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Technology has come a long way. With just a click of a button, one can randomly generate any genre through a plug’n’chug process. Whether it’s something complicated like a computer science research paper, a simple three panel comic, or a popular meme, technology probably has your back. In reality, the quote, “there’s an app for that” is an understatement. There are limitations when it comes to a genre generator but, each genre has a different set of conventions that creates the generator. Each difference, no matter how small in the conventions, contributes to the uniqueness of the generator that separates it from others.

The very first generator I examined was the scigen’s generating website that randomized computer science research papers. The hardest part of the generator might have been the part where I had to type out my name. After that, my very long name was attached to a complicated but impressive paper. I was able to see right off the bat that the title had been put in the center in bigger than usual lettering followed by the authors name (my name) underneath. Both of these features were meant to grab the reader’s attention with ease. As I continued to experiment with the website, I noticed that the format (abstract, table of contents, introduction, results, conclusion, references) rarely changed, meaning these were considered the fundamentals of these particular research papers. There are facts used throughout the paper making it even more scholarly. On top of the facts, there is at least one picture or diagram placed in the paper. This can be an example of visual literacy, which also increases the credibility while giving the readers more information. The aimed audience of this genre generator might be individuals who are skilled or at least familiar with computer science.

The second generator was the pandyland comic generator that randomized three different panels to make a story line comic involving Simon and Finlay. The creator of the generator had colorful eye catching scenes that made the reader give its undivided attention to it. The content itself involved short dirty jokes and aimless, out-of-nowhere expressions. After a short while, I noticed myself constantly clicking ‘generate’ so I can read comic after comic. The comics were quick. Some made me laugh more than others. This only made me realized that successful jokes were usually the ones with the 'out-of-nowhere' scenes and expressions. The intended audience for this genre generator are for individuals who want a quick laugh and nothing else. Being able to ‘generate’ constantly gives the reader more content and more laughter. The purpose of the generator is mainly entertainment. Visual literacy is also a factor in this genre, sometimes the facial expressions are funnier than the actual words. From the first box to the last, the author randomly creates drama and suspense that heightens the comic all together.

The final generator was the meme generator that randomized popular memes. Each meme followed the same structure and font followed by a witty joke or comment. The website even gave the option to allow personal customization such as uploading one’s own picture. The intended audience is anyone with access to the internet and social media. Most, if not all, of these memes can be found on websites like Facebook and Twitter giving anyone something to discuss and relate to. The purpose of the meme generator is for entertainment as well as creating trends that encourages online socialization.

A generator that I found was the rap name generator from myrapname.com. I couldn’t stop myself from trying it out so below are some of my rap names. The generator is somewhat random but there are many conventions. Each named involved multiple words (adjectives) added on to the original name. There were also some variations of former and current rappers. Most of these names are catchy and creative along with some slang incorporated into them. Anyone looking to jump into the rap scene might want to use this website. 

There are more generators out there on the internet with endless randomization and personalization. Every genre clearly has many conventions that make it up. A genre convention has no boundaries. Every time ‘generate’ is pressed the words might change but the conventions stay the same creating something unique.