwide web.

Was setting up your blog easy? Why or why not?
Yes, I have used this platform for awhile, mostly for other class blogs.

Why did you choose the template you did? Did you make any changes to the template? Why or why not? Is there anything you'd like to change but aren't sure how?
I kept it simple for now and used a template. I chose the book theme to emphasize that it is a blog for school. I will probably end up tinkering around later and personalizing my blog.

As you were doing the above writing for this blog, how is your writing different (is it?) from writing in other contexts? Are you thinking about it or approaching it differently? How so?
I sort of approached it interview style- it seemed to be the simplest way to ensure all the questions above were accounted for. I normally write in paragraph form so this was a nice change.

Rhetorical Thinking Notes

Rhetorical theory has come up in quite a few of my courses, but it was nice to get a bit refreshed in the concepts and vocabulary. The reading comes from an introductory book on rhetoric, and the writing style reflects that. There are plenty of relatable examples to help readers understand and apply the concepts from the start. I see this chapter as a foundation of these concepts, with all other chapters building on these concepts in more specific applications and contexts.

A major concept I noticed was rhetorical thinking in comparison to other concepts like narrative and dialectic. Sometimes explaining what something is NOT is a great way to clear up what something actually is. I also noticed a lot of Greek vocabulary defined throughout, which I will definitely be referencing back to.

One thing that I picked up that I hadn't really before in my studies of rhetoric was the importance of time and place in the rhetorical theory. When I sum up rhetorical theory in my head, I think of the triangle and appeals. Examples in this reading, like Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, reminded me of "outside" factors that influence rhetorical theory.