Social Semiotics of Moms and Babies

Hello Classmates! This week we are learning about social semiotics which is the study of signs and symbols within their cultural context. Social semiotics was developed by linguist Michael Halliday and expanded upon by Gunther Kress. There is a role of social context in the interpretation of signs and symbols. The background meaning is influenced viewers social and cultural background. The context affects how signs and symbols are perceived. The audience demographics are key when analyzing the context of the signs and symbols.

What are the rules associated with social semiotics?

Vertically we have the top and bottom of the image. The top of the image symbolizes ideal, aspirations, and/or what is imagined or desired. The bottom of the image symbolizes reality, facts, and/or what is known. Horizontally we have the left and right of the image. The left symbolizes known and/or given information. The right symbolizes new and/or unknown information.

There are additional rules related to the composition of the image whether it is symmetrical, asymmetrical, composed of bright or dark colors.

Now, let’s analyze some images together.

The top of the image shows a beautiful far off horizon possibly symbolizing the future of this mother daughter dyad. The bottom of the image is full of grass and very grounding representing the season of life they are in currently. The left of the image is full of mountains and the right shows the hill they are on coming to a peak. This image is asymmetrical which represents chaos possibly the chaos of having a young child. There are both bright and subdued colors representing the mixture of feelings that goes along with motherhood. 

This image is really interesting because the lighting not only highlights the baby but also focuses in on the doctor which is a part of the top of the image meaning that the doctor is the ideal instead of the mother. The bottom of the image contains the mother meaning that she is grounded in reality. The lighting is dark over the mother, father, and nurse, and bright over the baby and doctor possibly symbolizing new life.

https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/17660758-mom-and-little-daughter-traveling-in-the-mountains

Crusius, T., & Channell, C. (2016). The aims of argument: A text and reader (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Social Media's Impact on Democracy and Product Choice

Hello Classmates! 

Today we are going to be answering two questions about social media and communication strategies and theories. The first question is “How has the online landscape transformed the dynamics of public opinion formation and communication strategies?” Information used to be disseminated mainly by word of mouth and for those who could read and write by personal letters and public notices. When the printing press arrived we had the first newspapers and therefore journalists popping up around the world. People had a certain level of trusts in these newspapers because in order for them to stay in business they had to remain reputable and trustworthy. Then, when social media came about for the first time with the invention of Six Degrees we shifted to where everyone and anyone could be a news source (Our World in Data 2019).

The second question to address is “What are the potential implications for society, democracy, and interpersonal relationships?”. One potential implication for democracy is a wide-spread increase in educated voting because all of the information is right at our finger tips with internet access. 

One campaign that demonstrated how online communication could impact society and interpersonal relationships is the case study we read from J.P. Mazer (2019) about Lilly Pulitzer and the Limited Edition Water Bottle. Kate the main character in the case study spots a really pretty water bottle with a Lilly Pulitzer print on her Instagram shopping feed. However, after browsing several social media accounts and talking to friends and family she can’t find any more information about the water bottle. Eventually after continued sleuthing and some patience Lilly Pulitzer and Starbucks release information about their collaboration on their respective Instagram pages. This shows just how much social media can impact our daily lives causing us to be excited about a product enough to go find it in the physical world.

All the best,

Emmily with two M's

Cochrane, L. (2017, February 15). These Lilly Pulitzer water bottles are now available at Starbucks. Town & Country. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/news/a9592/lilly-pulitzer-water-bottles/

Mazer, J. P. (2019). Communication and social media: Understanding and managing communication challenges in a networked society. Oxford University Press.

Roser, M., Ritchie, H., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019). The rise of social media. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Fallacies in Project 2025

 Hello Class,

This week we are discussing common fallacies found in online articles. I chose to analyze fallacies found in The Project 2025 document created by The Heritage Foundation. Below, is an image that represents some common fallacies. 

False Dilemma

One example of a False Dilemma or Either/Or Fallacy presented in Project 2025 is the idea that the current bureacracy is unaccountable and biased and that the only solution is an overhaul of the system. The idea is presented that everyone currently in office is biased and everyone that they would put in office would be biased in favor of the current administration. It ignores other mechanisms like creating oversight or encouraging nonpartisan accountability.

Slippery Slope

The entire document demostrates a Slippery Slope as they encourage federal consilidation and and reshaping of federal agencies which could alter our democracy as we know it. 

Straw Man

Finally, there is a Straw Man argument made in the document where they make it seem as if all opponents of Project 2025 are opposed to government reform and prefer inefficient bureaucracy.

Sources:

The Heritage Foundation. 2023. Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation. https://www.project2025.org.

Williams, Clay COMM 211, Canvas Course Learning Materials, Week 8, “Persuasion Basics.” 20 April 2025.

Winters, Michael. 2018. “The OWL, Logical Fallacies, and Social Media Arguments.” Excelsior Online Writing Lab, March 14, 2018. https://owl.excelsior.edu/blog/the-owl-logical-fallacies-and-social-media-arguments/.

To Swim or not to Swim?

 Hi everyone! 

This week I am going to share a facebook reel and some comments with you in order to demonstrate an online argument. I chose this reel because I am currently a nanny and learning about best practices for infants is a part of my job. The reel is a swim instructor from Prepare 2 Swim sharing how to acclimate your baby to the water. The speaker does a great job captivating the audience through movement, novelty, and suspense (Campbell 2014). At 1 month old you use a drizzle cup, at 2 months old you pour the water over their face, at 3 months old you acclimate them to the shower, and at 4 months you roll them over in the water. 

Three negative examples and concerns with this argument:

1. The comments are all over the place with some commenters approving and praising them for acclimating the baby to water and others on the other side are saying things along the lines of "no one did this to me and I swim fine". 

2. There's some commenters who even go so far as to say "waterboarding a baby is crazy" this commenter is uninformed that babies have a reflex causing them to hold their breath underwater that lasts until 6 months of age (Prepare2Swim 2025 and KidsCanSwim 2023). 

3. Everyone is citing anecdotal evidence for their point of view on whether or not to do water acclimation.

Five rules for how people should argue online more constructively:

1. Everyone enter the argument in good-faith with a goal of having a productive conversation.

2. Cite information from a reliable source when discussing instead of just sharing unfounded opinions.

3. If you're going to share opinions state that it is an opinion and not a fact and how your lived experience contributes to your opinion.

4. No personal attacks. Attack the argument not the person.

5. Stay on topic. 

Campbell, K. K., Huxman, S. S., & Burkholder, T. A. 2014. "The rhetorical act: Thinking, speaking, and writing critically." 5th ed. Cengage Learning.

KidsCanSwim Canada. 2023. “Fact or Fiction: Babies Naturally Hold Their Breath Underwater.” February 2, 2023. https://kidscanswimcanada.ca/fact-or-fiction-babies-naturally-hold-their-breath-underwater/.

Prepare2Swim. 2025. "What is water acclimation?" 2025. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1353742109043205.

Analysis of Soul Miner's Garden Online Presence

A women and family owned small business Soul Miner’s Garden is a brick and mortar vegan restaurant found on the Camp North End campus in Charlotte, NC. The business started out as a food truck in March 2020, evolved into a restaurant in Gastonia and moved to Camp North End in 2024. The adorable logo for the company that is full of vegetables representing their vegan restaurant is found below.

Their online presence is comprised of a website, instagram, Everywhere Is Queer profile on the app, and google maps profile. The instagram is very colorful and showcases the types of vegan food they offer.

They do a great job communicating clearly the mission of Soul Miner’s Garden, the address, hours, as well as telling their story on the website. They could do a better job incorporating that information into their Instagram profile.

The top of the website features a colorful banner with all the different foods offered at the restaurant. The middle is text telling their story and passion for the website as well as a menu link. Finally, the bottom of the website showcases their instagram, map, hours, custom orders, and a contact form. The bottom of the website is very busy and maybe it would be better and more clean to have the contact form on a different page of the website.

One way the business communicates their identity is by listing themselves on the Everywhere is Queer app a way to communicate that they are an inclusive business that is welcoming to all.

The company could improve it’s online communication by adding a LinkedIn page and a TikTok page as well as promoting their inclusivity on their instagram and website.

Shoutout to: Hello From the Magic Tavern

Hello Future Podcasters! 

This week we are analyzing a podcast of our choosing to help us make our own podcast later this week. I chose to analyze my favorite podcast hello from the magic tavern because I already am familiar with it and love to encourage more people to listen to my favorite podcast. There are three host's to this podcast their fictional names are Arnie, Chunt - the Shapeshifter, and Eusidore - the wizard. The introduction to the podcast goes "Hi! I’m Arnie. I fell through a portal behind a Burger King and found myself in a strange magical land called Foon. Somehow I'm getting a wi-fi signal so I host a weekly podcast, interviewing creatures, wizards, and adventurers." They recommend listening to the podcast from the beginning and I agree whole-heartedly.

They each have slightly different deliveries. Arnie attempts to be to the point and is the most clear in his speaking. Chunt does lots of pauses for comedic effect and Eusidore plays with speed to draw in the listener. I think a podcast is the best way to communicate this information because occasionally they offer live shows which are recorded for the podcast and I don't feel like I'm missing out by listening to an audio only version. 

The intended audience for this podcast is definitely adults who don't mind a little vulgar language and love fantasy. There is one child friendly episode which was a fun listen with my little sister. 

I think I find the speed that Eusidore plays with to be the most effective at drawing me in to the podcast. He will start off listing all of his names from the magical land of foon really quickly and then later on play with saying a spell really slowly.

Till Next Week,

Emmily

The Myth of Digital Natives

Hello Classmates,

According to Prensky, what is the immigrant/native divide, and how has it affected how students learn?

Prensky believes that there are immigrants to technology, those that technology entered their lives later in life, and those that grew up with computers and cell phones known as digital natives (69). Prensky believes that digital native students since they grew up watching tv and studying or listening to music and studying are more adept at doing so than digital immigrants (70). The digital natives are more adept multitaskers than the digital immigrants.

According to Kirschner there are some myths associated with Prensky's findings. One of the myths he discusses is that being a 'digital native' doesn't necessarily mean one is 'digitally literate.' What does he mean?

Kirschner teaches us to question this paradigm that digital natives are digitally literate (137). What does this mean? It means that just because you are adept with a simple operating system like IOS on an Apple IPad for example that doesn’t necessarily mean you can navigate a keyboard or use Microsoft office or really do anything complicated on the computer. Luckily, I am part of a transition period within the education system where they still taught us how to type properly, navigate word and excel, as well as write a professional email. Below you can see an image of a typing chart similar to one I used during elementary school.

See you next week!

-Emmily

 AnsonAlex.com. 2020. Touch Typing Keyboard Finger Chart. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://ansonalex.com/tutorials/free-typing-tutorial-online-video/.

FreeRangeStock. 2025. Person Typing on Keyboard in Front of Computer Monitor. Photograph. FreeRangeStock. https://freerangestock.com/photos/104632/person-typing-on-keyboard-in-front-of-computer-monitor.html.

Kirschner, Paul A., and Pedro De Bruyckere. "The myths of the digital native and the multitasker." Teaching and Teacher education 67 (2017): 135-142.

Prensky, Marc R.. 2012. From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom : Hopeful Essays for 21st Century Learning. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Accessed April 25, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central.