TOW #7: "Slaves of the Internet, Unite!" by Tim Kreider

Ever since the arrival of the Internet into the world of media, consumers have assigned a lower value to everything from articles to films to artwork. While the audience might not grasp the problem, content creators like Tim Kreider are finding it very difficult to accept this. In his article titled, “Slaves of the Internet, Unite!”, Kreider writes to Internet users, and specifically those who request content like speeches or illustrations for free, and argues why this is not fair to the artists. Noticing a trend among those outraged with this new standard, he addresses young artists who he believes are more accepting of the fact that they will probably not receive compensation for their published work. Kreider, who has been a writer for 20 years, exemplifies his skill through the use of an assortment of rhetorical devices and strategies. Notably, Kreider employed an anecdote as a hook. In this opening paragraph, he recounts a recent time in which he received three requests to create something for no money. This introduces the subject of the article, and appeals to ethos by showing he has firsthand experience with the problem. In the next lines of the paragraph, Kreider also hints at his purpose by writing, “As with stinkbugs, it’s not any one instance of this request but their sheer number and relentlessness that make them so tiresome. It also makes composing a polite response a heroic exercise in restraint.” Kreider uses an indirect statement to show his negative feelings towards the topic, as well as an analogy to stinkbugs, which generally have a bad reputation amongst people and therefore evoke negative feelings towards these penniless inquiries. In fact, this strategy is used a number of times throughout the article, and really helps to make the article more interesting.

            Seeing as this was published in the New York Times, Kreider’s argument directly applies to many of his readers, who could be on either side of the situation. Given his effective use of rhetorical devices paired with clear and logical arguments, Kreider did achieve his purpose.

One of the pictures accompanying Kreider's article