Definition of New Media according to PCMag:

(1) The forms of communicating in the digital world, which includes publishing on CDs, DVDs and, most significantly, over the Internet. It implies that the user obtains the material via desktop and laptop computers, smartphones and tablets. Every company in the developed world is involved with new media. Contrast with old media. See digital convergence.
(2) The concept that new methods of communicating in the digital world allow smaller groups of people to congregate online and share, sell and swap goods and information. It also allows more people to have a voice in their community and in the world in general. See social media.

My Favorite Music

I was born and raised in Boca Raton, located in South Florida where Pop, Hip-Hop, and Rap were the three biggest and most prevalent music genres of my generation. South Florida has a beautiful musical culture that arises from the African American and Spanish influences from the population who lives there. Growing up in such a musical atmosphere has taught me to love and appreciate music in all forms, and is what drives my passion for singing.

I have a fascination with vocals and raw talent, and I like to listen to music that showcases powerhouse vocalists who can steal the show with their voice alone. A lot of Pop and R&B artists give me this satisfaction, such as John Legend, Ariana Grande, Jessie J, Beyoncé, and Sam Smith, but a new up-and-coming artist has recently stolen my heart (or my ears, I should say) with her new single, “Nobody Love”, and her name is Tori Kelly.

Tori started off playing the acoustic guitar while she sang along, learning to cover her favorite songs and artists. She had the crazy idea to record and film herself performing, whether it be in her bedroom or on stage, and uploaded these videos to YouTube on a regular basis. Tori quickly became a known YouTube singer and started collaborating with other YouTubers and upcoming artists to get her voice and name out there. She has now recently been discovered by Capital Records for her impecable talent and has now written and produced her first EP Album, with “Nobody Love” being her radio single. Tori Kelly’s voice is breathtakingly beautiful, having a rich, resonant, and free-flowing tone that is pure and supported. Each note that she sings has a purpose and comes out sounding effortless, giving her a well-rounded, wildly colorful timbre. Her riffs are tight and precise, and the rhythms in her music accentuate her vocals giving her song a pop/soul feel that makes you want to blast this song while you dance around your house. The form of “Nobody Love” is catchy and fun, with a repetitive chorus and a bridge that goes up the scale, begging you to sing along. Tori’s voice is like butter, smooth and warm, and I could listen to her sing all day. I have attached the official lyric video to Tori Kelly’s single, “Nobody Love” for you all to hear just what I mean!

Intro Freewrite – John Yoder

Rhetoric by definition is considered to be the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques. The language is designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content. I initially had trouble understanding the definition of what a rhetoric was, and at the beginning of me reading through Covino and Jollife’s “What is Rhetoric”, I was overwhelmed with interpretations and examples, without fully understanding what the content was about. But once I read the line, “A text is potentially active when the rhetor intends it to do something, to affect or change the auditors’ minds or actions or environments.” everything started to come together.

Rhetoric isn’t just an empty display of verbal ornamentation. The rhetoric of a text is intentionally designed as an organized language to persuade the reader or listener to consider the material presented to them and draw their own conclusions. According to Lloyd Bitzer in his essay entitled “The Rhetoric Situation”, he states that an audience isn’t just the people who listen or read the text. He believes that their role is to have a reason for concern about the exigence and that they are capable of acting on it or being acted upon by it. I really like his view on what he believes an audience is, because the point of talking to an audience is to engage them in what you’re presenting to them, and when the audience can relate and show concern over your specific topic, it is beneficial for both the audience member and the writer.