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Hayley Gould

Mrs. Kyllikki Rytov

ENC 2135

24 January 2016

The Florida State University Digital Community

The students at Florida State University are exceptionally friendly. The reason why I

chose to attend this university over others was because of the welcoming atmosphere and the

positive attitudes of the students attending. A member of the FSU community states, “My

favorite part about the FSU community is how personable all of the students are with each other

even if they do not really know each other.” However, there are about 41,500 students attending

FSU, which makes communicating with such a large amount students difficult. There are also

always events to attend around the FSU campus making it easy for a student to miss out on

events they may have really enjoyed. However, FSU students do not only communicate with

each other in person, but they communicate digitally as well. Online communication makes

interacting with such an immense amount of students much more achievable, and also helps

strengthen the FSU community. FSU students use many different digital genres to communicate,

but the most used and most helpful genres are the posts on the FSU Facebook page, the posts on

the FSU Snapchat story, and the posts on the FSU campus Yik Yak.

The FSU Facebook page only allows other FSU students to join the group and post

statuses to share with the FSU community. Students mainly use the page to ask for help on

school work, trying to buy/sell textbooks and tickets to sporting events, post about an item that

someone either lost or found, or inviting fellow students to an upcoming event. The page is a

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great way to get information out to the community because it allows all of the students to interact

with each other.

A Post from the FSU Facebook Page.

The Facebook page is also useful for meeting new people. Many students ask for help on

their assignments or would like to form a study group for a particular upcoming exam. Not only

are the students helping each other study for the exam, they are also meeting people who are

taking the same classes as them. This could lead to new friendships because the students may

find they have similar interests or similar majors. Another way friendships can be formed on the

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Facebook page is by buying or selling a textbook. I needed a book for one of my classes and I

found someone selling it on the Facebook page, so I messaged the student telling him that I was

interested in buying his book from him. We met up so I could buy the book and we ended up

talking about how classes were going and I ended up making a new friend. The page was very

useful because not only did I get the book I needed for class, I also got to meet a new student.

There are a numerous amount of students who attend FSU, so if a student loses

something like their FSU ID, wallet, or phone, there is a good chance that one of the students on

campus found the item. When students post to the page, they know they are only talking to other

FSU students, so they use an informal tone, but make sure to get the point they are trying to

make across. Usually they will try to appeal to other student’s emotions as well. For example if

someone lost their wallet, they may post something like “I lost my wallet last night on campus

near Salley Hall, if someone finds it please message me! It is important to me and I would really

appreciate it.” Most of the students at the university are trustworthy and will post on Facebook

about the item that they have found, hoping that the person who lost the item will see the post

and retrieve their item. Many times either the person or a friend of the person who lost the item

sees the post and gets their lost item back. An FSU student talking about the Facebook page

stated, “The FSU Facebook page is so helpful, whether it’s to buy someone else’s old text book

or return someone’s lost student ID, it’s an awesome page in general and I find myself on it at

least once a day!” The FSU Facebook page is useful to so many students and it is one of the

many genres that we use to communicate.

The FSU Snapchat story is another significant genre that FSU students use often because

of its convenience and relevance to the students. The FSU Snapchat story uses a person’s

location on their phone, so that when a student is on or near campus, they can watch the story.

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The FSU story is composed of pictures or videos the students themselves take. Then the students

send them to the FSU Snapchat story where only a few are selected to compose the perfect

summary of events going on around FSU’s campus that particular day. The story tends to show

different activities going on around campus and show what students are participating in. An

active member of the FSU Snapchat story explained that “The snapchat story that FSU has is a

good way to know about sports and to see what’s going on around campus.” Many FSU students

see the events occurring on the Snapchat story, and because of the story, students decide to

attend.

The FSU Snapchat story during the FSU vs. PITT basketball game.

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The photos or videos themselves show people enjoying the event and show what kinds of

activities there are, so that when a student sees how exciting the event looks, they will be more

inclined to go. The pictures and videos also usually have a short, one sentence comment

summarizing the main point of the event. The campus is so large that many events pass that

students may not know about; however, because of the FSU snapchat story, students can see

what is going on around campus and attend an event they may have regretted not going to.

Another active member of the FSU Facebook, Snapchat, and Yik yak said “I think (these genres)

are a great way of staying connected in such a large school! I’ve actually attended event after

seeing them on our Snapchat story.” The FSU Snapchat story is highly advantageous in the FSU

community because students can meet new people, and make new friends just by watching the

Snapchat story and attending the events that are updated and shown daily.

Yik Yak is an app that allows FSU students to anonymously communicate with each

other by using a person’s location, so that students on campus can only communicate with other

students on campus. People use Yik Yak to share funny stories, post funny pictures, ask for

advice, ask fellow students their opinions on a certain situation, and vent about what is on their

minds. Yik Yak lets people on campus either up vote or down vote posts that other students

made, usually depending on if the Yak is funny or relevant to them. FSU students can comment

on the Yaks anonymously if the original poster (OP) asked a question or if they just have

something to say about the Yak. People usually post Yaks so that they can as many up votes and

they can. They try to do this by using an informal tone, making a joke about something relevant

to all students at FSU, and by making their post clever and original.

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An example of a popular Yak.

Most posts on Yik Yak are humorous, and the creative Yaks usually get the most up

votes making a person “Yak Famous” the Yak stays live for about three hours before it is

replaced. When a person’s yak is unoriginal or repetitive it gets down voted until it disappears.

Yik Yak is a great way for FSU students to express how they feel or what they are thinking

without any bias. Even though Yik Yak is anonymous, students post on Yik Yak asking if

anyone would like to do an activity with them like go see a movie or hang out and play a game.

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If students are interested in going, they can exchange Snapchats or other accounts on social

media with the original poster, and meet up to see the movie or play the game. Yik Yak is

another way students use social media to meet new students. Yik Yak is used by many students

on campus, so it is a great way to see what the students on campus are talking about.

Many students use Yik Yak if they have a question of some sort or would like the

opinions of other Florida State students. For example, a student once asked on Yik Yak for any

suggestions on breakfast places around Tallahassee. That morning I was actually planning on

going out to breakfast, but already had a place in mind. I clicked on the Yak anyways to see what

the suggestions were, and checked all of the menus of the new places I have not heard of before.

I ended up going to one of the suggested places I saw on Yik Yak because the menu looked good

and I like to try new things. My friends and I ended up loving the place and now it is one of our

favorite spots to get breakfast in Tallahassee. Many people also ask for relationship advice like

how to make a long distance relationship work out or what is a cute date idea. The students at

FSU are usually very willing to help out their fellow ‘Noles and the person asking the question

usually gets the answers they are looking for.

These digital ways of communication are great ways to meet new people, find out what

is going on around campus, ask questions, and make new friends. These genres are immensely

significant ways that help FSU students become part of a more tightly knit community and

without them, the students at Florida State University would not be as close to each other or

involved as they might like to be. The FSU Facebook page, FSU Snapchat story, and FSU Yik

Yak are all ways students communicate with each other, and these digital communities

strengthen the FSU community as a whole.