PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

104“It's just that every time I tried to compose a new email, I kept asking myself if it wasreally interesting enough to impose on people's inboxes. Now, I don't have to impose athing and people can check in on me as they see fit. A perfect solution.” 176The webjournaling format allows volunteers to write about their lives and then readers are able todecide whether or not they would like to be updated. There are other motivations forcreating blogs as well.Volunteers create blogs as a way to directly target potential volunteers. Thesevolunteers explicitly state their desire to educate others about service. Andrea, avolunteer in Botswana, wrote thatIf you are thinking about joining the Peace Corps and have stumbled across thisblog, know one thing: I am writing this for you. I will make all those who readthis a promise right now. I swear to be as perfectly honest as there is such a thingin my writings, and to share as much as I can about my experience as a PeaceCorps volunteer and life in Africa; I hope that this will be a valuable tool for youif you are trying to decide whether or not Peace Corps is the right path for yourlife. 177Andrea’s perspective on blogging is not a new one; however, in the past, there was noeasy way to allow potential volunteers into the intimate lives of current or formervolunteers during their service. Blogs allow a relationship that was not available toprevious volunteers, as the official web site and brochures were the available means forlearning about the organization.Because blogs are still a relatively new means of communication, manyvolunteers are not aware of them until they begin searching on the internet for