| This dissertation is a rhetorical exploration of significant online political, religious, and sexually-oriented groups and their attempts to manage êthos and identity. These groups have embraced the web for its potential to connect them to users directly, but must now face the challenges of rising security problems, the lack of traditional gatekeeping controls, and a rapidly changing environment. All web-based groups must address these medium-oriented difficulties not to mention their own unique exigencies if they wish to develop or maintain credibility with target audiences. Drawing upon classical conceptions of êthos and also contemporary theories of identity, this investigation reveals that a large range of linguistic and non-linguistic techniques is possible for online groups negotiating these demands. Specifically, the persuasive strategies of eight online groups (Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, Reform Party, Green Party, Vatican, Scientology, Playboy, and Clublove) are judged according to four ethical appeals (community identification and goodwill, moral character and virtue, intelligence and knowledge, and verbal and design competence). While the two mainstream political parties narrowcast their messages of social solvency toward the already-committed in an effort to raise political support, the two marginal political parties broadcast their messages of political reform to a community of unspecified users and struggle to project legitimacy. An evaluation of the Vatican online shows how a group that violates simple conventions of web design can still sustain a highly-esteemed identity, while Scientology's site demonstrates how a highly-visual and interactive site can work counter to religious êthos and identity. Playboy and Clublove both attempt to create identities that can assuage the doubts of visitors so that they feel confident participating, but the two groups create very different identities to reach their target audiences. Common to all is the notion of community identification. The analyses show how each endeavors to identify with users and how each attempts to prove that it benefits the larger community. This is not surprising given an understanding of the web as a place of social gathering. Nevertheless, the web is complex and hides a more insidious underside. This medium might also be described as a battleground for groups wishing to capture the attention of web users. There is little motivation to provide substance to these users as groups increasingly recognize the power of attractive images, interactive devices, and sound-bite linguistic appeals. Indeed, during the unfolding of this analysis, many of these aforementioned “informational” groups moved from a substantive, text-based format to a more superficial, interactive format. This dissertation, therefore, serves as a historical account of online persuasive strategies at this point in the web's evolution and a point of departure for those wishing to evaluate the êthos-building techniques of online groups in the future. |
