Social media has a very individual and personal foundation because it is primarily used for individual expression and communication. Just as with other new developments that influence writing and composition, it is important to acknowledge the presence and use of rhetoric on such platforms. Social media applications and websites create an entirely new forum for rhetoric that is typically used in tandem with multi-modality within one website. For relevance purposes, this section will primarily explore rhetoric's presence on Twitter.

• Ethos

  • In establishing credibility and individuality, Twitter provides its users with multiple ways to implement ethos in their utilization of Twitter:

    • The "bio"

      • This is a common term that is a shortened version of the word "biography", but when applied to social media platforms implies a short description or phrase to allow a person to say anything, typically about themselves or reflective of their ideologies, that others will see when visiting their profile

      • A Twitter users bio is a main source of ethos on the website. Individuals can say whatever they want here, and because it is so prominent on the profile, it is typically very descriptive or reflective of the individual's personality, identities, and beliefs.

      • People tend to include a list of what that individual deems to be an important aspect of their life, such as:

        • sports teams they support

        • the names of significant others or deceased loved ones

        • belonging to a Greek organization

        • a quote that is important to or reflective of that individual

        • occupation or college major/minor

        • what school they attend and what year they will graduate

    • Tweeting articles/including sources

      • When people's ideas and thoughts are challenged on Twitter, it is easy to include the link to an article in a tweet. This facilitates the rapid exchange of fact-checking and information that allows for individuals to establish their ethos with secondary sources that confirm their other tweets, or refute those of others.

      • Even if an individual does not include a direct link to an article, they might include where they got their information from so that others can accept what they have said or rebuttal with contradictory evidence.

        • Despite the negative connotative nature of such exchanges, fact-checking, establishing opposing views, and revealing invalid sources are not always unpleasant interactions.

        • However, Twitter is known to be a platform for "Call-Out Culture". This the phenomenon of people attacking others based on their ignorance or lack of knowledge on a topic that they are contributing to the conversation of, without the motivation of educating the accused, but to ridicule or shame the individual for their ignorance, which is sometimes unintentional. This can become a sort of battle of ethos, in which everyone is trying to establish their own credibility, sometimes with baseless anecdotes or contradicting sources.

      • Verified Accounts

        • Twitter itself can provide ethos by its verification feature.

          • Twitter signifies official accounts of celebrities or public figures by giving them a "check" image next to the account's name so that other Twitter users know which account is actually run by or officially designated for a specific individual whose identity is deemed important enough to be verified.

      • Anecdotes

        • A large part of Twitter is simply sharing anecdotes and individual experiences with followers. Although the genuineness and truth of an anecdote shared on Twitter can be questionable due to embellishment, a user can choose to attribute another individual's anecdotes to their ethos.

• Logos

  • The utilization of statistics and logistical appeals is less inherent and is typically used more intentionally on Twitter.

  • People must go out of their way to research and include facts and information that qualify as logos.

  • When logos is employed, it is primarily used in different sects of Twitter:

    • Political Twitter

      • Not only do many political figures and government officials all over the world use Twitter, but they also use it to share their policies and logical appeals to rally support/explain their reasoning for such political happenings.

      • Aside from actual political figures, Twitter is also a place for interaction. Because of its "Trending Topics" feature, which allows users to see common topics being discussed on the platform, people can instantaneously view other people's opinions on controversial current events that are widely discussed and also quickly refute/contribute to the conversation.

        • The use of logos is instrumental in the conversations surrounding political trending topics

    • Organizational Accounts

      • Organizations with blatant agendas for using social media employ logos to gather support and followers for their cause.

      • These accounts are also prevalent in the activism community on Twitter and employ a combination of pathos as well as logos to increase their ethos and sway others to support their cause.

    • Companies

      • Companies and research organizations use logos to affirm their ethos as well as to share their information with Twitter users that is relevant to their purpose as a company

      • These accounts can share secondary sources or their primary research to convey their information and update their followers on current happenings relevant to the company.

• Pathos

  • Because of the lack of formality it requires, pathos is more prevalent and recurring on Twitter by the masses than the other aspects of rhetoric.

  • The personal nature of Twitter that the majority of users implement in their tweets results in the widespread utilization of pathos throughout the site. Pathos manifests in a variety of ways, such as:

    • Twitter Activism

      • Activism on Twitter can include links to petitions, or internal Twitter petitions themselves in which people can participate by

        • voting on a Twitter poll

        • retweeting a tweet to signify their support

        • making a tweet containing a certain hashtag that is associated with a cause

      • Twitter users that initiate activism for a certain cause typically do so by implementing pathos. People rally behind a cause that makes them feel emotionally affected or empathetic.

    • First-hand accounts

      • Twitter provides a medium for first-hand accounts to "live tweet" (tweeting while an event is happening) in real time during a current event that is making the news. While these tweets lack hindsight, they provide a primary perspective and on-site facts often before news outlets can publish a story.

      • Such tweets are inherent with pathos because an individual can immediately see how the event is impacting the lives of others through the other person's thoughts and perceptions during the event.

      • One of the strongest uses of pathos on Twitter is through the multi-modal aspects of the site. Individuals have posted pictures and videos taken by them in times of crisis and during disastrous events that later prove to be great instruments of pathos when such events are politicized, such as public shootings. The photos are so raw and personal because they are from people that witnessed the event, the emotional appeal is strong.

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