Generic Group Name (Instagram Analysis) by https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg LIU 2 SS 2020 en-us 2020-04-28 12:17:55 UTC 2020-05-12 07:59:31 UTC hello@padlet.com @houseofplantlovers https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/550283039 By Tijana Kantar

Audience: people interested in growing plants indoors - most likely members of the younger (gen Z or Millenial) generations

Purpose: primary- entertainment (provide interesting content for plant-lovers), secondary- expressive (show admiration for and emotional attachment to plants), tertiary- informative (provides tips on how to take care of plants)

Post 1
''All variegated plants have special place in my heart 💚"
Relationship between image and text: close, parallel. Register: neutral, simple statement (yet, might be considered informal due to it being personal and emotional) Lexico-grammatical choices: present tense, general statement, basic sentence structure. Rhetorical decvices: figurative speech "place in my heart", hyperbole "all variegated plants". Analysis: the image shows a variagated plant with half of its leaf lacking pigment (white) and the other half green. It reminded me of the human skin condition called vitiligo. Since it is autoimune it cannot be treated, and people with this condition do not comply with the 'standards of beauty'. However, in recent years various body positive movements have advocated for acceptance of physical characteristics that deviate from the mainstream and many people started to see beauty in unique traits. This caption translates this idea to the world of plants: although the leaf is not completely green like a 'normal' leaf, it is nevertheless beautiful and the author of the caption shows tender emotions towards these kinds of plants.

Post 2
"The only "mess" we love to look at. 😍"
Relationship between the image and the text: close, additive. Register: informal (use of heart-eyed emoji, expressing infatuation).
Lexico-grammatical features: simple declarative sentence that may only be understood in relation to the image because it directly refers to it. Use of the word 'love' as intensifier and 'mess' as external referent. Rhetorical devices: metaphor - compring plants to 'mess'. Analysis: the image shows a 'plant corner' in an apartment/ house: shelves are overcrowded with a large number of potted plants that are sprouting their leaves in different directions. Plants differ in sizes and are seeminly randomly chosen to coexist in one space. This creates the effect of untamed nature that does not bend to the rules of humans. By saying that the plant corner is the ony 'mess' in the apartment/ house, the author of the caption implies that they are neat and organized in every other area of their lives, which is a necessary part of a fast-paced perfection-oriented modern way of living. They do not tolerate imperfection, but,  they presumably consider plants as perfect in their essence- which is reflected in the fact that there are quotation marks around the word 'mess'.


]]> 2020-05-04 18:58:36 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/550283039 @earthwindandcactus https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551703063 By Chiara Scherner 

Audience: plant lovers, especially people who are interested in cacti, mostly Gen Z and millennials 

Purpose: primary: advocative (advocating for a lifestyle (urban gardening) and its benefits), secondary: entertainment (entertaining with photography and urban gardening as an artform), tertiary: expressive (showing a part of their lives and expressing their own emotional state, showing admiration for their lifestyle) 

Post 1: 

“Checking off all of our to do lists lately (check emoji)… this new plant/rock mound wasn’t really on that list but our yard has never looked this well groomed, must document this (camera emoji, cactus emoji)… any projects you guys are up to? 

Relationship between image and text: Transcendent: explaining how their project that is showcased in the picture came about, simultaneously describing their thoughts: must document this, supporting the process of this project and their thoughts by using a camera emoji and a cactus emoji, additive 

Register: informal (phrasal verbs, pronouns), using abbreviations, similar to spoken language 

Lexico-grammatical choices: features of spoken language: …any projects you guys are up to?, integrating … as a sign of pauses, no complete sentences: ellipsis, abbreviations: wasn’t, mimicking their thought process: must document this, using pronouns: our: describing their project(s), you [guys]: direct addressing

Rhetorical devices: question at the end: direct address: any projects you guys are up to?, figurative language, imagery: must document this, mimicking the thought process

Post 2: 

The only limits to your passion are defined by the size of your plant shelves (fist emoji, cacti emoji)

Relationship between image and text: transcendent, additive: the picture shows a shelve full of plants (the author’s shelve) and the caption is a statement which can be seen by the way it is written as a general truth, the picture is an example of the realization of this general truth: plants are a passion, the reader is required to fill the meaning gap the caption creates 

Register: formal, statement

Lexico-grammatical choices: emotive lexis: passion: also the emoji and the picture of the post create an image of triumph as the author achieved his statement; lexical field of size: limits, size; high modality

Rhetorical devices: Aphorism

Both posts are very different in style in both their captions and their pictures, but I think they are both successful. The first post is more personal than the second and the transcendent connection between the image and the caption is well established. The post is not so much about aesthetics and art, but more about expressing personal experiences in the time of quarantine. 

The second post is more focused on aesthetics. The connection between the image and the caption is witty, but may not be obvious at the first glance/read, thus the reader is required to fill the gaps of meaning. This makes the post in combination with the caption inherently more intellectually challenging, but simultaneously more pleasing. 
]]> 2020-05-05 10:40:18 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551703063 @houseofplantlovers (again) https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551746901 BY Lukas Stadler

Audience:
instagram-users with an interest in house plants, and people who follow this current trend/ movement, people looking for aestheticism, and inspiration, compiles images from different houseplant instagram accounts and presents them to their audience, therefore, can be seen as a HUB for plant lovers and also helps the audience to find other content creators from the same movement

Purpose:
primary - promotive/advocative, advertises and stands for a certain lifestyle and suggesting it is the way of life; additionally, promotes certain brands/ resellers/ and other instagrammers in the same vicinity

secondary - entertainment, followers and visitors should be entertained by the aesthetically pleasing pictures, and light-hearted humor in the post‘s description, furthermore, short videos and illustrations that represent the ‚struggles‘ and ‚prejudices‘ around the topic of house-plant keeping,

tertiary - expressive,  the user is overwhelmed with emotions due to the illustration of a perfect harmonious family consisting of their ‚3 types of children‘ - their real human children, their cats and their plants, to whom they clam parenthood. Especially, the plants are personified and shown as being a part of their family through showing and telling. Also the name houseofplantlovers suggest the belonging to a family, as a follower being part of their house their dynasty, a mother nurturing us with pictures of plants.


Post #1:
‚The Coleus of our dreams (this coleus is massive!). 😍
//📸 @mailinbrostad’

Relationship between image and text and analysis:
the picture shows a type of plant, a coleus, of remarkable size, which is both referred to in the text. The poster uses the pronoun our probably referring to her and her partner, speaks of our dreams showing envy or at least the wish to own a similar plant to the one shown in the photo. This coleus is massive further evokes the idea in the viewer’s mind that the plant is in fact sizable even without having any knowledge of an average coleus. Finally, the emoji with heart-eyes suggest that the poster adores/ loves the picture and therefore, should evoke emotional attachment in the reader as well

Register:
simple, everyday language and the word coleus from the lexio-grammatical field of botany

Post #2:
‘Looking at my babies and mentally taking note of what plant I currently don’t have so that I can add them to cart. 😁
#ShowMeYourPlanties
//📸 @botanic.ally’

Relationship between image and text and analysis:
The picture and text in combination let’s the reader/ viewer imagine that the description are the current thoughts of the woman in the photo, she is surrounded by her plants, referred to in the description as ‘my babies’, suggesting an intimate relationship and mother-child relationship between plant and owner, the description further reads that the woman looks at her ‘babies’ while thinking of getting another ‘child’/ plant, namely one she doesn’t own yet, this is suggested by the phrase ‘add them to cart’, a phrase which is commonly used by online-shops referring to the digital shopping cart in which orders are being placed - the thing that leaves the reader confused is the way the mother conceives their plant-child as it is ‘adopted’ through an online service. 

Register:
Use of simple language, best understood by a younger audience because of the use of the phrase ‘add to cart’ used in online-shops

Post #3:





 ]]> 2020-05-05 11:05:41 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551746901 @urbanjungleblog https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551791954 By Jonas Lieser

Audience: 
people that are invested in the topic of house plants/urban jungle, instagram-user

Illocutionary intent or purpose:
Entertainment (creatively using a quote in an unusual setting might make the reader laugh), Promotive ( promotes a certain trend, keeping house plants in your bathroom), Expressive (expresses the love for plants in the given circumstances)

Context Relationship:
Transcendent (Ironically referring to the photo with a quote expands the literal meaning of both.)
Semiotic Relationship:
Divergent (Although the text is usually a ironic utterance, it is actually meant literal considering the other circumstances.)
My analysis:
This post is successfully connecting the image and text and thereby creates a literally more enagaging experience. The text is indirectly referring to the photo, which shows plant in a bathroom, and thus challenging the reader to infer what exactly is meant with the quote, which would normally be understood ironically. By making the consumer actively think about the ironical connection between the quote “Soil in my shower means I had a great day” and the photo it humorously engages viewers in the content. ]]> 2020-05-05 11:31:49 UTC https://padlet.com/gabrielle_smith4/dguj7g5e3hc36gyg/wish/551791954