Abstract
ABSTRACT To compete for attention in today's online environment, webtexts must appeal not only to human audiences, but also to the search engines that rank them via a results page, driving traffic their way (or not). This article investigates the rhetorical dynamics of this fundamental dimension of contemporary online discourse, viewing search engines as a pivotal nexus between scholarly conversations regarding algorithmic rhetoric and attention management. Specifically, it positions the algorithm as an audience, one webtexts invoke via subtextual signals meant to elude human notice. It is animated by Charles E. Morris's formulation of the fourth persona, drawing on his framework to delineate a technologically oriented persona 4.0. In doing so, this paper broadens rhetoric's long-standing repertoire of constructs pertaining to persona to include algorithmic address. It then takes web searches for “public speaking,” and the top-ranking page by the motivational speaker Brian Tracy, as a site through which to explore the dynamics of persona 4.0, thereby also highlighting some of the disciplinary stakes.
Published Version
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