In the webtext reading for this week, Ridolfo and DeVoss argue for the usefulness of the concept of “rhetorical velocity,” which they define as “a conscious rhetorical concern for distance, travel, speed, and time, pertaining specifically to theorizing instances of strategic appropriation by a third party.” (on the “intro” page of the webtext; bolding mine)
To think about rhetorical velocity when you are creating a text is to think about how you could create something that is more likely to be used and taken up to circulate for new contexts and in new forms.
This is a really important concept for designing any public campaign! You want your message out there. It is not going to get out there just by writing something akin to a paper you write for a college class (e.g., a white paper). You have to be more creative than that.
In the Campaign for Circulation project, we are focused on being creative to promote the circulation of our ideas to be taken up in new contexts and, at times, in new forms.
Central Question
How do you anticipate the future in writing for a public? How do you make text, images, audio, mixes of all of these, etc. in ways that encourage people to not only re-use it but to use it in ways (including new ways) that correspond with the goals of your campaign?
Another way to put it: how do you make things “sticky” and “mobile”?
By “sticky,” I mean something that is memorable.
By “mobile,” I mean something that is easy to travel or repurpose (e.g., something short and compact, something that comes in an easy and repeatable format, something that makes sense in multiple contexts, something that is adaptable).
Making your campaign pieces “sticky” and “mobile” in how they communicate results of data analyses you do and cite is one of the main goals of the Campaign for Circulation project.
Task
Choose one:
- Look at one of your social media accounts.
- Search on Google My Plans 2020 memes (or on Reddit, Twitter, somewhere else).
While looking over a social media account of your choice or the different my plans 2020 memes, try to answer one of the below questions in a comment on this page:
- If looking at a social media account, stop on something that has a lot of engagement (e.g., likes, retweets, comments). What about it do you think captures attention? Have people reused it (e.g., a quote tweet, a meme shared elsewhere)? Why do you think they reused it and for what purpose?
- If looking at the my plans 2020 memes, what are the ways it keeps getting repeated in terms of forms of the design, types of images? What is the “same” about the meme even when it is different?
After commenting, click on the button below to continue:
On TikTok, it’s usually the sound or music. What usually causes trends are certain sounds people are using that have challenges to them. I think that’s something that captivates people into reacting or sharing more content on TikTok, which as become massive in the last year. There is trendy sounds and songs on TikTok that grab people’s attention initially.
I search Google and also other social media platforms about My plans 2020 memes, it comes out the meme such a popular trend and people keep repeating it with tagging their friends’ names to follow the trend. People use the meme to tell everyone about their present situation or their current status about their life, their mood, their circumstances. With comparing what they expected or what they thought things should have been to be, it’s called “My plan” versus what turns out to them as a result, it’s called “2020.” The similarity about those memes is that “My plan” will always be something nicer and better compares to things that happened in “2020” which totally opposite.
When searching My Plans 2020 memes on Google, I found most of the post have the same basic format of comparing two images. People tend to use My plans 2020 memes in their image description as well as hashtags of the same to follow the trend and this is how it circulates across different social media platforms and creates a bigger audience. One similarity I found was that people that share and re-post the memes have an idea of how the year 2020 has messed their plans. This trend circulates this common idea but also the emotions each individual share of “you are not the only one” sentiment.
In the 2020 my plans memes, they are all formatted the same way. Both contain two separate labeled images, the first one depicting something that inevitably gets ruined by the second image. Even though the images are different across each meme they are the same in concept, and can be adjusted so that many audiences quickly relate to the photos.
I googled “my plans 2020 memes” and what I noticed that is repeated on the meme is the contrast of something going “good” and then it turns out not going so good as it was planned. For instances, the meme of parent trap movie, how Meredith was planning to have a good vacation but the twins made it the worst. What makes the same in all of this type of meme is that not everything can end up as planned.
I search about the “My plan 2020 memes” on the google and the other social media platforms and found out the similarities between all the memes. In the right picture, it basically present the plan for 2020 and on the left side, it presents the unfortunate events. The idea of these memes is to expect the unexpected. Looking at these memes, I realized that many people have to dealing with unfortunate events but we have to take it easy and overcome it.
When I look at tiktok, instagram, and even look back at vine, these platforms encourage certain post to perform better in the algorithms. Vine and tiktok were kind of the same, short videos. Instagram has many post options, but reels do that best in the algorithm (meaning they will get pushed out to more people). The reason is because these short videos are quick and entertaining, so people sit and scroll for hours. These platforms want people on their apps for as long as possible. The videos provide just enough entertainment each to keep people’s attention longer. Of course you notice that very attractive people get the most views. Tiktok has had many people even famous people like Lizzo come out saying that because they aren’t conventionally attractive tiktok suppresses or deletes their videos. Zeroing in on certain accounts, the more attractive someone is the more engagement there is on their content. This is just because humans like to see attractive people, I guess.
If looking at a social media account, stop on something that has a lot of engagement, i think what captures people’s attention is the words. I feel like people retweet something on social media when they feel connected to that particular post. Yes the people have reused that same post because they felt what the post has said. They’ve reused it because they want to feel connected to other people, and also interpret themselves to others plus themselves.
On Facebook, I notice many likes on friends’ birthdays and lots of comments on their photos for their Birthday. The comments and likes are basically for celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, and graduation. People tend to share content when it is political and health benefits as well as coupons for products. I think it just lets the person feels special. That is what captures the attention, and it is a celebration, so people kind of reach out to feel connected with each other or keep in touch. I do think that people reuse it, and some share it because they want their other friends to see it. It is like sending a message to lots of people as possible that seem important.
I have searched on Google and looked at several My Plan 2020 memes, all of them are sharing the idea of things that come a different way as what was expected. For instance, one plans to get an internship during 2020, however, the Covid-19 has quarantined him home for about a half year. The main idea of My Plan 2020 memes are about things that are out of the plan, and the comparison between the two images makes it ironic and funny.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s social lives. Introverts appear pleased with the idea that people should not meet in public because they prefer to spend time alone while Extroverts feel oppressed by these regulations because they want to socialize. Nonetheless, state and international regulations indicate that people should stay indoors and leave their homes when necessary. In this regard, people who dislike social events take advantage of the new rules and isolate themselves from society. One of the Instagram account @epicfunnypage posted a post about excuses. The content creator illustrates the process of decision making, which allows people to decline invitations. People decline invitations due to their introverted nature. The post demonstrates the decision-making process of an introvert who wants to refuse an invitation to a social gathering. The image is versatile and usable in different social platforms; hence, it is attractive to a young audience. In the image, the person is reading the Guinness book of excuses. The meme attracted over 27,000 likes and 137 comments in which people explain their experiences with the matter. In the comment section, people have posted types of excuses they use when they do not want to meet friends. Although the book is fictional, it allegorizes people’s ideas and reasons for wanting to stay at home. This image represents people’s desire to stay isolated, especially during stressful periods. The meme demonstrates that some individuals prefer to stay indoors. Therefore, they find excuses to decline invitations to social events. Although some of the reasons appear legitimate, they prove that some friends are not an ideal company. This image normalizes refusing invitations, showing that sometimes, friends want to stay at home instead of socializing. The pandemic is an appropriate excuse to refuse these invitations; hence, it is a convenient time for introverts because it offers the ultimate excuse for staying indoors.
Super interesting example here, Mahima! I like the idea is a fictional book but people are essentially writing that book in the way people engage with this post. Interesting topic, too, about isolation, which I find my desire for isolation about similar now as it was pre-pandemic. It’s just I want more connection to others (but do I *not* want isolation? No.)
Something that stuck with me from “my plan 2020” memes is the meme of Asia o Hara’s (Rupaul’s drag race) performance in the finals of season 10. It captures people’s attention because it is relatable to so many people of how what they were planning can be ruined in just a second and in front of an audience is even more hurtful. People have refused to relate with other fans of the show and to display some vulnerability because social media is usually such a highlight reel of one’s life.
Looking at the my plans 2020 memes, they are all effective because of the contrast being what people were expecting for 2020 vs how it actually unfolded. Most people were cheerful about the start of the decades, what actually took place was global pandemic. This brought a seismic shift in plans, to say the least.
After searching my plans 2020 it shows the growing trends that social media can uphold throughout the world that by creating a meme that is relatable to a current issue we are all dealing with and how this central theme of the “meme” expressing how 2020 started versus how it ended created such a following that many people put there own twists/spins on it with different imagery to express their current situations dealing with 2020. Memes have become extremely popular over the years when searching social media for different memes I found accounts dedicated/based on posting viral, funny, relatable memes and sometimes these memes like the “my plans 2020” meme for example adds humor and engagement for everyone when we were in the middle of 2020 and our every day world took a massive change it was a current topic that most people can chime in on. I believe one trend that leads to engagement on social media is when someone is sharing something personal or informing their audience on something it creates a conversation a direct interaction/feedback building a relationship, providing an influence to the public expressing significance or passion in what you are presenting/selling, humor, storytelling, creating a strategy and knowing your target audience. These are all tactics that can increase engagement and having your content shared.
When I googled this I noticed the hashtags and how it was popular and shared several times. I realize that Tik tok keeps its videos short and entertaining which is why so many people love to scroll on it for hours seamlessly. Instagram is somewhere that makes it so easy to share posts as well and through hash tags posts can gain better traction.
I think that of the “My Plans 2020 Memes”, what makes it all feel similar is how the expectations of what they though would happen in the year end up subverted in a negative way. For example one meme I saw had a character from “The Office” hold a pot of chili in the first picture, then had him falling in the next one while in another one of these memes, it shows an actress with her wedding dress on smiling then in the next picture she is covered in blood and screaming.
The memes are all formatted the same way for the most part. It makes it reusable since its easy and fun to do. People tag their friends to do it too and that encourages everyone to take part. It captures the attention of people because its trendy, especially on places such as twitter and even tiktok with a certain song being played in the background in general. People reuse the meme to do it themselves or meme on other people.