Forum Analysis
Through forum analysis you can come to have a clearer idea of the audience
that a given forum is addressing. In looking at your forum today, consider the
following questions. Do more than just answer them; be ready to provide support
for your conclusions.
- Why does your forum exist? What is its purpose or agenda?
- Who reads your forum?
- How old are they?
- Are they primarily male or female?
- How much money do they make?
- Where do they stand politically?
- What are they assumed to be interested in?
- What will they get out of your forum?
- Who writes in your forum?
- What qualifies them to do so?
- How do the writers go about constructing their ethos?
- How does the forum itself go about constructing its ethos?
Describe this ethos.
In considering these questions, think about how they are manifested in the
magazine’s
- written style (is the writing formal/informal, jargony/colloquial, etc.?),
- illustrations and photographs,
- layout and design,
- typography,
- advertisements,
- price,
- size,
- etc.