Investigating Genres

One of the best parts of receiving a higher education in the 21st century is having access to so much technology and media that I can use to aid my studies. Now for the first time in my college experience, I get to produce a good amount of work using that same tech I so love to use in studying. I think these "new media" genres will be exciting and effective ways of producing projects. For example, let's look a little more closely at the podcast, shall we?

Breitenbach, Patrick. "My Podcast Set I" 8/8/2008 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License. 

1. Podcasts serve to communicate information in a way similar to a news program or even a public presentation, but using only audio.  This genre seems to be a much less formal way of communication - the speaker can speak as if they are having a normal conversation with a live person, and the audience only has to listen intstead of devoting all of their attention to reading or studying the material.


2. Podcasts are easily found on the Internet or through recommendation from friends. While podcasts aren't typically advertised all over the place, they exist in plenty on sites like iTunes, SoundCloud, YouTube, and others. The context for finding a podcast could be anything from a Google search on a topic of interest to stumbling upon it accidentally, but it would usually require use of the Internet.

3. Speaking of the Internet, this is where you'd find a podcast's typical audience member. But because topics could vary so drastically, so could the audiences. You likely wouldn't find many teenage girls listening to a podcast about theoretical physics, but they may be listening to one about celebrity gossip. As long as a person has a good Internet connection and some working headphones, he/she could probably find a podcast of interest and become part of the genre's audience.


4. Major conventions of this genre are conversational speech and voice. Many podcasts (especially those not being turned in for an English grade) employ colloquial terms and do not speak in a completely formal manner since the author is speaking out loud. In addition, rhetorical techniques like irony and sarcasm are much clearer since the speaker’s tone is audible.


5. Essentially, the podcast is a genre in which speakers have freedom to speak naturally and discuss a lot of information in a short amount of time – ideal for an audience who likes to learn from spoken word.


Reflection:
Rigo Avila's post about QRGs: After reading this post, I feel a bit better about the Quick Reference Guide genre. This was the most unfamiliar to me - I've encountered podcasts and video essays before, but a QRG sounded a little scary. I've realized, thanks to Rigo's post, that maybe I actually have encountered a QRG and I just didn't know it. Since the main takeaway is that it's just a large amount of information in a condensed format, it seems a bit more manageable and less like a monstrous feat to overcome in the class. The examples he listed will be of use when I have to sit down and make one myself.
Zane Preudhomme's post about podcasts: It's always good to compare what someone else said about the same topic, which is what led me to comment on Zane's blog. He mentioned an important point I neglected: Podcasts often have multiple speakers. This allows room for multiple opinions, and for listeners to hear what the conversation is really like. It's also interesting just to see what his research led him to understand about the genre that differed from my understanding. I think that's a really neat thing about the public writing aspect of this course. Through each other we can all gain a better understanding of what is expected of us, and how to succeed in this course. Cheers to the blog!