Social Semiotics What, Who, and Why? Discovered by Ferdinand de Saussure, social semiotics is the exploration and discovery the ways humans attach meaning to specific social practices and systems. Semiotic methodology identifies the meaning represented in messages with and without a language aspect, including signs, symbols, sculptures, art/imagery, messages, many more communicative forms (Mingers and Willcocks, 2017). Semiotics aim to look deeper than language, interpreting meaning beyond it. This type of understanding is important to the interpretation of human insights. Cultural and societal context is expressed through gestures, actions, and imagery and differs across the globe. Visuals are impactful on societies, students, audiences and can be used to help in learning, advertising, and propaganda. The Rules There are rules that apply to this methodology. There are two parts to a sign: signifier and signified . The signifier is the physical representation prese...
Online arguments can be messy and downright cruel in certain situations. It is very easy to start rattling off words without thinking of the people on the other side of the screen. A good example of this is a debate that went down on a People.com Instagram post regarding the basketball phenom, Caitlin Clark. A mild debate broke out after a controversial encounter occurred between the player and a reporter. After certain hand gestures and words were used, many viewers and professionals were off put. The reporter received much backlash from the public and was punished by his employers. I chose this argument as I’ve seen many similar argumentative tactics in my own personal social media usage. I think it is very common for online arguments to present this way which makes it a great example. As for the online debate, words used were also quite controversial between users. I will insert images of a couple different threads under the People.com post. Another thread stated… ...