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HaileyConston
KyllikkiRytov
ENC2135
9/22/15
GenresWithinPrivateFacebookGroups
GenresarenotsomethingIhadthoughtdeeplyaboutbeforetakingthisclass.As
Ihavecometofindout,itisvitalformetounderstandtheterm.Tome,genreisaway
tocategorizeallworksintodifferent,smallersubcategories.Therequirementsfora
pieceofwritingtofitintoagenreareloosetoanextentandcanbeinterpretedinmany
differentways.Therecanbegenresofmusic,art,writingandliterature,anddigital
communities.Inthispiece,wewilltakeadeeperlookintooneofthemanysocialmedia
websites,Facebook,andmorespecifically,agroupthatIbelongtowithinFacebook.
IwasrecentlyofferedabidtojointhesororityAlphaOmicronPi(AOII)hereat
FloridaStateUniversity.OnceIacceptedthebid,IwasaddedtothegroupsFacebook
pageinordertobeinformedofalloftheeventsgoingonwithinthesorority.As
explainedinimage1,FacebookgroupsdifferfromFacebookpagesinthatanyonecan
followorseepostsonapage.Groupsareusuallyprivateandyoumustbeaddedby
anothermembertoseepostswithinthatgroupandparticipate.Thereareabout280
membersintheAlphaPichapterofAOIIso,withoutawayforeveryoneto
communicate,nothingwouldgetdoneinanefficientmanner.ThisFacebookgroupis
vitalinorderforthesisterhoodtoremainunited.Withinthegroup,therearedifferent


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genresthatmembersusetocommunicate.Inthisanalysis,wewillbefocusingonfive
ofthem:regularpostssentouttoeverymember,smallgroupdirectmessages,replying
orlikinganothermemberspost,postingpictures,andconductingpollsorsurveysto
obtainthemajoritypointofview.Iinterviewedafellowmemberofthegroup,EmmaS.,
toreceiveanotheropiniononthegenresresearchedandtheFacebookgroupasa
whole.
Regularpostssentouttoeverybodycanbefordifferentreasons.Whenasked,
EmmasaidthatpeopleposttoclarifyquestionsaboutupcomingeventsOne
exampleofthisisprovidinginformationaboutupcomingeventsmembersofthesorority
maybeinvolvedin.Thisgenreisusedonadailybasis,and,asanexample,thispast
Sunday,therewereAOIItryoutsforapanhellenicwideeventcalledCheersfor
Children.MemberspostedontheFacebookpagewithquestionsabouttryoutsand
someposted,offeringridestothefacility.Emmaalsostated,membersposttryingto
sellorborrowclothing...Therearemanydifferentexamplesofthisonourpage.There
wasarecentpostaboutAlphaOmicronPigamedaytanktopsbeingforsalewithalink
forwheretheycanbepurchased.Fordifferentthemedbirthdaypartiescalledwaltzes,
girlsaretoldtocomedressedincertainattiretofitthetheme.Insteadofbuyingclothing
thatwillmostlikelyonlybewornonce,memberscreatepostsaskingifanybodyhasany
extraclothingthatwouldfitthetheme.Thefirstfootballgamewasthisweekend,and
manysisterspostedaskingifothermembershadextraticketstheywerenotgoingto
use.Inmostcasesitworkedoutwheregirlscommentedthattheydidinfacthavean
extraticket.Thiswasamoreconvenientwaythangirlstextingeverypersonindividually,


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whichisbarelypossible.Anotherbigreasonpeoplepostonourchapterpageisfor
academicreasons.Girlswillaskifanyoneistakingthesameclassasthemand
possiblywanttostudywiththem,ifanyonecantutortheminaweakersubject,orifany
girlsaresigningoffonstudyhours.Studyhoursarentrequiredjustyetfornew
members,but,forinitiatedsisters,thereisacertainamountofsupervisedstudyhours
requiredpersemester.
Smallgroupdirectmessagesarealsoanoptionifthetopicdoesntpertaintothe
wholesisterhood.Thesearemoreimmediatethangeneralpostsinthegroupandare
onlysenttocertainpeopleforwhomthemessageapplies.Iwasrecentlytryingtoget
togetherwithafewsisterssooneofthemcreatedasmallgroupchat.Thisgenre
workedthebestforusbecauseinitiallywedidnothaveeachotherscellphone
numbers.Wemadeourplansjustlikearegulargroupchat,butwithbarelyknowing
eachotherbefore.ThesemessagesgothroughadifferentFacebookmessagingappso
itnotifiesuserswhenthemessagepertainstothem.Inimage3,someexamplesof
Facebookdirectmessagesareshown.Personally,IknowIhaveatendencytonot
checkFacebookifIamnotsureifitdirectedtowardsme.Icheckdirectmessagesand
smallgroupmessageswithagreaterurgency.IalsohaveusedthetoolifIambuying
anarticleofclothingoffofanothermember.Justtoday,amemberwaslookingtogetan
AOIItshirtoffherhandssoshepostedaskingifanyonewasinterestedinbuyingitoff
ofher.Imessagedherprivatelyandweplannedtheexchange.Itisagreattooltomeet
newfriendsandgettoknowmorepeople.


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Replyingtoorlikinganothermemberspostisaverycommongenreorformof
communicationonthepage.IlikepoststoshowthatIagreewithwhatthemember
saidorwouldalsolikeananswertotheirsamequestion.SometimesIwillreplytoa
posttaggingamemberwhomtheinformationwouldbebeneficialto.OthertimesIwill
replytoansweraquestionortoagreewithwhattheyposted.Asubgenrewithinthese
genresislikingareply.EmmasaidthatshecommentsorlikesthingsmostlySo
thatwouldmakeithermostusefulgenrewithinthegroup.Itisimportanttotakenotice
thatthereisnotadislikebutton.Thisisworkingtopersuadethereader.Theironly
optionistolikeapostorreplytoit,whichisstartingaconversation.Thisisan
exampleoflogos.
Surveysareinmyopiniononeofthemostusefulgenresputintopracticeonthe
grouppage.Insteadofhavinggirlscommentonthepost,whichmanysisterswouldnt
bothertodoanyway,somememberspostsurveysinwhichyousimplyclickonabox
nexttoyourpreferredanswer.Thisisasimplewaytogetthemajorityopinionwitha
limitedamountofchoices.Emmalikessurveysbecauseshethinks...thattheyrethe
quickestwaytogetfeedback.Theyarenotprivate,but,iftheywereblindsurveys,it
wouldbeevenbetterbecausetherewouldbelessbias.Currently,ifyouwished,you
couldseewhichmembersvotedforeachoption.Thisswayspeoplesopinionsmakingit
anexampleofrhetoric.Morepeopleparticipatemakingthemmoreaccurate,aswell.
Theycanbeusedtofindoutadateoratimeforaneventwherethemostpeopleare
availableandwhichcolorsweatshirtmorepeoplewouldbeinterestedinpurchasing,
amongotherthings.Theyusuallyhaveabout35answerchoicestochoosefromso


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thattheresultsarentallovertheplace.Anexampleofasurveycanbeseeninimage
2.WhileitisnotanimagefromAOIIsFacebookgroupforprivacyreasons,itgetsthe
pointacross.ThisisfromtheFSUFlyingHighCircusFacebookgroupsandtheofficers
aretryingtofigureoutwhichtshirttheclubwantsthisyear.Iwaspreviouslyina
Facebookgroupformygraduatinghighschoolclass.Theclassofficersusedsurveys
liketheseonmultipleoccasions.Themembersvotedforourclassslogan,tshirt
design,andthedateforfielddayusingthistypeofsurvey,anditprovedtobevery
usefulandhelpedorganizethingsfortheclassofficers.
MemberspostpicturestotheFacebookpageforvariousreasons.Itisyet
anothergenreinwhichpeoplecommunicateviaFacebook.Iftherewereagrouppicture
taken,itwouldbeeasiertosimplypostitonthepage,and,thatway,anymemberwho
wantedtowouldbeabletosaveit.Sometimes,sisterswillpostapictureofanarticleof
clothingthattheyaresellingorgivingawaytoseeifanyoneelseisinterested.Ihave
personallypostedapictureofaflyerIsawadvertisingaconcerttoseeifanybody
wantedtocomewithme.Thatworkedoutwellbecausewithover280members,there
wasboundtobesomebodywiththesametasteinmusicasme.Oneofthechairsinthe
sorority(girlswithtoppositions)willpostapictureofthemealscheduleforthatweekso
girlscanseewhatisonthemenuthatthechefprepares.Ifindthisveryhelpfulbecause
oneofthedayswashotdogday,andIdonteathotdogssoIfoundsomethingelseto
eatforlunchthatday.Othertimes,peoplejustpostpicturesforothersentertainmentto
makethemlaugh.


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Iwishthatsomepartsofthepagewererunalittledifferently.Ifeelasthough
thereshouldbeanadditionalpageforgirlswholiveinthesororityhousebecausethere
arealotofpostsaboutthingsthatareonlyusefultoandonlypertaintothosesisters.
Forexample,Ishouldnotreceiveanotificationforapostaboutsomeoneneedingto
restockthetoiletpaperinthethirdfloorbathroomorifanyonelivinginthehousehasa
smallpaintbrushthatacraftygirlinneedcanborrow.Idonotneedtoknowifthegirl
withtheblackHondaneedstomovetheircarforthegarbageman.Thesepostscan
certainlybeirritatingespeciallywhenIaminclasstryingtofocusandmycellphone
lightsup.Inthesecases,anexclusiveFacebookgrouporevenjustagroupchatwith
onlyinhousememberswouldprovetobeuseful.
Thatbeingsaid,IbelievethattheFacebookpageistheonlywayforagroupof
thissizetospreadinformation.Aspreviouslysaid,IamanewmembersoIwasjust
addedtothegroup.Evenmoderatelyactivememberscheckthepageupwardsof50
timesperday.Afterspeakingwithmultipleinitiatedsisters,Ilearnedthateverybodyhad
todeactivatetheirFacebookaccountsduringnewmemberrecruitment,andeven
thoughthedeactivationperiodonlylastedoneweek,itwasstilldifficulttocommunicate
duringthattime.EmmaS.saidthat,Duringrecruitmentwhenwehadtodeactivateour
Facebookpages,communicatingoveremailwasnotashelpful.Thisisunderstandable
becausemostpeopledonotchecktheiremailmorethanonceortwiceaday.Emailisa
completelydifferentdigitalcommunitywhichhasmuchfewergenreswithinit,makingit
difficultforagrouptocommunicatesolelyusingemail.Shebelieves[theFacebook
page]isthemostefficientwaytocommunicate.


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Facebookgroupsareanunderrateddigitalcommunity.Therearemany
discursivegenreswithinthemthatmakeFacebookpagesagreattoolforlargegroups
tocommunicate.Thereareregularpostssentouttoeverybodyintheexclusivepage,
whicharethequickestanddefinitelymostutilizedfacetofthedigitalcommunity.Iam
newtothegroupbutIhavealreadynoticedmanycommontrendsofpoststhatoccur.
Directmessagesarealsoagreatwaytocommunicate,buttheyhaveadifferent
purpose.Theyaretotalkandsendmessagestosmallgroupsofpeopleorjusta
singularperson.Withalmost300peopleintheFacebookgroup,Idonothave
everybodyscellphonenumbers,so,ifIdonthavesomeonesnumber,Iwilldirect
Facebookmessagethem.Thisgenrehasworkedwellformeandisaneffectivewayfor
peopletocommunicateinsmallergroupsorwithmoreprivateinformation.Likingor
replyingtoapostisrelativelyselfexplanatory.Likingapostsignalsthatyouagreewith
whatthesistersaidorthatyouareinterestedinhearingananswertotheirsame
question.Membersreplytopostsforavarietyofreasons.Surveysare,inmyopinion,
themostefficientwaytogetalargegroupofpeoplespreferencesforsomething.
Usually,thequestionspertaintowhattshirtsweshouldorderorwhattimeordate
worksbestforaneventormeeting.Pictures/videos/otherformsofmediaarealsoavery
helpfulgenre.Theyarepostedwithavarietyofmotivesinmind.Thepeoplewhosell
clothingviatheFacebookgrouputilizethisgenreveryoften,postingpicturesofthe
itemsthatareforsale.PeoplepostedtheBidDayvideoandtherecruitmentvideoon
thepage,andIamsurethatitgotmoreviewsandattentionthanifsomeonesimply
said,GocheckoutourBidDayvideoitsonYoutube!Picturesandvideosarea


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crucialgenrehelpingtheFacebookgroupcommunicateeffectively.TheFloridaState
UniversityAlphaOmicronPiFacebookgroupiswithoutadoubtthebestwayforthe
presidentandotherstospreadthewordaboutimportantmessages.
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