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| Figure 1. Kindness in Animals.(imgur 2013) |
Genre is the expression of yourself
through a product, which in turn can have either “Standard” or “flexible and
creative” generic terms. (Van Luyn, 2013). Imgur captures both these qualities;
inherently in it’s design. The social network expresses itself through image
sharing. Images that gain popularity are “upvoted” there by making them appear
at the top of the page, which causes them to be seen more easily by more people
which further compounds into more upvotes.
As well as the ability to vote for
popular images, imgur allows users to make comments, which can again be up
voted based on popularity, this adds another dimension to the community, in an
inception styled manner: up voting comments in an up voted image.
Imgur allows the audience to
pinpoint areas of common ground or interest (McNeill, 2011, p. 320).
Effectively creating subcultures and niches in the website, with their own
culture and inside jokes. This creates social relationships between strangers
who would never meet in the real world due to living in different countries,
states, ect. And creates a virtual space which is geographically independent,
of their physical location.
In
conclusion, imgur provides a virtual environment where anonymous people
interact with one another sharing humorous images and pop culture references.
Creating social relationships, that in past times would never be possible. Imgur’s
genre is undefinable, as it is incredibly diverse and is constantly changing as
the images produced and shared on the website reflect the fluid and ever
changing states of modern day culture.
Reference List
McNeill, L. (2011). Dairy 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.313-3325).
Creskill, NJ: Hampton.
Van Luyn, A. (2013) BA1002:
Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture Six: Genre (Power
Point Slides), Retrieved from http:learnjcu.edu.au
Hi Jimmy,
ReplyDeleteWhat I experienced in the Google+ network supports your notion, that social relationship ‘grows from common interest’, and it certainly does create a small world feel. Back in my high school days, growing up in a country town, we felt isolated from different culture, beliefs and expression. We were limited to what we could find on the shelves of the library (using a catalogue drawer) and what the one television station offered up (plenty of Fawlty Towers and The Goodies reruns). You can imagine how empowering it feels to my generation to bridge the distance. We now have access to a great deal more mediums which allow us to explore so many perspectives. An earlier reading aptly stated, “It takes many different eyes to see it all, and many different maps to show it. That this is a strength, not a weakness.”
Your sense of humour is evident in the images you have used; you may even enjoy some of the timeless comedy I grew up with! I have enjoyed your blogs.
Wood, W., Kaiser, W. L. & Abramms, B. (2006). The multiple truths of the mappable world. In seeing through maps: Many ways to see the world. (pp. 1-12). Oxford, UK: New Internationalist.