Hello, one and all! I figured it’s about time I talk about the digital media that has arguably one of the largest impacts on our society: social media. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, to name a few, have changed the way that we interact with content online as well as the way that we interact with each other. Specifically, it’s interesting how social media has affected how organizations market themselves to the general public.
When I think about social media, I usually think about individuals posting pictures of themselves and their friends with witty (or sometimes cliche) comments online. However, in recent years, it’s expanded beyond the private social sphere. We’ve seen social media involved in politics like the use of Twitter during various presidential elections. Or in human rights movements like Black Lives Matter. Social media is now a growing platform for organizations to gain attention and recognition from an incredibly large and potentially worldwide audience.
I thought it would be interesting if I followed an organization on social media for a couple of weeks to analyze its rhetorical strategies. I chose National Geographic on Instagram as my subject, mostly because they focus on a lot of environmental and anthropological topics, and I’m a huge nerd.
I’ll look at the kind of content National Geographic posts, how it presents that content, and how it uses Instagram to reach its audiences. Hopefully, I’ll be able to explore how National Geographic makes use of social media, and perhaps even identify some broader implications for how social media has changed the way that organizations interact with the general public.
