DTC 355 - Burbules and Links (are cool)

First and foremost, (after reflecting for a minute on Burbules and links), I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the reading. I have never thought about links in the way Burbules presents them, and I think now I am able to further develop my website to incorporate some of these ideas. There is a lot more to links than just moving from A to B!

Links conceal and reveal exactly what the link is pointing to. When you have a link on a page, the link is hiding the destination. When the link is clicked on, the destination is, or should be, uncovered. In some situations, certain links may be more concealing of what they'll reveal than others. Burbules identifies eight different types of links in "Rhetorics of the Web", one of these being Catechresis. Catechresis as a type of link is where "any two things can be linked" (Burbules 116). For example, a link placed on the word "hippo" could take you to a website for trees. This is how some links can be more concealing than others.

Catechresis is the most concealing of the types of links Burbules identifies. One located further up the scale could be a metonymic link. Metonymy is "substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself" (Metonymy). An example of a metonymic link could be an image of a crown or the typed word "crown" as a link to a website about the kings of France.

Burbules did a fantastic job of making the me think about links in a different way. Next time I click on a link or create my own, I will consider the type of link it is and think about how it could be different or why the designer/author might have chosen that particular method of linking.



Works Cited

Burbules, Nicholas C.. "Rhetorics of the Web: hyperreading and critical literacy." Page to Screen: Taking literacy into the electronic era. Ed. Ilana Snyder. London: Routledge.

"Metonymy." WordNet. 2006. Princeton University. 1 Mar 2009 http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=metonymy.

DTC 355 - The Power of Capital Letters... and Punctuation, with a bit of Goffman too.

a. Solomon, Punctuation, and Capitalization
Just as punctuation marks "[move] words along in proper timing and with proper emphasis" (Solomon 289), capital letters have the ability to add tone of voice and importance to words. When thinking of capitalization, some people may think of correctly capitalizing the name of a person or place, the first letter of a sentence, or certain words in a title. When I think of capitalization, I think of words or phrases that are all in capitals. These words or phrases have affect, are a part of design, and may enhance or decrease readability. For example, IF I WERE TO WRITE THIS BLOG IN ALL CAPS, YOU WOULD PROBABLY BECOME RATHER IRRITATED AND GIVE UP. Because I capitalized this sentence, all voice and flow is lost--even with the punctuation. The tone of voice, however, is loud and obnoxious. The format greatly decreases readability--readability being the ease at which the reader can move through the words. Much of reading is not all in the combination and order of the letters, but also in the shape of the word. If you noticed when you read the above capitalized sentence, you probably read it with a bit of choppiness and monotone. This is because your eyes must pause an extra split-second to gather all of the information (the letters) in each word. Furthermore, the capitalization of the first letter of a word brings concreteness and importance to something.

In regards to a new punctuation mark, I believe that all the punctuation marks we need, exist. I am fully able to express myself and add voice to my writing through the use of the available punctuation. I can ask a question, scream using exclamations and capital letters, create an awkward ...pause, and perhaps (create sidenotes or clarification). What more could I need?


b. Goffman and GenderAds
According to Goffman, there are many ways in which social weight is illustrated through advertisements. The women smile the majority of the time while the men are usually serious; men are usually depicted as bigger, taller, stronger than women; the women are nuzzlers by nature; and, women's hands are often used in presenting products (Goffman 28-80).

In advertising today, these many qualities can be found. In the Cheerios pictures below, nuzzling and smiling by the woman are two apparent Goffman-identified qualites. The man in the family picture on the right is barely smiling and he is also slightly separated from the mother and children, which can be read as the head of the family or, the security figure.

Go to http://www.cheerios.com/ to view this image at a larger size.

As the roles of men and women have begun to merge or mix and match, advertisements are still following qualities that Goffman has identified. Men are still depicted as security for women, the power in the room. This is not always necessarily true, even in Goffman's time. However, the principle of size is and status of a person is. Whether the viewer admits it or not, the relative sizing in advertisements always means something--the bigger the better.

In advertising today, many of the same qualities that Goffman identified are still present.

Works Cited

Goffman, Erving. Gender Adverstisements. Harper Torchbooks,

Solomon, Martin. "The Power of Punctuation." Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.