Blog One: The Chronicles of a Blogger

By Nykita Paroz

Image from: http://associatesmind.com/2011/03/08/what-happens-to-your-traffic-when-you-stop-blogging-for-two-months/

Our inner thoughts and secrets were once safely imprinted on the pages of our paper bound diaries, but now are published and shared for our family’s friends, neighbours to see, like and comment on. It is here old fashion journal writing and new age technology gives rise to a new ‘genre’ (McNeil, 2012) known as blogging.

Genre as we understand from Ariella Van Luyn’s lecture, are shared conventions of cultural products that can help create or influence identity. With this in mind and understanding blogs as a form of self-narrative we can analyse similar formats like status updates, as a new form of genre. Though blogging is not as revolutionary in today’s technologically advanced society, the concept of social networks as a genre, as discussed and how our participation can influence how we experience community identity and self; does raise an interesting discussion. To investigate these questions further I have chosen the virtual network of Facebook., the format of Facebook has always invited its users to share “What’s on your mind”, thus allowing users to post about their daily experiences, opinions or interests. Rahul964 on ShoutMELoud has detailed the advantages of Facebook posts to assist with forming a community identity with compatible individuals within a “discourse community” (VanLuyn, 2015, slide 11).

Social networks such as Facebook are continuously encouraging people to actively engage with their surrounding community or network through building an identity that is foregrounded through status updates and posts. It allows us to explore with greater depth our own ideas amongst a like minded and sometimes opposing environment.

References

McNeil, L. (2012) Diary 2.0: A genre Moves from Page to Screen. [class readings] Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Rahul964, (2015). What are the Advantags and Disadvantages of facebook. Retrieved 10 August, 2015 from http://www.shoutmeloud.com/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-facebook.html

VanLuyn, A. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 3: Genre and Transformation [PowerPoint slides] Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Image

Lee, K. (2011). Associate’s Mind. Retrieved from http://associatesmind.com/2011/03/08/what-happens-to-your-traffic-when-you-stop-blogging-for-two-months/