Wiki audiences aren't like other audiences. If they don't like what's on the screen, they can change it. So too, the relationship between the wiki readers and wiki writers is different than it is in other media. On a wiki, it becomes clear that author and audience are roles people play, and interchangable ones at that.
the myth of the captive audience
As a literary audience, readers are entering into an agreement to buy into whatever it is that the writer has to say. The reader agreeing to "suspend their disbelief" for a certain period of time. But the relationship is tenouous. Writers can't guarantee their audience will stick around, or pay any attention to what they have to say. The writer wants to engage the reader and keep them reading. But the writer can become anxious or worried the reader isn't following him or buying into what he has to say. The writer decides to address them directly, attempting to make direct contact. The writer feels this "reaching out to the reader directly" approach puts a face on the author or gives them a personableness that wasn't there before when they were merely talking "at" the audience. They feel they can draw the reader back into the story. SueanneDolentzWriting textbooks have responded with stylistic techniques for gaining and maintaining the reader's attention. They emphasize using active verbs and concrete details; adding color; getting personal; etc. - not to clarify meaning, not to develop the idea futher, not to develop an insight, but to keep the reader reading. Boredom is the enemy, so keep the reader entertained. One response to this idea comes from Tufte. Discussing PowerPoint presentations, he writes, 'Audience boredom is usually a content failure, not a decoration failure.'
: Presentations largely stand or fall on the quality, relevance, and integrity of the content. If your numbers are boring, then you've got the wrong numbers. If your words or images are not on point, making them dance in color won't make them relevant. Audience boredom is usually a content failure, not a decoration failure. [http://wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2_pr.html PowerPoint is Evil]
(And the web has its own way of dealing with audiences--pop up internet ads. Bam: in your face. But there's a cost. A distinct written voice is scarcely discernable in such ads. The closer the audience is to the writer, speaker, performer, etc., the more control may be exercised over them. -BerneChristiansen and M C Morgan and LindsayLarson and SueanneDolentz and AaronReini and... )
There are other ways of thinking about writing and reading.
our wiki audience
We acknowledge that our audience is not captive. We have no control over you. You are free to leave at any time. Nor are we here to entertain you with 5-a-penny tricks. On the wiki, the reader can become a writer. And so on the wiki, it's the writer(s) job to help the reader move between reading and writing, between consuming and producing.
We're interested in working with the creative, participatory audience, the
AudienceAsFamily
' Control Over Audience? '
the idea of collaboration dispels the power/superiority notion. No one is necessarily telling anyone else anything, because the "no one" and "anyone" disappear. Content can be targeted, but there are no guarantees of reaching the TargetedAudience.
' Varied Opinions: '
*Someone can close a book or toss aside a magazine as they can close a window on a Website. The idea of audience changes drastically between print and the Web seems a bit ludicrous.
*There is a trend toward "non-captive" teaching. Students need to be in school, but the direct information passing is being increasingly blended by student-driven activities and hands-on experience.
*The print conception of audience-as-passive-receiver is simplistic. Real audiences are not faceless or passive.
Audience and style: consultative, formal, cooperative We're interested in working with the creative, participatory audience, the
