Eyman takes on a certain approach when discussing “digital”. He insist it to be understood as active, shaping, and rhetorically consequential. He wants us to recognize that digital is not just a platform but is a mediator.
Points of Digital Rhetoric
Eyman centralised digital as a way of bringing new affordances (possibilities or limits) to rhetoric. Because these digital systems are built/coded, those who build them can shape how and what these rhetorics can do. This emphasizes his point rhetoric in digital spaces are never free, it is governed by someone and therefore, have restraints. When using digital spaces, we have to conform to these terms or factors.
Eyman also emphasizes that the lines between “text,” “media,” and “code” blur. Digital text do not only includes words, it also includes visual, audio, and other components. Therefore, rhetoric is no longer only in content, but also how digital tools can be expanded to other types of interaction.
Unlike printed text, digital text evolves overtime. They can be updated, reused, and recontextualized. With this in mind, digital spaces means that how a message might mutate, needs to of initial thought.
Consequences on Digital Rhetoric
Eyman places emphasis on how writers or critics should frame their text. They should always consider their audience. They should plan, not just for content, but for how their text will live on, beyond its original issuing, through that specified audience. Eyman wants us to rethink how we define digital rhetoric. It should not be treated merely a container in digital spaces but how it shapes its readers persuasion and movement.
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