Friday 6 September 2013

Musical Diary ( Week 6 - Genre)


Unlike other social media platforms, Soundcloud is a unique platform that focuses on users creating music and sharing it to the world. Each user's motive for using Soundcloud may differ. However, I use sound cloud as a form of  personal blogging to share my songs, all of which tell a different story at different stages in my life. The online setting gives the reader and writer a sense of doing something different with the diary instead of keeping it on paper (McNeill, 2001).

Rather than adopting the common genre of a paper diary, Soundcloud allows the user to utilize their creativity and to share their feelings and stories through music rather than text, which cannot be easily achieved offline. This concept is similar to Instagram, where people share photos of their daily life in the form of a online photographic diary. 'Street cred' is an important aspect of Soundcloud that every user wants to achieve. The more views, likes and comments a user receives for their song, the more popular they become online and the more credibility they will achieve. For example, if my channel receives a high number of likes for every song I upload, other users will be more inclined to follow my channel as it increases in popularity, ultimately leading to my story being heard by a wider and larger audience over time.  

As a result of the online movement, traditional genres such as essays and diaries have progressed to online formats, such as blogs, to more recent and innovative forms, such as video blogging, musical blogging and photo blogging, ultimately allowing the user to express oneself using mediums that are more favourable and relevant to the online generation.








References:

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.

Image retrieved from : http://wide-wallpapers.net/love-words-and-earphones-wide-wallpaper/

3 comments:

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  2. A very concise and relevant blog post - thankyou. According to Ariella Van Luyn (2013), "Genre is when texts or cultural products (music, writing, drama, art) are grouped into classes based on similarities and shared conventions." It's interesting that within soundcloud, there are multiple genres of music and sound within the genre of 'musical blogging' that you refer to. I wonder where we can draw the line as to what constitutes musical blogging (such as a song you wrote) and what doesn't (recordings of birdsounds, for example?)... It might be a nice idea to add a link to your soundcloud page - I believe there are marks reserved for including links. :)
    All the best,
    Tamlyn Magee

    Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 6 notes. [Powerpoint slide]. Retrieved from http://flashstream1.jcu.edu.au/camrelay/Ariella%20van%20Luyn/BA1002%20Week%206%20Genre%206.1/BA1002_Week_6_Genre_6.1_-_iPad_-_20130902_10.43.47AM.mp4

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  3. Thanks for sharing – its insightful information for a great site for being able to share your music, and having a place for artist to interact and connect with other artist. Soundcloud web page is easy to navigate and having the music set out in different classifications, makes it simple to follow. I like the way you compared sharing your music to telling a story of your life. When you hear different songs played, it does take you back to certain memories throughout your life. I noticed the audio on SoundCloud is unaltered and highly detailed, which gives a pleasant listening experience. According to Arielle Van Luyn (2013), “Genre is a way of expressing yourself through cultural products” and consist of style and form. It does not just apply to text or novels, genre is a pre-condition for communication, which includes music and the arts. Thank you for introducing me to Soundcloud.

    Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space, Networks, narratives and making of place [video podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.edu.au

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