Lines of Communication
Image 1 retrieved from: http://savgrr.com/facebook.jpg
Facebook is very specific in the conventions and form of self-narratives
they allow their members to employ. Aspects of an individual are broken down
into text boxes and have a limited number of characters. However, the online
profile is reminiscent of the traditional diary form. The reader of a profile
is always presented with the most recent and immediate happenings of that
individual’s life. Additionally, the writer uses first person, emotive language
and dialogue that are context specific (McNeill, 2011). Unlike traditional
diaries, Facebook encourages the
reader to interact with the writer and influence the ‘diary entry’. This
appropriation of the traditional form exhibits how particular genres are
dynamic and thus, allow the development of a new age narrative (Van Luyn, 2013).
Although the network does alter the
characteristics of the diary form, language used throughout the network remains
generic to the text type. For communication to occur within the network,
members must be privy to the language used with the genre. Facebook has developed a new language that is often represented via
acronyms (think: laugh out loud; lol or next in line; nil). Network specific
language creates community identity and empowers members on the site because
they are able to communicate and express themselves according to the
conventions of Facebook. Also, this
type of expression becomes the expected and appropriate way to interact within
the network. This, in turn, illustrates the power of Facebook over members, as it clearly dictates how members are
supposed to interact within the online community.
It can be seen that Facebook, although borrowing text characteristics from the
traditional diary form, has created its own conventions for language use and
expression for its community members.
References:
McNeill, L. (2011). Diary 2.0?: A genre moves from page to screen,
in Rowe, C. & Wyss, E.L (Eds.) Language
and New Media: Linguistic, cultural and technological evolutions (pp.
313-325). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
Savagar, (2009). Facebook. Image retrieved from: http://savgrr.com/2009.html
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Week 6, Genre [Lecture Slides].
Retrieved From: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_312_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_42849_1%26url%3D
Hey Gabriella! I think that you've pointed out some interesting points about how Facebook has its' 'own' language or how Facebook has personalised the language. What is a Genre? A genre is also a way of expressing yourself through cultural products and consists of Style & Form (Van Luyn, 2013). The virtual world keep on changing/developing the 'genre' and people enjoys it. Language becomes less complex and attracts the new generation but in a completely different way i.e. youngsters are more interested in humour, interpretations and drama and all the concepts of 'LOL' or 'LMAO' forms part of their daily life. This might result in a loss of grammar when it comes to write but through illustrations or acronyms, we tend to enjoy language and communication differently.
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriella,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed some of the concepts that you put forward in this blog, that Facebook follows the genre of the diary in its earliest form, used to tell the story of your travels and experiences to other that weren't present at the time but in a new 'language'.
As Mcniell said in Diary 2.0 "The version of the diary that the Web situation creates, might well not be quite and evolution, but perhaps and re-evolution" - how we use these network specific abbreviation such as LOL and NIL shows how the genre of the social network has shaped the way we write our stories but not why they are written.
References
Mcneill L. (2011) Diary 2.0? A Genre Moves from Page to Screen. In Language and New Media: Linguistic, Cultural, and Technological Evolutions Rowe C. and Wyss E. p. 313 - 323 - University of British Columbia. Hampton Press