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Social Semiotics

Social Semiotics is a way to analyze popular culture by emphasizing dimensions of meaning, like the way mass media influences meaning in our lives and in turn, society at large (Hodge, 2016). In our world of mass media, the media plays a major role in shaping society and has largely outweighed traditional cultural practices and the meaning of people’s lives they previously derived from those practices. Developed by Michael Halliday in the late 1970s, social semiotics is the study of how people interpret meanings. This idea is incredibly important considering the effect of the media on our society. The media has a profound ability to influence the thinking, priorities, wants and needs of entire generations. Through the media society can be controlled, just like society was controlled by cultural beliefs and practices for all human history. Halliday saw language as a product of social processes; Hodge and others later took it further to describe how societies develop and shape these reso
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Online Arguments

 Online arguments...raise your hand if you've ever given in and let loose on someone on the internet. The anonymity of the internet provides users an opportunity to speak their mind without fear of reprisal, and it certainly leads to some entertaining interactions. Lets take a look at an online argument happening in the comments section of a YouTube video. Jimmy Dore is a YouTuber offering political commentary from a critical-left point of view. In one of his recent videos titled "Ukraine War Driving Rampant Censorship At Home," he explains the effects of the events in Ukraine on media and our ability to exercise free speech in the US. I chose this video/argument because of it's relevance to the last week's podcast subject as I believe it offers a good example of why censorship should not be a go-to tool. In the comments sections someone noted: "Can you imagine if people would react the same way when the US carries out their numerous way more brutal wars? It
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The Toulmin Method

The Toulmin Method is a technique created to analyze the logic of an argument using 6 different elements: claims, reasons, evidence, warrants, qualifiers, and rebuttals (Green, pg. 318). Essentially a critical thinking framework, the model asks one to evaluate a claim by identifying it, then state the reasoning behind the claim, and then evaluate any evidence offered. By also identifying the beliefs, or warrants, that lead us to accepting the reasoning of an argument we have yet another layer of evaluation. Qualifiers provide a defense against counterpoints that could shoot down an argument by keeping arguments specific and reasonable. One can stop opponents from being able to point out exceptions by heading them off. Finally, making rebuttal statements that show an author's awareness of and answer for certain counterpoints is also an important tool in making stronger arguments. If you've ever been in a debate or argument with someone and knew they were wrong but weren't su
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Communicating Podcasts

 Hello everyone, this week we are going to be taking a look at the podcast Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques.  This podcast comes from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Specifically we will be going over a few points from the episode posted 2/18/21 titled Building Strong Relationships: How to Communicate Effectively In Your Personal And Professional Life . In this episode, host Matt Abrahams is joined by Carol Robbin and David Bradford, authors of the book, Connect.  They explain what they refer to as "exceptional relationships." According to Carol, an exceptional relationship is one where both parties feel vulnerable and can be honest. In order to achieve this, you must build a capacity to understand what's going on for you and for your audience (Abrahams, 2021). Being aware of those signals and changing your communication based on what you perceive will move the relationship toward being exceptional. Other advice included: take the risk to allow yo
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Social Media Is History

 Social media is playing a larger role in our lives than we may even realize. Every day, billions of people across the globe document daily events like never before. Not only in text, but with video proof that can be instantly sent to any number of recipients. Modern history will no longer be left to academic authorities to decipher and filter the information deemed most important or agreeable, everything is available for individuals to decide what narrative to embrace. When tragic events take place we can see them for ourselves. No longer must we rely on the official accounts, and as we are now able to see for ourselves, the official accounts don't always match what actually happens.  During 2020 massive protests erupted over the police murder of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 26. The event was so incendiary because it was recorded in its entirety and posted to the internet by eye witnesses. This was another tragic murder in a long line of police brut
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Johnny Seeds : Online Assessment

Hello everyone, this week we are going to be taking a look at a favorite business of mine, Johnny Seeds . They are a mail order seed company with magazine and online store options. They sell just about every kind of seed under the sun and make it easy to find organic and heirloom varieties. They have been operating since 1973 and are based in the state of Maine. I would say that they do a good job of communicating on their website and social media platforms. They're site looks professional, is easy to navigate and has plenty of information. It is easy to find their phone number and contact information. The site is bright, colorful, inviting, and there are links to all of their social media pages. FaceBook        Twitter        YouTube        Instagram        Pintrest Each platform's account is updated frequently, but not every day. It looks like they have a new post every 3 days or so. They respond to comments and have pleasant conversations with customers and people with quest
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Fact or Fiction: Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants

I myself have taken note of the fact that there is a whole generation of people coming of age that have never known a time before cell phones and Facebook. For myself, being on the cusp of this generation (born in the late 80's), I was glad to have grown up without a cellphone and to have only a very basic internet, having been free of the social media that is so pervasive today. It seems obvious that this leap in technology between generations has left some people in the digital-dust, but does that mean that the new generation has innate abilities older generations could never have developed? Even though that might seem like a reach, one has to admit that the general experience the younger generations are getting is vastly different than those who came before. But, does that mean they fundamentally carry out cognitive tasks differently? That is the argument put forth by Marc Prensky. Since the early 2000's when he coined the term "digital natives" and "digital i
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