ABSTRACT
To further develop the idea of “audience involvement,” this chapter explains the rhetorical concept of audience and its centrality for social web usability. Perspectives of audience in classical and contemporary rhetoric, writing studies, and technical communication are examined to demonstrate a shift in theory toward active rather than passive audiences. Further, audience is highlighted in practitioner and usability/user experience work through audience analysis strategies related to complex information systems such as storytelling, personas, and journey maps. Social media can contribute to these strategies by providing “audience footprints” including illustrations of rhetorical concepts such as composite audience (varied audience groups), adherence (agreement between rhetors and audience), and identification (understanding audience concerns). In addition, social media provides audience footprints in the form of “minis” and “treks.” Minis are miniature personas based on real-time social web data, and they may include personal details that make sense of individual goals or motivations. Treks are descriptions of task experiences found in social web accounts; treks may recount steps taken by users to complete a task along with errors or obstacles they encountered. Examples of minis and treks are included in the chapter to demonstrate ways social media provides contextual audience information that contributes to a better understanding of user experience.
