Friday 6 September 2013

Online Diaries


 
When we think of Genre, often our first thoughts are to a type of Music such as Hip Hop, Country, Rock, or to a type of writing such as essay, or annotated bibliography but have we ever given much thought as to what constitutes “Genre”? Van Luyn (2013) discusses genre as “cultural products grouped into classes based on similarities and shared conventions” and is extremely important as it “actively generates and shapes our knowledge of the world”.  
The Diary genre has been around for centuries, originating in print format and associated with the “intensely personal and confessional” (McNeil, 2011, p.314). However with the changing times, there has been a shift to virtual formats with individuals choosing to share their experiences, thoughts and opinions with the world rather than under lock and key. As McNeil (2011) states, “Internet diaries (also known as blogs) give access to lives in progress to a potential audience of thousands” (p.313).

Facebook has become one of the most common online places to share experiences, thoughts and opinions; it itself has become a form of online diary. This has both negative and positive consequences. The positives being that connections between people can be strengthened through sharing of similar experiences, interests, opinions and a multitude of other things. There are however, many negatives to using Facebook as a diary. As discussed on a RaisingTeens blog, there are many potentially harmful effects of writing, in particular, feelings online for the entire world to see.  These expressions can lead to bullying, breakdown of relationships, depression and many other things.  

This leads us to the question, should  the “Diary” genre be kept in print form and under lock and key? Or has the online diaries positives outweigh the negatives?
 
References
McNeil, 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.
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 6              Notes (PowerPoint). Retrieved: http://learnjcu.edu.au
Image
Me on the Web (Image). 2011. Retrieved from: http://technorati.com/social-media/article/me-on-the-web-on-your/
 
 

3 comments:

  1. Your question is indeed relevent to the rapid change in the development of the diary from a private journal of an individual to a form in which the person displays their emotions to a vast number of readers. As Rowe & Wyss (p231) wrote "using hypertext diarists create links between relevent entries,allowing readers to put events in context and divine the entire story without the diarist having to explain". The individual must be very careful in not only what they write in their post but in any links they place within their post.Do you really want others to have access who may not really know you and indeed know the full context of your thoughts. Reference : Rowe, C, & Wyss, E. 2011. Language and New Media: Linguistic, Cultural and Technological Evolutions. Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ.

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    Replies
    1. You raise a good point there David about strangers having access to personal information. The open sharing of thoughts and feelings, and the ability to voice them to an audience of potentially thousands could lead to many negative situations. As Mikalya mentioned, bullying, harassment or even stalking could lead to isolation, depression and anxiety. Before posting anything online one must really ask themselves if they want strangers to know this about them.

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  2. Hi Mikayla,

    When reading your blog post for this week, I was very interested in how you mentioned genre and the way you had linked it to this week’s readings and lecture notes. The most subsequent part of your blog that really stood out was how you mentioned genre through your social network, Facebook. I am a user of Facebook myself, and would never have thought that what I post or comment on could become a part of an “online diary”. The question you raise, “should the ‘diary’ genre be kept in print form and under lock and key? Or has the online diaries positives outweigh the negatives?” had me thinking about what McNeill (2011) had said in this weeks reading, that internet diaries (also known as blogs) give access to lives in progress to a potential audience of thousands”. As I am already familiar with how Facebook works as a social, networking site I can now see that many would consider it an online diary or journal. I look forward to seeing how you criticize next week’s readings and lecture content in regards your social networking site, Facebook.

    Reference List:
    McNeill, L. (2011). Diary 2.0?: A genre moves from page to screen. In Language and New Media. (C.Rowe & E.L Wyss, Ed.). Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press Inc.

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