Persuasion and New Media

Chapter 6 introduces the topic of persuasion and new media with a case study involving XXX. The text then overviews the various traditions of technological development, which includes oral tradition, written/print tradition, electronic tradition, and digital/new media tradition. Next, the chapter differentiates traditional media from new media. The chapter then discusses many ways in which new media has impacted persuasion, including: mass interpersonal persuasion, the persuasive experience, automated structure, social distribution, rapid cycle, huge social graphs that allow a persuasive experience to reach millions of people, and measured impact. The text then explains the inherent persuasiveness of social networking by discussing the concepts of power and control in cultural studies theory, as well as the public versus the private. Other topics related to persuasion and new media include voyeurism and surveillance, as well as a discussion on business and influence through Cialdini’s six principles of influence.