#4. Composing for Recomposition

• The author wants us to know that everything we read is composed in a way that allows for repurposing. This feature makes it so a text can be used in many ways while also being traced back to the source which is good for marketing
• rhetorical velocity: “a conscious rhetorical concern for distance, travel, speed, and time, pertaining specifically to theorizing instances of strategic appropriation by a third party”
• “‘If I release the video in this format, could the video be used in this way, and would it be worth their time to do this? And would it be supportive of my objectives for them to do that?’“. In this quote, the author is demonstrating the thought process behind composing rhetoric with rhetorical velocity in mind.
• There are many different decisions made in creating impactful rhetoric with different issues to address. For example a company may know what they want the consumer of their content to do with their rhetoric, but is it worth it for the consumer? Would it be too difficult for them to accomplish? Is what the company wants at all desirable for the consumer to undertake?

These readings have made me more aware of not only how companies, politicians, etc. compose their speeches or posts for twitter, I am now thinking about what these companies and people writing posts for social media want or expect me to do with what they’ve given me. When I see a cringey or embarrassing post from a company on Instagram, I recognize that it’s purposeful, and not a genuine failed attempt at being cool using memes (not always cringey memes perse, but it  usually is), but now when I see a post like that, I’m more likely to see what this company wants the world to do with their horrible content (stuff like: do they see this post becoming a meme itself? Is this post so embarrassing that it’s almost endearing?)

Getting Likes, Going Viral, and the Intersections Between Popularity

• The author is trying to understand the value of likes in terms of academia, and if there is any value at all.
• Viral: “implies that viewers and users passively transmit and infect others without conscious consent”

Spreadable: “suggests that we knowingly spread and keep alive

articles, photos, videos, and other information by posting and sharing that which we believe will make a positive and advantageous impact on others and ourselves.”

• “‘Program and ‘content’ analysis offer no clues to the magic of these media or to their subliminal charge’”. Here the author is saying that there is content that is amazing that does not go viral, and that it’s hard to discern what makes any particular thing gain traction in likes or views.
• There are many factors that have been found to affect the virality of content. These can be things like hashtags, multimedia posts(e.g videos along with a tweet) that make a post get clicked on more, meaning viral content doesn’t have to be “good” content.