Lab+2+-+Why+Are+New+Genres+Created?

Why are new genres created? Why is the definition of genre controversial and not so applicable to the formation of digital genres?


New genres are continually created because through social action, culture and new mediums change the way we perceive a new genre. Genre is controversial when applying to the formation of digital genres, because it’s hard to classify a static genre to changing technologies. New technologies not only offer new types expression through media but merge a lot of genres at once. Using A.Dillon and B. Gushrowskis analysis of genre we can conclude that digital genres are an emerging ideal for information accessibility. The word “genre” is quite static; in the meaning it portrays “a distinctive type of text.” However Chandler argues that it is the meanings in the text when contrasted to others similarly where we can adapt a true meaning of genre. This relates to the open end debate of what a digital genre is categorized by. In essence the genre becomes the context in which it will be portrayed; this is through the “modes” for the audiences (whether it is visual or audio) and type of media in which it is conveyed the purposes (“HTML/FLASH”). With these the text becomes very dynamic and open ended to how the purpose can be conveyed. A.Dillon and B. Gushrowski analyze a group of people by testing and comparing results of what they perceived as the “ideal” home page. The results returned showed that a lot of people preferred similar things through graphical representation and text layout. This could maximize website design potential as the design of a web page is how easily information is accessed.

The analysis they stated that it may be possible to analyze genre real time through a digital formation, however this is not quite accurately portrayed. The differences between a home page and other digital genres are that it is far too narrow. The home page is not so much a digital genre as the analysis was based on a design aspect, a design aspect that asked for what ideally would be preferred at that time. Or in a static context, when we try to apply the same type of formation to digital genres we see that things such as facebook, video game systems and phones adapt a genre hybridity. The genre now becomes a genre within a genre which eliminates any possibility of contrasting it to other things. As new media giants come out we see they dominate all types of genre making it hard to explain how and why digital genres form.