This document outlines the agenda for a class session that focuses on analyzing Facebook profiles rhetorically. It includes an icebreaker activity, check-in, discussion of a previous reading on Facebook's history and growth, and an activity where students analyze their own Facebook profiles through the rhetorical triangle of author, audience, and message. Homework includes posting to social media and reading two additional articles.

2. TODAY
1) Icebreaker
2) Check-in
3) The Triangle, Again
4) Facebook: Rhetorical Playground
5) Activity: The Cold Finger of Analysis Points at Thee
6) Share and share alike
7) Homework

3. ICEBREAKER
This one should be quick and hopefully a little bit of fun.

Pick someone from the opposite side of the room. Go
over, introduce yourself, get the person’s name, and find
out one cool thing he or she did over the weekend.
Then you get to tell us.

4. CHECK IN
I think we did better with the Tweets over the
Thurs/Fri/Sat period. Remember the one at the end of
this presentation is due by 11:59 PM TOMORROW. 
I assembled a blogroll with your Tumblrs. I don’t have
them all. Your task, then, is to look at that blogroll tonight
and email me your URL if it isn’t there.
Any questions for the good of the order?

5. BEFORE WE START…
As we look at the reading for today, and begin our
activity, I want to bring back our good friend from last
week’s class, you all know and love him…
THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE!
Give him a hand!

7. THE READING
Any initial thoughts? I have some questions for you to
consider, but before we get there, is there anything
pressing anyone just wants to say, questions you had,
etc.?
Link, for anyone playing along on the PowerPoint:
About Facebook

8. FIRST THING
Did anyone note the date of publication?
October of 2007. So you were just starting the eighth
grade. 26 million FB users then.
A little update from the Googleverse on the next slide.

9. FACEBOOK in 2011
More than 750 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook a day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on
Facebook.
That’s 1331.8 YEARS of time a month spent on
Facebook.

10. READING (cont.)
My one major question for all of you is about the
predictions the author makes and the various
quotes/predictions offered about what Facebook could
be/might be.
You spent your high school years and the start of college
with Facebook after this moment in history. How’d
Facebook shape up?

11. AND SO…
The next thing I want to do is hit you again with the
triangle, along with an assertion.
First, the assertion:
Crafting a Facebook profile is a
rhetorical act.

13. LET’S START…
…with my profile.
I’ll pull it up on the screen, and briefly, you can direct me
where to scroll/what to click. I will only refuse if you ask
me to do something that might implicate one of my
friends in hilarity or shame.
Take some notes, as we’ll talk about things in a second.

14. RHETORIC…
Let’s hit the quick, obvious questions first.
1) Who is the author? *freebie!*
2) Who is the audience? Now it gets more
complex, right?
3) What’s the text? How is it authored?

15. AND…
Where do you see appeals of ethos? Of pathos? Of
logos?
What does this text seem to do?
Is that what it is intended to do?
And this one is a point for you to ponder as we move
into the activity: is the profile you see here “me?”

16. CONSIDER…
… think in particular with something like Facebook about
the nature of a “template” and the style of post
automation.
I can control some things, but some of this stuff is out of
my hands. Like what ads appear on the side, what my
friends say, etc. What does that mean, rhetorically? How
does that reflect upon the profile itself?

17. NOW… you
I’d like you to spend the next ten or fifteen minutes writing
a quick rhetorical analysis of your own Facebook profile.
As you do this, think about everything you’ve done, every
choice you’ve made, but also think about the things that
aren’t your choices.
What is this “thing” we’d call a profile, and what does it tell
us about you, about Facebook, about your friends, etc.?
Keep this. It is considered brainstorming for inquiry 1. 
or Tumblr blog it.

18. WHAT…
…did you learn?
Let’s talk a bit about it.

19. HOMEWORK
Tweet (due tomorrow): what’s one thing about class right
now that has you confused or that you’d like to know
more about?
Tumblr: Go to my Tumblr for directions (I’ll also show you
before you leave)
Read: CCM: “Rhetoric has a new Look” p.89 and “Sweet
Tea and Southern English” p. 95

20. HOMEWORK
Next class we will peer review. I expect you to
have a rough draft with you. If you don’t, I will
consider you unprepared for class and hence
absent.
Don’t forget to have a rough draft. It can be…
pretty rough.
See you Thursday!