As my blog has been narrowed down to technology and speed and how they affect relationships today, I turn to the internet. Facebook and MySpace are no longer unknown names. They are huge online communities and mostly I will focus on the one I belong to and am familiar with: Facebook.
I think the best way to apply the situation of discourse to facebook is through the individual users. For those of you who don't know, facebook is an online community made up of mostly college students. Everyone who registers (you must have a .edu email address), gets their own personal page which they can put up pictures and fill in information about themselves. Therefore, when I was making my account as I got to college, my implied audience was my peers, friends, and potential friends who wanted to learn more about me. The whole point of facebook is to create a digital image of yourself by stating your favorite movies, books, interests and putting up pictures of yourself. As one reads through your profile they make assumptions about you based on what you put. There is a strong sense of ethos because the majority of people who read your profile you have already met in person and would know if you made up information on your profile.
In short, the actual author is you and the implied author is who you picture yourself to be. The target audience is your friends, peers and anyone you are going to meet in college whom you call a friend. On facebook you must request to be someone's friend and they have to confirm it. Upon being confirmed usually the two read each others profiles, for it is the first time you can view it. Some profiles use humor while others are straighforward and serious. One of the most popular features of facebook is the wall. The wall is a public area on each persons profile which others can write whatever they want. It is interesting to see how people post on each others walls because it is visible to all and very impersonal. Writing on someones wall, you know that everyone else that person is friends with has the ability to read it.
All in all, facebook would be nothing without its community of people. It is well trusted because most people on it are college students like yourself. You are given an opportunity to be an author and the audience at the same time. You are given an opportunity to create an image and message about yourself to all others connected to the network. No where else is there anything like this and it creates a truely unique and interesting situation.
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