Capstones

Today, the age group referred to as “Generation Z” takes the lead in creating or redefining words and phrases to communicate on social media platforms. This is an example of how generational linguistic trends occur. Because of this, online conversations are different from face-to-face conversations. This project analyzes the current slang spoken by members of the age group Generation Z (individuals born between the years 1997-2012) on the social media platform Tiktok. Slang was analyzed from the comments, captions, and videos of six companies and then added to a survey, which asks the participant to define the term, why they use it, and whether or not they are more likely to engage with others who use slang. This project is meant to reveal the social effects of slang within the Generation Z community online and whether companies targeting this audience are able to have efficient connections if they follow their language. In addition to the survey, my project deliverable of a “dictionary & guide” can prove the need for companies to use current language for their social media presence.

This project combines two of my favorite things: books and the rhetoric of understanding why we think the things we do. In this case, why/how do celebrities have an effect on us, particularly in the realm of book sales for book-to-film adaptations? The use of celebrities in advertising and marketing has existed since the late 19th century. But now, in the age of the internet and social media, celebrity endorsements are no longer just endorsements, but a fusion of the values, ethics, and public image of the product with those of the celebrity. Part of this analysis of celebrity takes into account that some celebrities appear to be more approachable. This can be thought of celebrities who seem like “normal” people with “weird” or “crazy” jobs. This view shifts celebrities off a pedestal and into a place of relatability.

The connection between celebrity relatability and product is important to this project in that current research suggests a strong correlation between big-name celebrities and big box-office numbers, but there is limited research on the correlation between such celebrity involvement in book-to-film adaptations and the book’s promotional response to its newfound celebrity connection. In looking at book sale trends and celebrity involvement in book-to-film adaptations, we can see just how celebrity status affects related projects such as the sales of that original source material for such adaptations.

As a content creator and freelance social media manager who is trying to grow my client base, I’ve noticed two things about entrepreneurship: there’s a lot about starting a business that you don’t learn in school and in order to find freelance work, you have to know how to network. In order to learn more about how to run a business and how to network, I started a podcast where I interviewed successful entrepreneurs about their journey and advice for college students. This podcast provides insight for young professionals on the new and upcoming career path of the 21st century freelancer/business owner. My professional writing and rhetoric classes and experiences prepared me to undertake the many moving parts of this project, such conducting research on GenZ entrepreneurs, navigating podcast technologies I’d never worked with before, coordinating interviews with entrepreneurs and asking effective questions, and editing the final podcast episodes.

For each episode, I researched a successful entrepreneur I could reach out to. Three of them were past Elon alum and one was an entrepreneur and professor who had connected with me through my personal brand, Angela Anne, on Instagram. All four of the entrepreneurs had different areas of expertise, so I tailored my interview questions to each entrepreneur as well as used information from interviews I conducted with six GenZ entrepreneurs about their current professional struggles to inform podcast interview questions.

One key finding from the podcast episodes was that everyone’s entrepreneurial journey is different. No two interviewees had similar stories, but there were three underlying details of all four podcasts: a passion for what they were doing, good networking, and audience analysis skills. Through the process of creating the podcast, I also discovered how transferable my video editing skills were, which draws back to a key principle from PWR classes that with a good rhetorical basis and ideas on how to approach new technologies, you can undergo new projects with more ease.

This project focuses on a question that pertains to a number of different aspiring professional editors: how can I support the development of writers while I am editing their writing? This might seem like a surface-level question, but professional editors need to rely heavily on their own skills but also have to understand the importance of working with others and working through different development stages with their writers. It is glaringly obvious that editing involves checking for spelling, grammar, syntax, etc. However, editing is much more complex than only using style guidelines and checking for accuracy. Editing, and developmental editing specifically, is an effective way to help writers polish and refine their works through collaboration. Developmental editing is defined as a form of support and an ongoing process before and during the creation of different texts. Any professional writer needs to rely on developmental editing and collaboration so that they can grow in their skill set by learning from more qualified professionals. I decided that a website would benefit writers and their need for editing since it can include a number of different mediums and text that will support them. Professional writing and rhetoric focuses heavily on the use of digital and multimedia rhetoric and how it supports the communication of ideas, which I felt the purpose of my website could serve.