Cake Wrecks!

This blog is by FAR, one of the funniest things I have been able to read and share with my friends! The author and her husband have been the ones to create the blog, never believing that it would catch on quite so well, and it continues to be her with some of her friends posting funny pictures of "cake wrecks" and witty comments afterwards. With all that I was able to look over on her blog, it didn't seem like she was targeting anyone in the baking industry, although they may want to look at it for tips on what not to do, but instead she truly does this as something she loves and to make people laugh. There are parts of these blogs where people seem to be crazy to have even considered doing something like that for a cake, and then there are others that are just mishaps of the trade. In reading her blog, she communicates with the audience as if they are friends and she wants to hear back from them. Right now her main focus of her blog is the world tour that they are going on for Cake Wrecks. I really enjoyed this section because she includes her audience everywhere she goes because she invites them to where she will be, she shows them the competitions for the "best cake wreck" and replicates. This section I believe is really important because you see that even little children are involved in these competitions, proving that her audience really does span across a wide range. She has also made her blog "family friendly" because of her clean language, and by showing so many varieties of cakes she appeals to a wide group.

My favorite section of the Cake Wreck blog(http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/) was the section about wedding cakes! It proves that when you are planning on having a nice cake, you need to make sure and research the cake or be willing to pay a little extra. I can only imagine what some of these poor brides were thinking when the cake showed up clearly not looking like what they had requested. Similarly, the cakes that were ordered by brides turned out to be questionable too. Ultimately, this blog does a great job in appealing to many different types of people, and brings humor and laughter throughout the entire set of postings. I am sure that, like many others, I will be grateful for stumbling upon this blog, and be keeping up with it often!

Audience Analysis: J. K. Rowling official website

The website that I have chosen to analyze for the Audience Analysis is the J. K. Rowling official website. I think the website is reaching out to all the people who love to read and who love the world of magic and mystery. Her page makes us imagine her as she sat while she wrote the books; it is making the reader imagine where her inspiration comes from. I believe that her site was specifically set up like this to make people more interested. I personally find it fun when I am looking for things that are there that I don’t necessarily think are there. This brings an element to her page that intrigues her readers. You get to scroll over the screen and find the hidden magical parts of her website. This page is an overall fun and interactive page keeps the audience wanting to come back for more. She does the same thing with her books; she keeps them fun and draws you into them so that you keep coming back for more.

www.jkrowling.com

Stardust: intended to sweep you off your feet.

The Stardust movie website is very interactive and a lot of fun to maneuver through the different pages. Upon entering the site, you hear a voice clip of actor Ian McKellan speaking of a quote about people and stars: "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we're human?" He then says, "Pointless, really. Do the stars gaze back? Now that's a question!" When the dialogue finishes, you then hear selections from the movie soundtrack throughout the duration of exploring the site.

The site is aimed at movie-goers who like fantasy, a good romance, even adventure. One selected quote from critics is intended to draw young single adults with the claim, "One of the best date movies of the year." The interactive games entice an even younger crowd to become part of the movie itself. Once the intended audience is swept in, they will find desktop background for the computer to continually remind them of the fun they had in watching "Stardust." You can move around the site and "visit" the different locations found in the movie and learn about the characters. For those like myself who enjoy music they have a part that lists the soundtrack. Overall this site has been made to be fun and enjoyable to view.

http://www.stardustmovie.com/

True Story!

This particular article from The Onion is a made up story about a paramilitary squad of commandos attacking a research facility to save rabbit. The Onion is an American news satire organization that parodies the news. The onion is generally read by fairly intelligent people who can find the humor in satire.

This article is poking fun at PETA and other extreme animal rights activists. In the made up story, many military commandos went out of their way and killed and injured many people for the sake of a rabbit.

It jokingly portrays PETA members and animal rights activists as people who would rather preserve animal life over human life. It also shows PETA members as overzealous and somewhat crazy. This article is intended for people who already think that PETA is a bit crazy or for people who aren’t very familiar with PETA.

This article is not to be taken seriously, so it is written for people who want a good laugh. If there are animal rights activists who stumble upon this story, they should not take offense to this because it is just an exaggeration. However it is understandable if they would feel upset.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/heroic_peta_commandos_kill_49_save

Bridal Guide :)

http://bridalguide.byu.edu/bridal_guide/

The beautiful woman in a white dress and colored flowers immediately catches your eye as you walk by. You stop in the hallway and pause; you pick up the magazine and flip through it. Seconds later, you realize what you are doing and put the magazine down almost embarrassed.

There is so much emphasis on marriage right now. Returned missionaries, freshman girls - it's the hot topic! And almost everyone wants to get married so you can't help but be a victim of advertisement. In fact, my roommates picked up this edition of "Bridal Guide" just last week. We looked through it together and said what kind of dresses we would like, what style of ring, what wedding colors we would have. The magazine appeals to the audience from the very cover! I think the subject of the magazine is really what makes the relationship between the writer and the reader. The writer knows what engaged couples are looking for, (cake styles, photo shoots, best kind of ring, etc) so the write knows how to "manipulate" the audience. Each aspect of kairos is used: ethos is assumed because of the consistency and validity of the Daily Universe, pathos is used because marriage is on a lot of people's minds, and logos is used by showing the different kinds of dresses, what kind of cake style you would want a why, how to have a good wedding party, etc. I thought this magazine was interesting to me personally. Call me a victim of advertisement.

Obama Health Plan

This webpage is paid for by the Democratic National Committee through one of their projects called Organizing for America and is designed to support and promote not only Obama's, but the Democratic party's proposed health care plan. Because it lacks acceptance in Congress, the Democratic party is attempting to rally troops in order to influence congressmen through their constituents. Organizing for America has its origins in the Obama for America organization and is pushing forward Obama's ever-present mantra of "change."
They are attempting to reach all of America, rich and poor, those with and without health insurance. They want to make it clear that everyone will benefit from this change, that it's not just for those who lack sufficient coverage. This is clear through their three-column approach: one listing benefits for those who don't have health insurance, one expressing the benefits for those who already have health care, and a final column for "all Americans" (as if there is some ambiguous group of people out there who somehow fail to fall into the two previous categories. Talk about covering your bases).
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

Cinnamon Rolls

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

I am analyzing a post titled "Cinnamon Rolls 101" from the website http://thepioneerwoman.com/. The Pioneer Woman is a lady named Ree Drummond and she shares information about her life, recipes, photographs, and more on her website. I chose this particular article, about cinnamon rolls, because it is one of her older posts, published on June 1st 2007, and there are TONS of comments on it. In fact, it is ranked as the most popular recipe and the current total of comments is 681. This is perhaps because the her style of writing is inviting and playful and she includes statements like "Go forth and conquer! Yes you can. And report back to me."

The readers, of whom I'm sure there are many more in addition to those who make themselves known by leaving comments, like to give their kudos, ask questions specifying how to make the cinnamon rolls, and share their variations-- one commenter stated that she sprinkled some chopped walnuts on top of her cinnamon rolls. I think this kind of interaction is to be expected on a website where the creator shares intimate stories about her life and who says things like

"One of my favorite things about having this website is hearing from all of you. You tell me about your families and you share with me your hilarious stories, your recipes, your photos, and your life experiences. Your emails make me smile, cry, laugh, scratch my head, crawl under my coffee table, suck my thumb, and weep from deep, uncontrollable laughter. Seriously, folks. Your notes make my day. I read every single email and adore every single word.

That I’m unable to spend the time answering every emails is one of the things I like least about having this website. I want to sit and correspond with each of you, but that would leave zero time in my day to teach my kids school, cook, save my garden from vicious weeds, and of course, take photos and write contributions for this site each day."

How can the reader not feel loved or as though they have a special personal connection with this lady?

Her cinnamon roll post follows the pattern for all the other recipes, where there are many high quality photos that aid in outlining the steps of the recipe. These vivid visuals as well as the Pioneer Woman's descriptions draw the reader right into her kitchen.

Audiance Analysis: Martunlutherking.org

When one first comes into the web site http://martinlutherking.org/, one would think that they are entering a website devoted to the great works of Martin Luther King Jr. Looking at the subtitles, one can see that it is a informative website because it states that the website gives, “A True Historical Examination” of Martin Luther King. Like many of these informative websites, it targets students by giving them facts and details about the subject. Though, the website is low in quality, the titles it presents will causes a student to click it to learn more about King. But, at the bottom of the page, in very small font, it gives the producer of the website. A group named Stormfront. A white-supremacist group. Seemingly like a informative site, as stated before, Stormfront, uses its website address and its relatively specific subtitles to give it more credibility. By not giving away its political position straightaway, the website and its maker will show you that the website is a legitimate website. The intended audience is an unsuspecting public. After reading what they have read, the website’s makers will have fulfilled their goals of putting questions about Martin Luther King in people’s minds. From the advertisement at the bottom of the page, it seems that the website has not been updated for half a year, but going to its sponsors website, it is a forum for the White Supremacist group, where individuals post daily.

Students Protest at Tehran University

The major intended audience for this news article blog is the Iranian Government. This is a relevant article that was published on September 28, 2009. It relates to both religious, political and educational issues happening in Iran.Students are out protesting against the re-election of President Ahmadinejad, there message: "the green movement is ready for uprising."

Besides the government, activists and Iranian's around the the world would be interested in the political demonstrations taking place in the Iranian Republic. Another major target I believe are the leaders of other countries and citizens pertaining to those countries, in particular democratic nations. The point that the author is trying to convey from the students prospective is that they too want to be a more liberal society and move past what the clergy man say as to pertaining to law.

Because the New York Times is publishing this blog, we can assume that they are striving to get the students' message across the globe and give them political support. "The New York Times is one of the most important paper in the US," according to trivialibrary. Therefore, it deserves credibility. Since the beginning, the newspaper has mostly been affiliated as having liberal political views and great news coverage on issues dealing with religion, law, education and cultural matters.

Where in the World are the Olympics going to be?

I chose an article written by Jim Caple, a senior writer for ESPN.com, about how ridiculous the process of selecting cities to host the olympics has become. He argues that the olympics might be better off just staying in the same place each time rather than moving. As a part of ESPN webpage, it is mainly informing sports fans about current issues in the sports world. Sports players and fans alike look at this website regularly. The topic is interesting, and he makes great points, I'm just not sure who he's trying to convince. He uses language and humor to relate to the everyday sports fan. And even uses an informal tone and first person to make it personal. All of this is great and entertaining, but can the normal sports fan really do anything to convince the international committee to stop moving the olympics around? So unless he is actually trying to influence coaches and athletes (though it doesn't sound/feel that way), I think it will be mostly informational. It shows how costly and wasteful the process is.

Audience Analysis

I chose to analyze an article called "How to Be Interesting" on copyblogger.com. This article is by Jonathan Morrow. He is the Associate Editor of copyblogger as well as the co-author of Keyword Research for Bloggers. This article is all about how to "be interesting" with your own blogs. It's basically a source of advice for other bloggers to follow concerning how to be more interesting in their blog posts and how to add more spice to what they have to say to others. It consists of 21 items of guidelines (for example: "make people laugh"). The rhetorical aim of the article is to appeal to other bloggers and to teach them how to craft a better blog--a blog that is considerably well-put together and that will leave readers impressed. Those who would read this are bloggers who wish to become better writers and thinkers. It can also apply to any writer or even speaker. The audience of this piece would view the author as helpful and resourceful. The main point of the article is to provide answers to the question: "How can you be interesting?'". This article is definitely kairotic due to the popularity of blogs on the internet and the sheer amount of bloggers trying to entertain their readers. Additionally, the author uses "we" in his tips, showing that he shares his position on blogging with his intended audience.

What would you blend???

On the website willitblend.blogspot.com, Tom Dickson stars in a youtube series called will it blend? The site was founded in 2007 and is a link off the blend tec website. This attracts people who are looking to buy a blender to this particular site. The potential buyer is then shown all the random things that a blendtec blender can blend. This show how durable they are and how reliable. The target audience for this site is anyone who likes to view cool things. Basically if the company can make you believe that a blendtec blender can blend anything then you will automatically want to buy one.

This site is kairotic for its time because blenders are always useful. People will always want to buy a blender because they can be used for so many of your kitchen needs. Every newly married couple buys a blender. Anyone can run across this website off of youtubge which is another big hit with people of all ages. This is a website that will attract all ages because of the funness of the series.

There's Hope

"There's hope; It doesn't cost a thing to smile; you don't have to pay to laugh. You better thank God for that." I thought of this song by Indie Arie when I looked on the new website from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The website is dedicated specifically to finding hope.

The audience is limitless. It doesn't take much of an argument to convince anyone of the tragic events and circumstances effecting the lives of individuals and families worldwide. Everyone needs hope. This website uses personal experiences through writing and video to connect with viewers. Using pathos for a topic such as hope gives viewers the feelings needed in order to move forward and realize success and joy are possible. Not only do viewers get to read examples of other viewers just like them, but also visualize and hear personal stories through video. Using both sight and hearing in different ways deepens pathos, creating hope.

www.lds.org/topic/hope/

Cake Wreckers

After looking at a couple different sites to analyze, I decided to go with the "cake wreckers" one. Although the other ones were somewhat interesting, I was instantly laughing when I looked at the cake wreckers blog. The author obviously has a great sense of humor. In order for her humor to be effective, though, her readers need to either share her same sense of humor or have one that is similar in order to appreciate this text. The blog, I believe, is meant for women, from late teens on. This is evident from the pictures on the site, from the author's book signings. There are lots of women who participate in her cake wrecking competitions.

The author obviously shares a more intimate relationship with her readers, than say, J.K. Rowling does with her readers. I think the reason for this is simply that J.K. Rowling has millions of readers all over the world, while the author of the cakes site is based in basically just the US, more just in Maine. She has only done one book signing so far, while I'm sure Rowling has done hundreds, if not thousands by this time. From this text, you can tell that the author knows her audience well and is directing her writing to a more specific group. Rather than trying to conform to what she believes an audience wants, she freely shares her thoughts and has the readers come to her.