Knowing My Audience

This was a fun and interesting take on the typical 20 questions game. It also came with the unique perspective of being an online class, so there was not that personal, face to face interaction that adds to what we know about our audience.Reading only without nonverbal cues like tone of voice and facial expressions was quite and experience.  In a way, it is like a radio announcer getting to know their audience without ever seeing them. I do believe my audience is made up of a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and vocations. However, what most surprised me was how similar we really all seem to be to one another. For example, when asked about what TV show we wanted to be in and what time period we wanted to live in, a majority of us chose some time in the past. Reasoning for this was repeatedly that we wanted to live in a simpler time, when family values were cherished and life seemed easier. What does that say about the time we live in now? Very few said they wanted to live right here and now. We are also a group with strong family values, as evidenced by the fact that many people referred to family that has passed on as the one they most wanted to see. Also, most of the pasttime activities revolved around doing things with family. There were a few introverts who wanted to spend time alone, myself being one of them.We also tend to like dogs more than cats, perhaps because dogs interact more than cats. We are also about 50/50 split on which road we would take, the cleared stone path or the tangled, winding road. I guess that means that some like a challenge in life while others focus more on where we are going than in how we get there. All of our quotes speak to moving forward and none of us said we were already grown up and doing what we wanted to do. So we all continue to dream and think about the future.  Most of us want to help our fellow man, donate to charity and figure out how to keep bad things from happening  to good people so I guess we are a pretty good group of people after all. We seem to have similar values and ideas on life. No one asked any controversial question, so perhaps we don't like conflict over all. Most of us gave answers of some length and depth, but a few gave very short, direct answers. I feel this to be a reflection of individual personality and I would probably notice these same things in a seated class with verbal interaction. I also appreciated the honesty of the person who preferred a potbelly pig to dogs or cats, as well as the person who answered that they don't ever want to be a doctor no matter what. I think that sometimes people give the answer they think that other people want to hear instead of the true answer to avoid conflict and confrontation.However, it is entirely possible that we are just a good nature, easygoing bunch of students. I think that because we all seem to think in a similar matter, that writing for this audience will be much like writing for ourselves. I was a bit surprise though to see that only one person wanted to meet with Jesus and no one said they wanted to meet with God. Perhaps this just demonstrates the reverence  for religion common to this bible belt area we live in. I have enjoyed interacting with my fellow students, and have found one or two to be extremely helpful in the Burning Questions discussion board. It is nice to know that a completely online class can still have the personal interaction of a seated one. I do feel like this assignment helped me to know my fellow students better and I enjoyed reading all the question, answering them, and then seeing the other responses. Personalities definitely began to show through with varied writing styles.