The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the phrase “digital rhetoric” is how we write online in a digital space. That encapsulates writing all over the internet—blogs, social media, videos, websites, etc. Specifically, digital rhetoric focuses on the difference between traditional print media and online media. The nature of the internet/the digital world impacts how we write. That’s what digital rhetoric is; how the digital medium impacts our writing.

I think this course will be more relevant than most I take. As a writing major, understanding how to write in a digital space is essential. Since most writing is published digitally, understanding how to utilize the medium to its fullest is a valuable skill. I’m already seeing the website building aspect of the class be relevant in my personal pursuits. Being able to set up and write for a website is something I’ve been needing to learn for my band. This class will make doing so easier.

I interact with digital texts constantly. Whether it be reading articles or blogs, or even social media posts, I’m interacting with digital media on a daily basis. Our interactions with digital media are different than print media because of how easy it is to share. Found a good article you want to share with a friend? It’s just a click a way to share it with them. As a result, the media itself is affected.

Composing digital media is inherently different than traditional print media. Digital media has to be even more attention grabbing because of the sheer quantity of media getting posted daily. Digital media also has the potential for more versatility and complexity. Images, videos and interactive elements can be included easily to writing. The multimedia nature of the digital space influences our writing to embrace other forms, like videos.