My web site

My personal web site can be viewed at www.paley.biz .

What is the future of E-Rhetoric?

Over the last decade I have been reflecting on how E-Rhetoric will evolve over the century. When I first discussed my vision for E-Rhetoric in my 1993 publication E-Rhetoric versus Smetoric, I expressed concern about the reckless introduction of E-Rhetoric upon society. My concerns were not with human to human communication enhanced by technology, but rather with the use of E-Rhetoric in the hands of the mass media, and mass marketers, and the national leadership. The relationship that humans experience when they communicate directly with another human is quite different than that which is shared when a human interacts with a machine. Human interaction satisfies needs of the human psyche, such as allowing an individual to feel valued and feel loved. (Among other factors that Abraham Maslow proposed on his hierarchy of needs.) I fear a day when the automation of messages carried out by computer means, will consume such an extent of our daily lives that it diminishes or changes in an adverse way the emotional, humanistic level of communication. Communication devoid of smetoric (humanistic rhetoric--such as tone of voice, touch, and facial expressions) is dangerous to the individual’s sense of self. My chief interest in studying E-Rhetoric is to seek ways to make the power of electronic or automatic communication a more fulfilling and humanistic experience.

Welcome to the E-Rhetoric.com Blog

Good day! I'm Samuel Gordon Paley an editor at E-Rhetoric Communications. I've been interested in the emerging field of E-Rhetoric since 1992. I currently live in Windham CT, and am concluding a Master's degree at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT. In my studies of E-Rhetoric, I have been particularly concerned with the exceptionally fast pace with which electronic advances have changed the ways and pace at which our modern culture communicates. In my brief 1993 publication E-Rhetoric versus Smetoric I reflect on the dangers awaiting our society if the privileges / powers enabled by electronic communications are used in an irresponsible or dehumanizing way. Smetoric (the rhetoric of sex) refers to a natural human rhetoric, one that is instinctively part of human communication. This communication process of smetoric at its best is more fulfilling than E-Rhetoric because it is often personal in nature. At its best it offers a more life affirming and socially redeeming experience than a computer can offer. Smetoric involves life affirming human nuances such as facial expressions, and eye motions, tone of voice, and body language. Rhetoric involving direct, face-to-face, communication--reinforces our sense of self or ontological security. While the developers of electronic communication struggle to humanize their machines, there is still a long way to go. As a researcher of rhetoric I advocate the need for software / and hardware designers to think about how to make their products more receptive to the human condition, and the need of the individual to be valued as an individual rather as customer #4605454.