Three Communities, Three Versions of Me!
A discourse community is not just a group of people sharing the same interests or have something in common. It is a community of people who share goals, vocabulary, shorthand, methods of communication, and more. It is a blessing to be apart of such communities, and I am blessed that I can be apart of so many! Three discourse communities I am apart of that greatly influence my identity and have become apart of who I am are swimming, modeling, and social media influencing. In each community, there are different people with different expectations, vocabulary, and goals, but all three require my communication, dedication, and hard work!
Competitive Swimming
The competitive swimming discourse community I am so grateful to be able to be apart of includes many people: swimmers, coaches, officials, athletic trainers, parents, and other supporters, of all different backgrounds, ages, etc. I am blessed to be able to experience such an incredible community and growing up swimming, moving teams, and meeting new people in the same community as me has been such a growing experience throughout my teenage years!
Swimmers in the swim community all know what it takes to be great. We know the sacrifice, the hard work, the dedication and long hours to be successful at this sport. We all desire to compete successfully and score points for our respective teams, to support our teammates, and improve our individual times for our individual goals. We all value discipline, consistency, resiliency, and teamwork, because this sport is not "microwave results". It is a marathon, not a race.
We communicate through group chats, social media, apps such as Teamworks and GroupMe, emails, etc. Larger organizations, such as USA Swimming communicate rules, standards, and competition information, while our coaches communicate team rules, encouragement, and give us practice sets daily to help us all improve.
We contribute to the community by attending practices, competiting in meets and scoring, swimming on relays, cheering for teammates, asking our coaches questions, and being the best teammate we can be for one another.
There are also different genres we have in the community, which include practice sets, heat sheets, psych sheets, meet schedules, time standards, announcements, etc. All of these organize the sport and organize competition and training at such a high level.
One of the most interesting things I love about the community is our lexis, as we have many different, niche terms that only people within the community would understand. Some examples include negative split, threshold, aerobic, underwaters, streamline, on the top, 2x200s, backhalf, etc. These short-hand vocabulary words help the coaches communicate with the swimmers easily during fast-pace practices and help teammates communicate with each other as well.
Lastly, we all have to have a standard knowledge of the four strokes, starts, turns, lane etiquette, practice intervals, meet procedures, basic rules and regulations of the sport, etc. in order to compete at high levels. New swimmers can learn any of the vocabulary, regualtions, or special things about the community through observing, coaching, repetition, or help from experienced, older teammates/members of the discourse community!
The Modeling Community
Another discourse community I am blessed to be able to be apart of is the modeling community. In this community, there are many different sections within it, including brand modeling, runway, athletic modeling, bikini modeling, etc. This community includes models, photographers, agents, agencies, designers, makeup artists, hairstylists, stylists, creative directiors, and clients. There are many behind-the-scene people who make this community great! Everyone in this community particpate to help beautiful young girls and boys build successful careers in any type of modeling they desire, express their creativity, advertise and make deals with large brands, and so much more!
We all have goals to create strong images and brands of ourself, represent larger corporations, brands, ideas, or products, or complete successful projects and campaigns. We all value being professional, creative, confident, and preparing and collaborating with others in the community to create an incredible, marketable brand of ourselves!
We communicate and stay connected with each other through emails, direct messages, phone calls, portfolios, and meetings. There are many websites that showcase the work of everyone in the community; one website Models.com showcases new portfolios of up and coming models, credible agencies, photographers, and brewing fashion projects!
There are so many people who work behind the scenes and on the scenes to make a successful shoot happen. Photographers work hard to give direction for poses and angles, models work their angles and body to create a stunning, unique photo, stylists bring designs to life in clothing, and makeup and hair artists style the model the day of. There are so many other people behind the scenes too, such as light and set-up crew, agencies and agents booking shoots for the models, etc. Even just one good photo requires a lot of cooperation on all ends of the spectrum.
Genres within this community include portfolios, comp cards, digitals, casting calls, mood boards, contracts, model releases, campaign briefs, call sheets, etc. All genres mean something different to the model and communicate different information about a potential, brewing project.
I also love the lexis in this community! Some unique vocabulary terms we use are casting, digitals, test shoot, comp card, call time, booking, usage rights, and so much more. We all have to learn these terms to be able to be professional with the agents and clients we speak to while working on a project.
Lastly, there is a standard of knowledge in this community that newcomers or new members have to learn to be able to participate in the demands of this industry. New members should learn how castings and shoots operate, as well as the types of photos they need in their portfolios to get booked into an agency. They should also know how to read a call sheet and how to communicate professionally and the language that comes with that. They can learn this by researching, observing experienced models and professionals, practicing, and taking feedback and constructive criticism.
Social Media Influencing
I just recently decided to level up my social media and fully jump into this community! I am so blessed for the traction I have gotten through my sport and the opportunites I have had with brands so far! This community includes creators, followers, photographers, editors, brands, and social media managers. We participate in this community to promote a brand or business, express ourselves, connect with others, entertain, or educate!
Creators build audiences and engagement through the content they put out and showcase and develop a marketable, personal brand they are proud of! This community highly values creativity, authenticity, and connection, among much else.
We communicate through our content, including reels, posts, captions, stories, comments, DM's, livestreams, polls, and emails. Instagram for creators is a helpful tool that helps creators learn more about their specific engagement on their accounts and how they can improve it.
Participation in this community requires consistency and creators actively posting, commenting on fellow influencers, and responding to brands or possible agents wanting to speak with them about leveling up their brand. In addition, it requires audience to comment, like, share, save, vote in polls, and send feedback back to the creator. Brands also may send emails or DM's in interest to collaborate or offer sponsored projects or campaigns.
This community's genres include reels, stories, photo carousels, livestreams, captions, reviews, other types of posts and videos. These different types of formats aim to serve a different audience and purpose.
The terms, vocabulary, and ways of speaking are way different on social media than talking to people in person. We use a lot of abbreviations, such as "tbh", "fomo", "smh", "fyp", "grwm", "ootd", "pov", and "ugc". We also use terms such as engagement, reach, impressions, algorithm, niche, insights, brand partnership, followers, analytics, etc. These vocabulary terms and abbreviations help creators like me communicate and discuss strategies to improve our reach and audiences.
New members to this community, which I was not too long ago, have to have a basic understanding of how the different algorithms work on their chosen platforms, how to effectively increase reach on their accounts, expectations of audiences, how to deal with hate comments, how to land a brand deal or partnership, online safety, analytics, etc. New creators can learn this by experimenting, studying analytics, observing other successful accounts, and listening to some of their audience's feedback. Social media is not as simple as it seems; there is a lot of strategy that goes behind it to create a profitable brand.
How These Communities Connect in My Life
Swimming, modeling, and social media are all very different communities I am involved in, with different expectations and demands, but I think all of them connect in some ways in my life! I often share the experiences and wins I have in swimming online to enhance my social media and I often model for many different swimming brands to build my own brand and continue to increase my social media presence! All three communities I am apart of have unique vocabulary, shared goals, active participation and demands, and knowledge that one must acquire to be successful in the respective community, but I love how each community overlaps in my life and helps me grow the other. Being apart of these communities, I have learned how to contribute meaningfully and communicate with all sorts of people from different backgrounds and stages of life.
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