Visual Rhetoric

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vkVHijdQk

This is a commercial for google chrome that I saw today when I was watching football. The commercial is about a dad who documents his daughters entire life through an email account that he set up for his new born daughter. The point of the ad is that, "the web is what you make of it." The ad uses this idea to bring out emotions in the viewer, and in turn hopefully begin using google chrome. The ad emphasizes the ease of using google chrome, and at the same time makes the viewer feel good about it by using the idea of love between the father and daughter.

The reason that I chose this video is because I believe it has a lot to do with privacy in the internet. In the book Born Digital, the idea that a parent will start a digital dossier of their children's lives before they even have a chance to influence them or protect themselves is talked about in depth. The things put onto the internet by the father could affect the child in many ways growing up, and potentially in ways that the daughter may or may not want to be on the internet in the future. In the commercial, the dad posts videos on youtube, uses google maps to put a link of their home address and photo of their home, and posts many pictures of the daughter.

While the point of the commercial is to invoke emotion in the viewer and to show the ease and capability of google chrome, it does ignore the ideas of internet privacy and safety that could come from using the internet to post personal information on the web. This commercial shows how the internet can be a great tool as people grow up in the digital age, however it must be used wisely so that the information that is put on the web can be kept private and safe from those who you would rather not see it.

My thoughts

I chose this topic because I feel the issue is a large part of everyday life. People use the internet to connect socially, access their banking information, communicate globally, as well as many other areas that are potentially dangerous. People do not always realize that everything they put on the internet is able to be accessed by people, whether they want it to be or not. Photos that are put on facebook are being used by employers to get a first impression, often times which is a bad first impression. There is often sensitive information that is entered online such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and phone numbers. It is important to know and understand the risks with putting information about yourself on the internet so that you can protect yourself from online predators. It is also important to realize that people often view online profiles before they know you, and people will create judgements about you as a person. This can be potentially harmful for relationships. Through this blog I will talk about many of these issues regarding the internet, and how it can be used safely to protect your privacy.