The Revolution Will Not be Tweeted

Our world today revolves around technology.  One of the biggest ways technology is used is for social media, and that is why I decided to write my Rhetorical Analysis paper on the article “The Revolution Will Not be Tweeted.”  The author, Malcolm Gladwell’s purpose in writing this article is to prove that social media is not an effective way to motivate people to participate in actions such as standing up for specific beliefs.  Gladwell begins his article telling the story of the 1960 sit-in protest in North Carolina.  Four black college students decided to sit in a white bar.  The protest grew by the thousands by the end of the week, just because four boys decided to take a stand.  I really liked how he started out with this because it grabbed my attention from the beginning.  He continues to give a few more examples of situations, like the first, to prove a point.  I think this helped build his ethos and pathos.  He gave specific details from real situations, which gave him the power of authority.  He created pathos because the audience is emotionally moved by these stories.  He used his word choice very carefully.  He did not use too many intense words, but just enough that it made me feel something.  Malcolm stated that it was scientifically proven that people who are willing to stand up for a cause that they believe in no matter what the consequence, are able to do so because they have a personal connection.  They have something to fight for and people to fight with.  That makes you stronger.  He then gave a different example of how social media helped save a man’s life because they were able to make more people aware of his health condition through the media.  He said that social media is a great way to make people aware of problems occurring in the world, but because you do not personally know all of your “friends” on Facebook, there is no personal connection.  This proved the fact that although social media may increase participation, it lessens the motivation of people to stand up for what they believe.  I think this article was effective.  He used excellent examples that helped me understand his argument better and persuaded me to believe his point of view.  I am excited to get started on this analysis!