Read and analyze “The Amorality of Web 2.0” by Nicholas Carr in the New Media reader (33–38). As you read, evaluate the effectiveness of his argument, noting strengths and weaknesses. After considering the argument as a whole, analyze the following passages. Write one paragraph (6–8 sentences) for each of the excerpts, analyzing the rhetorical moves Carr makes. In what ways do these moves help to build his argument (or not)? In what ways do these moves create ethical, emotional, or logical appeals? You will receive the full 10 points for this assignment after you have submitted a paragraph in response to each excerpt. Be sure to read the feedback after you’ve completed your essays to check your answers.
1.
Excerpt 1: “But as the Web matured during the late 1990s, the dreams of a digital awakening went unfilled. The Net turned out to be more about commerce than consciousness, more a mall than a commune. And when the new millennium arrived, it brought not a new age but a dispiritingly commonplace popping of a bubble of earthly greed. Somewhere along the way, the moneychangers had taken over the temple. The Internet had transformed many things, but it had not transformed us. We were the same as ever” (33).
2.
Excerpt 2: In response to Wikipedia’s biography of Bill Gates, Carr writes, “Excuse me for stating the obvious, but this is garbage, an incoherent hodge-podge of dubious factoids . . . that adds up to something far less than the sum of its parts” (36).
3.
Excerpt 3: “I’m all for blogs and blogging. (I’m writing this, ain’t I?) But I’m not blind to the limitations and the flaws of the blogosphere—its superficiality, its emphasis on opinion over reporting, its echolalia, its tendency to reinforce rather than challenge ideological extremism and segregation” (37).
