At the beginning of the year, I was asked to pay very close attention to how I interact online and note the changes in my online interaction. Below I would like to provide you with a self-reflection story about what that experience was like. It was a very enlightening experience, one that I would recommend more people do.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My first media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the La india YuridiaFans Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by Morales on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and showcase a comedian’s segment.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to click on the video.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video since I have seen videos of this comedian before and really enjoyed her segments.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to entertain and show a comedian’s segment.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone interested in Spanish-speaking stand up comedians.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was a video.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed  by anyone following the La india YuridiaFans Facebook page or those who are friends with users who share the  video.
• Exigence: This media focused on a segment from La india Yuridia.
• Subject: The subject of this media was a stand-up comedian’s segment.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My second media is a meme that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the Wave TV Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video showed up on the “Similar to Posts You’ve Interacted With” recommendations.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to I guess to entertain and to make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• Why? That was all. That was my reaction. Why? Enough said.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the whole video. I admit that I stopped and watched it just to say “this is so stupid.” This was that video for me; you know, the video one watches randomly on Facebook then decides, “that’s enough internet for me today. I’ve lost enough brain cells today.”

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My third media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is a video. The original source of the media was shared and/or created by the Guff Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by the I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me Facebook page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show some “proper” pineapple cutting technique.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the whole video to see what would happen.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the whole video. I watched this video when I was hungry, and for some reason, it drew my attention and apparently learned that pineapples can be used to tenderize meat.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fourth media is a video that I came across my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this is a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Blossom Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video showed up on the “Similar to Posts You’ve Interacted With” recommendations.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show some nifty things one can use cement for.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see if there was anything cool I could learn from it.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I watched the full video. I was fairly disappointed with the video and was like, “why even?” for several of the things created. I found myself just disliking the whole video because I felt like I learned nothing cool I could randomly bring up in conversations like, “but did you know you could make [thing] with cement? Well I did!”

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Tasty Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video showed up on the “Similar to Posts You’ve Interacted With” recommendations.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show a neat way to create a BBQ smoker out of flowerpots.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see how the smoker was made.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I stopped at this video because I thought it would show some good food being cooked since I was hungry. I have a strange habit of watching food videos when I’m hungry which in turn makes me even more hungry.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My first media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the DJ Vadmin Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this image while scrolling through several video recommendations.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to click on the video to see what the voice over commentator would say.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video since I have grown to enjoy more voice over videos where people make their own comments. After watching this video several times, I then shared it.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to entertain.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone interested in soccer and/or soccer bloopers/accidents.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was a video.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed  by anyone following the DJ Vadmin Facebook page or those who are friends with users who share the  video.
• Exigence: This media focused on mocking/commenting on a specific soccer player’s awesome save/accident.
• Subject: The subject of this media was a soccer and more specifically, a soccer player’s sacrifice to save his team from being scored on.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My second media is a meme that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the E4 Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media appeared on my Facebook as a recommendation after watching a video of The Big Bang Theory bloopers.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and to make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video since I enjoy watching these videos.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the whole video. I then shared it.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My third media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared by the Following Video Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by Nicole on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show the work of a sketch artist while also allowing the viewers to love (and possibly cry) with the man’s description of his wife.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the whole video to see the story and descriptions given to the sketch artist.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the whole video. I then shared the video.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fourth media is a video that I came across was sent to me through Messenger.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this is a video. The original source of the video was created and shared on the American Idol Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video when it was shared with my through Messenger by Yesenia.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show one of the amazing talents that went through the American Idol show.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I watched the full video. I then commented on the message sent to me along with the video.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Diply Humor Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video showed up as a recommendation after I had watched a series of videos.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and mock the game the players are in.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see what the voice over has to say.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I then shared the video and also showed it to my two sisters who were in the room when I watched it.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My first media is an image that I came across in my Twitter feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is an image. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the Blue Willow Bookshop Twitter page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this image while scrolling through Twitter. It was shared by a bookstore in Houston that I follow because they have some pretty good events that I want to keep track of.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to remind people of the upcoming event, TeenBookCon.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to click on the read the information to see if there were any changes.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and read the content carefully. I then liked and retweeted.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to provide its audience with a reminder of the upcoming event.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone interested in the TeenBookCon event that is happening March 30th.
• Genre: The medium used was Twitter, and the genre used was an image.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed  by anyone following the Blue Willow Bookshop Twitter page or those who are friends with users who share the image.
• Exigence: This media focused on a creating awareness of the major event for March.
• Subject: The subject of this media was an author signing even that is happening March 30th.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My second media is a meme that I came across in my Twitter feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a meme. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the Writing & Editing Twitter page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media appeared on my Twitter feed. It was shared on a writing/editing Twitter account I follow.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain, to make people laugh, to make it relateable,  and to share the struggles of writing a novel.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to take a closer look at it and read all of the information on it.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and took a close look at the image, and then I retweeted it.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My third media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared by the VTRND Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by Edwin on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show some neat folding tricks.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the whole video and see it it was easy enough for me to incorporate into my everyday life.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the whole video. I was interested in seeing if I could learn something from it. I don’t think I did, but it was still cool to watch.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fourth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this is a video. The original source of the video was created and shared on the Laurie Wetzel Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video while scrolling through my Facebook feed. It was uploaded on an author page that I follow.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show the display the author was having Planet Comic Con of her books and other goodies.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video. I wanted to see what all was being displayed. I kind of wanted to know how an author table is set up, so I stuck around to watch it all.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I then read the description to see where the author was having the event. She mentioned it at the beginning but I missed it and didn’t want to have to go back.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Skyler’s Inflatables LLC Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by Kery on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to display a fun inflatable game that Skyler’s Inflatables LLC is doing a giveaway rental for.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see what was going on.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I then read the comments and also the details of the giveaway. I was not interested in entering but simply wanted to know if the giveaway for current or if it was a past giveaway.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My first media is a video meme that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the 1 Million Africans: The Trilogy Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video after first watching another video. This video came up as a recommendation relating to the first video I watched.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to bring into awareness a message in the A Bug’s Life movie.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to click on the video and watch the full thing.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the video.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to share a message that was incorporated in the A Bug’s Life movie.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone following the 1 Million Africans: The Trilogy Facebook page or those who are friends with users who share the video.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was a video.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed  by anyone following the 1 Million Africans: The Trilogy Facebook page or those who are friends with users who share the video.
• Exigence: This media focused on a message in the A Bug’s Life movie.
• Subject: The subject of this media was an encrypted message in a movie that people may have overlooked as children/youth.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My second media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the media was created and/or shared on the Yemek Askim Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media appeared on my Facebook feed under a “Similar to Posts You’ve Interacted With” section that came up as I was browsing.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and share some food art.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the entire video.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the entire video since I love watching food-related content. I then shared it after watching it completely.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My third media is an image that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for an image. The original source of the media was created and shared by the Ash and Quill Candles Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this image as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed. It was shared by the Ash and Quill Candles Facebook page, which I follow after being told how awesome those candles were.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to advertise the new products that they had.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to click on the pictures and check them all out.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and took a closer look at all the pictures. I had heard that they were thinking about adding Wood Wick candles, so I was eager to see what they looked like.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fourth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and shared on the WWE Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video as soon as I hopped on Facebook. It was uploaded and shared by WWE.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase a women’s Wrestlemania championship match. The media serves a double function. It provides viewers an opportunity to relive the match while at the same time advertising the upcoming Wrestlemania event.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video. I watched the match before and wanted to see it  again.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I remembered the match when it occurred and remembered that it was a really intense one and wanted to see it once more.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and shared on the WWE Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video as soon as I hopped on Facebook. It was uploaded and shared by WWE.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase an in-ring segment from this past Monday’s Raw event.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see what all would happen.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video, since I’m somewhat invested in what is going on with this company and what they are doing with their female division. I’ve noticed that they’ve been a lot more focused on uplifting the women’s division, so I always check out the videos to see what is going on with that specific division.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My first media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is an image advertisement. The original source of the image was created and/or shared on the Infamous Horror Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Moses on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to advertise an upcoming Netflix original series based on the Resident Evil franchise.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was excitement mixed in with doubt. I did not want to get carried away and fall for something that was not factual.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped because I was interested in whether or not this was actually going to happen. I love the Resident Evil games, so I did hope it was real. I did a quick scroll through the comment first to see if anyone was calling this out as not being real, but did not find anything that stood out. I then decided to do my own fact check. From what I found out, there is no official statement from Netflix stating this. From several articles that I looked at, all of them stated that Netflix was “reportedly in works” to create a series based on the Resident Evil franchise. A lot of people are basing their information on Deadline’s article, so there may be something in the work, but no one is giving any detail on it just yet.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to create some buzz over a possible upcoming Netflix series.
• Audience: The intended audience was any fans of Resident Evil.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was an image.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed on Facebook by anyone who follows the Infamous Horror page and anyone who is friends with someone who shares this image.
• Exigence: This media focused on the Resident Evil franchise to get people talking.
• Subject: The subject of this media was a potential Netflix series.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My second media is a meme that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a meme. The original source of the meme was created and/or shared on the Sassy Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Courtney on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to laugh and show it to my siblings.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and read the meme carefully. I then showed it to my sisters and also shared it on Facebook.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My third media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a meme. The original source of the meme was created and/or shared publicly by a Facebook user on their timeline.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this meme after first clicking on my second media. I clicked on that media and then scrolled through the recommendation of other related content until I came across this one.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain, make people laugh, and possible relate to the caption.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the meme. I found it relateable and shared it with my sisters.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and read the meme carefully. I then showed it to my sisters and also shared it on Facebook.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fourth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Op Art Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video after first clicking on and watching a different video. After watching that first original media, I then scrolled through the recommendation of other related content until I came across this one.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase an awesome transformation in one’s lawn.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see the end result.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video then shared it on Facebook.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the video was created and/or shared on the Hevesh5 Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video after first clicking on and watching a different video. After watching that first original media, I then scrolled through the recommendation of other related content until I came across this one.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase someone’s Domino Art.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see what all would happen.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video, and then I shared it on Facebook.

Media 1:

(If video is not accessible, follow the link here.)

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a video shared by ilikechike Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video on Instagram while scrolling through my feed. It was posted on the ilikechike Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to advertise their protein coffee product.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to stop and watch. I have purchased this product before and really liked it, so I stopped to check if the video was to promote some sort of sale.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. Then I check the message that was posted along with the video to see if they were advertising a promotion. They weren’t, but I still enjoyed the video and gave it a like because I really enjoy their products.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to advertise the company’s protein coffee product.
• Audience: The intended audience was gym goers, coffee lovers, and anyone looking for a quick, on-the-go coffee beverage they can prepare before taking off.
• Genre: The medium used was Instagram, and the genre used was a video.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed on Instagram by anyone who follows the ilikechike page.
• Exigence: This media focused on the coffee product’s quick and easy preparation.
• Subject: The subject of this media was the protein coffee product and specifically to show how quick the preparation time is.

Media 2:

(If video is not accessible, follow the link here.)

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a video shared by bestvines Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video on Instagram. It was shared on the bestvines Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and show some cheer-leading practice bloopers.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to stop and watch. I stopped and watched the video multiple times. I don’t know why, but I saw myself relating to the first girl that fell in the video. I couldn’t help but laugh and think to myself, “that was the biggest “Nope!” I have seen in a while. She is so me.”

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the video multiple times. I had not originally noticed the two other girls that messed up. I had only focused on the first one for like the first ten times I saw the video. I had to then watch it at least ten more times to see what the other two girls did. When the girl landed on the one on the ground, I knew I had to check the comments to see what kind of things people where saying, and the comments were just as hilarious.

Media 3:

(If video is not accessible, follow the link here.)

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a video shared by bestvines Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video on Instagram. It was shared on the bestvines Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to stop and watch. I stopped and watched the full video. In a sense, I found myself relating to this video. Sometimes I do find myself laughing at month old jokes that I randomly remember.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video. I then checked the comments to see what others had to say.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a meme shared by bestvines Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this meme on Instagram. It was shared on the bestvines Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to laugh at how accurate this meme was to me. If the condition in the meme don’t match, I cannot get to sleep at night, so I found it very relateable.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. My first reaction was to laugh. I stopped and took a closer look at the picture, liked it, and check the comment section to see what others were saying.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this a video. The original source of the image was created and/or shared on the Erin at Health Nut News Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by David on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to provide a historical moment in what was originally a male only marathon.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to watch the video and see what it was about.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and watched the full video then did a quick fact-check to make sure the information on the video was accurate.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this first media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is a video advertisement created by Wix.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this advertisement while checking out my Facebook feed.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to simultaneously advertise Wix’s increased loading speed and the new Marvel movie.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I stopped and watched the video advertisement to see what it was about since I will be doing a presentation on how to use Wix this coming week.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I clicked on the video and watched it in its entirety. I then went over to the website to see if it could elaborate on this increased “turbo speed” they are announcing. Funny thing happened: it had a part that said “see how fast,” and it wanted you to put in your website so it could show you just how fast viewers would see it, and it took forever to load the demonstration. Basically, I saw no different.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to advertise Wix’s new “turbo speed” while also advertising the new Marvel movie, Captain Marvel.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone who is using or plans on using Wix for their website. Also, the advertisement is meant for those who are interested in Marvel movies.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was a video.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed on Facebook as anywhere else Wix is advertising.
• Exigence: This media focused on Wix’s presumed “turbo speed” and used the new Marvel movie release to catch people’s attention.
• Subject: The subject of this media was increased loading speed for Wix websites and the release of Captain Marvel.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a meme shared by bestvines Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this meme on Instagram. It was shared on the bestvines Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to laugh. I stopped and took a closer look at the picture and showed it to two peers I was studying with.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and observed the picture more closely, liked it, and showed in to the two friends I was with when I viewed it.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a pictured created by Christine Manzari, a bookstagramer I follow on Instagram.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this picture while scrolling through the Instagram I created to share and interact with other writers, book lovers, bookstagramers, etc.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase a book the bookstagramer has on her To-Be-Read (TBR) list and to also get others in the bookstagram community to interact with her post.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to like the picture. This is one of the bookstagramers that I interact with the most, so I pay more attention to what she shares.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and observed the picture more closely, liked it, and even commented. The book she shared was one that I purchased that same day. My comment on her post was, “I just ordered that one because the author is going to be a signing even near me March 30th!!! I cannot wait!!”

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through Instagram.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a meme shared by so.mexican Instagram page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this meme on Instagram. It was shared on the so.mexican Instagram page.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was to laugh. I stopped and took a closer look at the picture, and like the cat meme above, I showed it to two peers I was studying with.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and observed the picture more closely, liked it, and showed in to the two friends I was with when I viewed it. Both of them laughed at the meme and one said that she had previously seen it.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a text image. The original source of the image was created and/or shared on the Troublemaker Mom Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Laurie’s author page on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to show the “weirdness” of the English language.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction was, “Wait. What?” I had to stop and take a good look at the image.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped and expanded the picture so I could take a closer look. After reading it carefully, I showed it to the two peers I was studying with since they too are English graduate students.

Media 1:

 

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this first media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is an image of the Consumer Report for the best vehicles for 2019 published on USA Today.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This image was shared by Dylan on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to showcase the best vehicles of 2019 per category.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I first stopped and took a closer look at the image. I had to click on the image to enlarge it to read fully read it.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I clicked on the image to read more about it. I then wanted to ensure this image was not created to sway anyone’s opinion, so I followed it to its original source to validate its authenticity. I wanted to do so because the person who shared it works for Toyota. I wanted to double check that this was not something Toyota was doing to get more people to purchase their vehicles.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to provide consumer with the report of the best vehicles of 2019 per category.
• Audience: The intended audience was anyone who plans on purchasing a 2019 vehicle and anyone interest in what the best 2019 vehicles are.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was an image.
• Context: This was being shared and discussed on Facebook as well as the original source, USA Today.
• Exigence: This media focused on providing consumers with a report of not only which are the best vehicles of 2019 but also where each vehicle manufacturer stands.
• Subject: The subject of this media was the promotion the best vehicles and makes for this year.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through video recommendations.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was a video shared by FOX 26 Houston Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I originally clicked on a video shared on Facebook and then proceeded to watch whatever videos were recommended. I eventually came across this one while having watched or scrolling past other recommendation.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction after having arrived at the video was to read the description. After having done so, I proceeded to actually watch the full video.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I find it interesting that I seemed to have come across this video while passively skipping video recommendations that disinterested me. I only became active with those that drew my attention based on the description given. I did not originally shared this video, but did so after going back and watching it a second time for this journal entry.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this third media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre was a video on Facebook. The compilation derived from the Femaleclub Facebook page.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this video after first clicking on a different video shared on Facebook. I had watched several video recommendations that followed the first, shared video until I arrived at this one.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and make people laugh.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I stayed on the video after reading the description displayed for this first clip in the compilation. Normally, when I am watching video recommendation after clicking on a video shared by someone, I read the description and decide if I want to actually watch it or not. For this one, I actually stayed.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first read the description and then stayed for entire video. Once I finished watching it, I shared it. This video was humorous, and that is one of the only reasons I ever watch videos on Facebook: because their purpose is to entertain and make the viewer laugh.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this next media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre was a video created by Ring.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This video was shared by Rheagan on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of this media was to show a funny interaction captured by one family’s home security system.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• When I came across this media, I clicked on the video. I wanted to see what it was about, and the description of the video caught my attention enough to make me want to watch.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I stopped, read the description, and watched the full video. I then shared the video on Facebook. I first stopped and watched the video because I was actively looking for funny videos to watch on Facebook, and this looked like it was a good fit.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the video was created by Beauty Studio.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Haley on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and show an amazing work of chocolate created by Amaury Guichon. 

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I immediately clicked on it. I love watching culinary art videos.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first clicked on the video and watched the whole thing. I then privately shared this video with myself so that I could reference it for this week’s digital journal and shared it with friends once I was done including it in my post. This video looked intriguing, and I love watching videos where people make amazing works of arts.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this first media while scrolling through my Instagram feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is an advertisement  by Elite Blog Academy.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I am not quite sure what I was looking at prior to seeing this advertisement. I believe I was looking at the different prices to upgrade my WordPress for this domain. After checking out the different prices and decided to wait on upgrading, I hopped on Instagram and came across this advertisement.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to catch the attention of people who are looking to set up a new blog and would like some guidance as to how to do so.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I first stopped and took a closer look at the advertisement before following the link. What caught my attention was the “turn your passion into profit” part of the advertisement and wanted to see if they would elaborate on that idea.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I followed the link and tried to learn more about what this company had to offer. When I was on the website, the first thing that caught my attention was their “enrollment is currently closed” because I was curious to know if this website was one constantly used by anyone who was a new blogger since the enrollment was full. I was also curious to know how limited the space was. After getting into more of the information though, the company began to sound more and more sketchy to me.
• First off,  I found it hilarious that they said the course would be $997, “less than $1,000.” Wow! They’re really doing you a solid there. But beyond their killer price, I found it quite interesting that it said they only opened for enrollment once a year for five days. What business opens for just five days in a year? Well, if this is indeed a credible blogging course, then it must indeed be for the elite few who just so happen to run into this advertisement between March 4-8.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media was to lure in people interested in making a living off of being full-time bloggers into paying for this blogging course.
• Audience: The intended audience was either new bloggers or those who are interesting in starting up a blog. This does not seem like something an already established blogger would need.
• Genre: The medium used was Instagram, and the genre used was an advertisement.
• Context: This was being promoted and discussed by anyone who comes across it in their Instagram feed. I wish I would have taken the time to scroll through some of the comments to see what others were saying, but unfortunately I did not.
• Exigence: This media focused on helping new bloggers get the best out of their passion. It appeared as a way to help people get the best out of their blog. Whether the media is credible or not required further investigating/researching.
• Subject: The subject of this media was the promotion of ways to improve and monetizing a blog.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre was an article written by Dave Copeland for Work and Money. On Facebook it was shared as a link to the original source.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This link was shared on Facebook by Carlos.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to raise awareness about potentially poor career path choices.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I honestly just wanted to make sure anything that I liked or aspired to be was not on that list, so I clicked the link and scrolled through the professions that are listed.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was somewhat active. I did click on the link, but once I was at the source, I was somewhat more passive. I scrolled past careers I was not interested in, not really caring why those professions were “dying,” but I did stop at professions I found interesting and read what rationale Copeland had for the downfall in those professions.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this third media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre was an advertisement for a Udemy writing course.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This was another writing course media advertisement that started to show up on my Facebook feed ever since I looked into the Masterclass course by Neil Gaiman for my first digital journal entry.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to draw in anyone who wanted to become a better writer into following the link and spending time looking through the different courses they had to offer.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• Like with Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass course, I stopped and followed the link for this course as well. Since I do want to look into taking more creative writing workshops and conferences post-graduate school, I wanted to see what all was out there.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was somewhat active. I knew I was not going to sign up for anything at the moment given that I am still in graduate school, but I spent some time looking at the different courses they offer. I actually almost purchased one of courses just to see what it was about since there is apparently a sale where all courses are just $10.99, but I did not find one that I had to have.

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this next media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre was a Facebook post that linked to a news story.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I was not quite sure how I came about this media, which is why I wanted to share it. Apparently, someone that I am friends with on Facebook got mentioned in a comment for this news report, and for some reason, Facebook decided I should be aware. I do not generally pay much attention to my feed on Facebook and of who gets tagged or mentioned where, but I found it strange that I needed to know where someone that I do not even engage with on Facebook was mentioned.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of this media was to report on the president’s recent actions regarding the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• When I came across this media, I stopped scrolling and read the information posted before following the link. Now, I did follow the link, but I honestly did not pay much attention reading the full story.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was somewhat active. My engagement was active enough to stop and read what the post was about and to even follow the link. But I will admit that my engagement was not enough to actually read the full story and to do my own research regarding the topic covered in the story. I did not have the time to do so or else I would have.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the video was created by Scrantonicity “The Office” Memes and More.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Katherine on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and show some of the backstage moments of The Office.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I immediately clicked on it. I love blooper videos and could not pass this one up.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first clicked on the video and watched the whole thing. I then scrolled through some of the comments to see what others had to say about the video.

Media 1:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this first media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is an image either made or found and shared by Erin Vecchio on Facebook.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This image was shared by Whytnee on Facebook. No caption or comment was attached regarding her reaction to this media.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to raise awareness of the extortion of the healthcare system. There was what appeared to be a lot of facts on the image about the development of the discovery of insulin. The fact that certain words were highlighted meant that the creator had an agenda: cause people to become angry at healthcare, which I might add appeared to have worked based on the comments people left.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• My initial reaction to the media was speculation. I wanted to know the “facts” presented were indeed facts, so I clicked on the image to see if there was any source attached to the information. There was not any credible source listed.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first clicked on the shared image to see if there was an article or source attached to the image. However all that was included was a hashtag: #MedicareForAll. There was no reference to any credible source, so I did my own digging. Turns out, the very first part in the image is misleading. The attached sources (Science History Institute, Medical News Today, and Michael Bliss Article) reveal that there was a controversy in the receiving of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin. This alone discredited the media due to the creator’s ignorance of this simple, well-documented controversy. There is still some truth to the post: they did sell the patent for $1, but some of the other details may not be exact. For example, two sources I looked at estimated that patient would pay up to about $400 a month for insulin. Also, the creators did not sell the patent for $1 so it could be free. They did so in order for the insulin to be affordable to those who needed it. This post definitely had a different agenda in mind, and when I went back to take a second look at it, it had been removed by the creator.

If your engagement was active, provide the rhetorical situation for the media (1 per week)

• Purpose: The purpose of this media at first glance appears to be advocating for the spike in prices of insulin, but after some digging the avocation seem to rather be the hashtag/movement #MedicareForAll
• Audience: The intended audience seems to be people that either suffer from or have relatives/friends that suffer from diabetes.
• Genre: The medium used was Facebook, and the genre used was an image.
• Context: This is being discussed by Facebook users who share this to raise “awareness” to the extortion of the healthcare system, as this is an issue that concerns anyone suffering from diabetes.
• Exigence: This media seems to be focusing on the negative. It wants to invoke anger in those who see it in order to get them to act and continue to express their discontent with healthcare, and in a sense, spread the #MedicareForAll idea.
• Subject: The subject of this media is healthcare and it’s unfairness to people, diabetics specifically for this example.

Media 2:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this second media while scrolling through my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is a meme either made or found and shared by House of Dank.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This image was shared on Facebook by Brenda.  No caption or comment was attached regarding her reaction to this media, but I assumed she shared it for comedic relief.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media is comedy. It does not raise anything of importance that must be addressed to the public.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• I laughed at this meme. The meme served its purpose. That was the only thing the meme seemed to be focusing on.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was somewhat active. I first clicked on the image to see it better. The meme made me stop and scroll through the comments to see what others were saying about it since this seems like something a lot of people can relate to.

Media 3:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this third media while scrolling through my Instagram feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre is supposed to be a writing inspirational image made by @writing_inspiration on Instagram.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was reposted by @writers.are.awesome, a writing page I follow. The fact that the page that I follow reposted this made me question not only the creator of this image but also the writing page I follow.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media is to inspire people who want to be writers. Now, it seems like the image suggests that one does not have to take any formal writing course or read blogs or books to learn about writing or to become a better writer.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• Doubt. I questioned it right away. I scrolled through the comments, wanting to leave one myself but decided against it because I did not want to get into a debate with anyone who was inspired by this. I just completely disagreed with it and went to the page where this media was created to see what kind of credibility I could apply to such a post. I looked for any mention of a famous author who stated this or some form of reference, but there was not any. It would be a completely different story if this phrase was attached to an interview of a famous author like Stephen King. But given that there was no credible source, I did not take this post seriously.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I completely disagreed with the post, so my disagreement forced me to spend time with this post. To me, it seemed like one of those “you don’t have to go to college to be a success” posts. Now, there may be truth in such posts. But I questioned this one. It may have served it’s purpose in inspiring people who do not have access to those resources (classes, books or blogs). Yet, this media was shared on a social media platform. If it was shared for people who do not have access to classes, books, or blogs, shouldn’t those people also potentially not have access to the internet and therefore social media?

Media 4:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• I came across this ad while scrolling through my Facebook feed, so I flagged it because I knew this was something I wanted to spend more time with.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The original genre that I saw this in was an advertisement video for Masterclass on Facebook. The source of the advertisement is, of course, Masterclass.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• I came across this random Masterclass advertisement while scrolling through my Facebook feed. I do not remember clearly but I think I had been conducting a Google search for PhD’s in creative writing before I hopped on Facebook and came across this, so perhaps it was not so “random” after all.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of this media was to advertise Masterclass’s new class taught by Neil Gaiman and in general to advertise their courses on Facebook. The one with Neil Gaiman was one of the most recent courses, so they used that video to draw people into checking out what else they had to offer.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• When I came across this media, I stopped scrolling and clicked on the link to watch the full video. Since I will be searching for ways to improve my creative writing abilities post-graduate school, I was very interested in this video. I took it a step further and went to the website to check out what they had to offer.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first clicked on the video and proceeded to go to the website. On the website, I took a closer look at the course that was being advertised as well as looked for other writing courses. I was interested in what was being offered and would have likely purchased the all access if I was not already taking two graduate writing courses. This will likely be something I go back to post-graduation.

Media 5:

Where did you view or hear the media?

• My fifth media is a video that I came across in my Facebook feed.

What is the genre and source of the media? (e.g. meme created by @gofindfun; advertisement in my feed)

• The genre for this media is a video. The original source of the video is from America’s Got Talent’s Facebook page and was one of the performances that received the golden buzzer.

How did you encounter this media? (e.g. shared by @markywells; checking my news feed)

• This media was shared by Haley on Facebook.

What was the purpose of the media?

• The purpose of the media was to entertain and showcase one of the golden buzzer performances on the show.

What was your initial reaction to the media? (laughed; clicked the link)

• When I saw that it had something to do with drawing/painting I clicked on it. I wanted to see what was being drawn or painted. Only, I soon realized it was not at all what I was expecting. The performer was depicting a unique story using music and sand drawing.

Was your engagement with the media passive (scrolled past/didn’t view) or active (clicked the link/read or listened)? What motivated this type of engagement?

• My engagement with the media was active. I first clicked on the video and watched the entire performance. I really wanted to see what the performer was going to do, so I was drawn in. After I clicked on it, her method of storytelling held my attention. Once I finished watching the video, I decided to share it because I was very impressed with the performance.