Gladwell And Baron: Theoretical Analysis

When it comes to the topic of social media, many will vilify Twitter and Facebook. This is true of authors Gladwell and Baron. Whereas Gladwell states that social media is not the adequate tool to organize social or political activism, Baron maintains that even without social media available, people will continue to fight for what they believe in.
One way that each other tries to persuade the readers is through logos. Gladwell begins talking about the sit-ins that happened in Greensboro in 1960 and continues giving other examples of activism. On the other hand Baron uses less evidence but incorporates pathos to communicate his thought to the audience. However, it evident that they both discount social networking as the innovator of great social
The author starts describing in detail the Greensboro sit-ins underlying how this protest gathered thousands of students “without [using] email, texting, Facebook, or Twitter” (Gladwell, 2010). He emphasizes the fact that this type of activism, known as high-risk activism, originates thanks to the strong ties between protestants. Therefore he belittles the principles of social media as they “are built around weak ties” (Gladwell, 2010). He then argues that activism succeeds when it works through a hierarchical organization, with “centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority” (Gladwell, 2010). Facebook and Twitter are devices that build networks, which do not have a central authority and so decisions are constructed around consensus within the people belonging to the group. Gladwell applies the principles of logos throughout the whole article, and provides various examples to reinforce his
He efficiently depicts his argument using considerate diction and eloquence. Thanks to his knowledge and experience, he is able to convey his ideas through the writing style and language, as well as through the outline of the article in which he builds his statement. In fact, by the way of portraying examples and highlighting a fact that follows the example itself, Gladwell improve his credibility. Altogether, it builds his ethos and develops trust in the readers and makes them more inclined to agree with his argument. He employs effective word choice that can