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.