Identifying and Analyzing Genres - Report Example

Identifying and Analyzing Genres Dirk writes that to understand a joke about country music, one musthave a little knowledge about country music (249). By giving an example of country music, Dirk aims to explain how specific genres have certain distinctive features, in terms of rhetoric and composition, which are aimed towards their audiences. The presence of unique features allows the various genres to be recognized from one another. The tone and development of the writing are two elements that differ across various genres. Generally, genres may have particular conventions that are specific to them, which include format, language, length, and so on. In this essay I will identify and analyze specific conventions of Twitter and blogs by examining their content on the subject of basketball. To do this, I have chosen two Twitter accounts, namely Nike Basketball and LeBron James, along with two basketball blogs from SB Nation and NBA. The most striking difference between a blog and a Twitter message is the length. Twitter only allows its messages to be a total of 140 characters in length, including all punctuations and spaces. This property has greatly impacted the way Twitter messages are framed in order to communicate their meaning with the least possible character length. As a convention, thus, Twitter messages are short, precise, and may not contain petty details that may take up too much space. Also, the presence of Twitter’s internal messaging system of replies, mentions, direct messages, and re-tweets, is a fact to consider when addressing the format of Twitter messages. Twitter messages may contain certain links prefixed by the ‘@’ character and followed by a username, which indicates that another user is being addressed in the message. The main difference between a mention and a reply is the relative positioning of the ‘@’ sign and username. In contrast, a blog pretty much follows a similar format as that of an article but is laid out in a manner that the reader is attracted by the heading to read further contents. The headline text is usually larger and bolded to make it more prominent. The headline may be followed by a sub-head text and navigation item. Next comes, the body of the blog which is followed by a byline text. Most bloggers attempt to make a snappy headline so that readers are tempted to head towards the main story of the blog. The body contains thematically arranged paragraphs that are composed to suit its audience. So, format is an essential element and different genres follow their own specific formatting conventions. Grammar is another element which differs across various genres and is influenced by factors such as platform, subject, and so on. In case of twitter, the character limitation really sets the users for efficient space usage. Many users use internet short hands on Twitter in order to make space for more detail. Blogs, however, are more formal in nature and make use of proper English grammar and syntax so as to appeal to its readers. One of the tweets from LeBron James on 4th of July goes, “And always from me to our Men and Women troops. SALUTE and THANK U!! #UnitedWeStand #RedWhiteBlue #USA #StriveForGreatness” (n.pag.). It can be noticed that U has been used to mean ‘you’. This is followed by various links without spaces prefixed by the ‘#’ sign. On Twitter, these are called hashtags which refers to #-prefixed short links that can generate similar tweets with the same hashtag via search. Seldom do blogs use internet short hands and instead use proper English language because they are intended to deliver its own objectives. The title from an SB Nation blog reads, “LeBron James other suitors have a lot to offer” demonstrating proper use of grammar and spellings (Prada, n.pag.). Language is another related element that pretty much goes hand in hand with grammar. Twitter being a popular micro-blogging social network having millions of users, has evolved a language of its own which includes platform-oriented terms such as RT (re-tweet), DM (direct message), @ reply, mention, trending topic, favorite, and so on. Blogs, unless dealing with a topic revolving around Twitter, will use standard English language, along with subject-specific terms that are meant to be for the targeted audiences. The language is the most important component of the blog genre where it forms the main textual element engendering the appeals and rhetoric. Most blogs use an engaging language that is sure to hold on the attention of the reader. Blogs are usually moderately long so that the reader is not bored or moves on to another link. On Twitter, the language may be more informal and conversational due to the social nature of the platform. However, Nike Basketball is likely to be relatively formalistic than a personal account owned by LeBron James. This is because Nike Basketball is a representative of the company and therefore it is more appropriate for it to stay professional. Blog may also be conversation but this largely depends on the nature and subject type of the blog. For example a sports-related blog, in this case basketball, may adopt a more casual tone as opposed to a tutorial focused on teaching Java. Twitter and Blogs are one of the most popular forms of computer-mediated communications occurring in the cyberspace. The two genres each have their own conventions that aim to engender certain meanings to its audiences thereby carrying out their functioned objectives. The way these genres shape the meaning of the texts is by means of these conventions such as grammar, language, format, etc. A casual language on Twitter suggests a sense of social connection between the user and his followers, the audiences. On a blog a rather persuasive or rhetorical tone is meant to enlighten its readers regarding news and updates, which are likely to be read by interested fans or readers. So, a blog and Twitter may a few commonalities in terms of tone however the length, development, and grammar may differ significantly. Twitter is generally used as a micro-blogging site which is used for sharing short, quick, and precise news, updates, and messages however a blog may touch upon more details of news. The NBA article by Sekou Smith regarding LeBron shares a lot more information than that shared by a Twitter message (n.pag.). Both Blogs and Twitter now use interactive media such as images and videos so as to appear more interesting. The writing conventions of blogs and Twitter make a distinction between the two genres and act as communication tools for writers to craft an effective piece. A writer employs the conventions in order to make the desired impact on the audiences. Different messages are likely to be interpreted in different ways. Twitter followers form the bulk of the audiences with someone trying to use the Twitter genre. A short message with a conversational language on Twitter fulfills its purpose of informing the followers of activities being shared. For example, A tweet by Nike Basketball goes, “When it comes to #THEBADD35T, there’s no debate. It’s Kevin Durant”. This Twitter message is meant to be a promotional message mentioning the Nike brand identity, #THEBADD35T, along with an endorsement video featuring Kevin Durant. This message will indeed fulfill its purpose of disseminating information to basketball enthusiasts who are looking for basketball related news or any news relating to Kevin Durant. Therefore, conventions related to genres help shape content that is intended towards specific audiences. Works Cited Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spaces 1 (2010): 249. Print. James, LeBron (KingJames). “And always from me to our Men and Women troops. SALUTE and THANK U!! #UnitedWeStand #RedWhiteBlue #USA #StriveForGreatness.” 4th July 2014, 3:41 a.m. Tweet. Nike Basketball (nikebasketball). “When it comes to #THEBADD35T, there’s no debate. It’s Kevin Durant.” 26 June 2014, 5:04 p.m. Tweet. Prada, Mike. Lebron James Other Suitors Have A Lot To Offer. SBNation.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 4 Jul. 2014. Smith, Sekou. Hang Time Blog With Sekou Smith. NBA.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 4 Jul. 2014. Read More