The above video clip ends with the provocative statements, “We will have to re-think some things.” Indeed, with the Web 2.0, the entire way we communicate will have to be re-imagined. As I write this post, I am “chatting” with two friends on Facebook and listening to music only available to me through YouTube. This technology was unheard of just five years ago. In this post, we will examine the aspect of communication which will need the most re-defining: audience.

With the advent of modern technology, the audience of communication has been greatly broadened. Just a few years ago, the audience of most writing was professors, teachers, and peers. With the invention of the blogosphere, Facebook, and other information sharing websites, the audience of many forms of communication has shifted to the general public. Of course, the audience of the academic essay has not changed much; a professor will usually not be open to the alteration of tone for the sake of the public. However, the internet has opened the door for the dispersion of information to a great number of people quickly. Through YouTube, videos, music, and slideshows are disseminated quickly to a wide variety of people. Through blogs millions of people can be connected to the opinion of an otherwise unknown writer. Through Facebook friends can keep in contact with each other over great distances. The Web 2.0 has allowed the general public to absorb a vast amount of information on every topic imaginable.

Not only has the audience of writing been expanded, but it has also become specialized. Through the Web 2.0, sub-groups (or even sub-sub-groups) can discuss mutual interests. For example, the average person would not find the Homeschool Debate Forum (HSD) to be of any interest. To a few thousand coaches and students across the United States, however, it is a vital resource in academic pursuits. In the case of a few hundred students, the information on the forum could even earn scholarships to prestigious colleges and universities. Through the Web 2.0, forums such as HSD are allowed to exist. Without such connections, it would be difficult to form specialized national and international communities. In addition, the purpose of such communication has been altered by the specialization of audiences. The purpose statement “To explain negative minor repairs and how their useapplies to the NCFCA” would most likely make no sense to most people in the general public. However, to a specialized group of people, this is an understandable and important topic. Through the Web 2.0, relatively small communities of people are able to discuss things that are important to them, but not important (or even understandable) to the rest of the world.

In conclusion, the Web 2.0 has allowed communication to expand beyond formal writing. It has given unknown writers to give information and opinion to millions of people. It has also allowed groups of just a few thousand people to form communities where otherwise no community would exist.