When writing to different audiences, what has to be changed?

While looking at the different audiences I broke them down into what would be most interesting to each person and tried to focus on that point while still explaining Second Life as a whole.  For my Professor I tried emphasizing the educational part more and had to explain more about the program in case they had never heard of it before.  For my mom I wanted to emphasize the fact that I was having fun while still learning at the same time.  I started her piece by recalling a memory from my childhood so she would have something to compare Second Life to.  For my classmate, I wanted to emphasize the more fun parts about second life.  It also wasn’t necessary to explain simple Second Life things because my classmate is using the program and knows some basics.

Dear Mom,

As I was growing up, you watched me spend countless hours of my life playing the Sims.  I was always trying to convince you that it was not a waste of time, but it never seemed to work.  Now in my English 103 class we have just started to use Second Life.  It contains differences from the Sims, but still appears similar in some ways!  Basically, I have created an avatar that looks just like the characters on the Sims, but I can do so much more with my avatar.  I am even able to travel to outrageous places.  You wouldn’t believe me if I told you I was at the Sistine Chapel this morning. However, with Second Life I can visit and learn all about it and many other places without leaving my desk.  Second Life also differs in that it involves interaction with other real people that are online at the same time as me.  Some people I come across are there to help me learn about the places I visit.  This allows education to be incorporated while still maintaining the fun and adventure of traveling in an online world.  I’m excited to visit more places and tell you about my online travels.  Second Life creates a way to have fun and still be doing my homework! 

Mom's Reaction: 

Dear Caroline,

I always used to play the Sims when I was in elementary school and I’m sure you did too.  When the game first came out, my friends and I would play and talk about the game constantly.  With that being said, I became excited when I found out that an educational form of one of my favorite computer games exists and that we were going to explore it for English class!  The best part of Second Life that makes it so much better than the Sims can be realized when a user discovers the traveling. Who wouldn't want to take a trip without having to deal with the hassles of planning, packing and sitting in traffic?  Also, I love the idea of going to places I would never have the time or money to go to in any normal circumstance.  Teleporting to the Sistine Chapel is much more exciting than just reading about it in a textbook.  Taking a vacation to the beach might also be a nice break from the stresses of everyday college life.  The other people you interact with are real people as well, so you may not be exploring these new sites alone, which makes traveling that much more fun!  Second Life opens up so many fun possibilities and opportunities to travel that are going be exciting as we learn to use the program more throughout the upcoming semester. 

Dear Professor McWhorter,

Just as we are learning about many new things in CORE, I’m learning about a new program in one of my writing classes.  It is called Second Life.  I’m not sure if you’ve heard about it before, but it is a virtual online world and you create a virtual person called an avatar.  Traveling throughout this virtual world brings many different aspects of education to this online site.  Being able to teleport allows you to travel to many different places.  This morning I was just in a recreation of the Sistine Chapel.  It was created by faculty and students at Vassar College.  The realistic recreation allows the viewer to gain a sense of what it feels like to be inside the chapel without actually being there.  A helpful aspect in Second Life enables you to converse with the other people using the program in the places you go in order to learn from them even when you are both sitting at your computers in different places.  Second Life has the potential to connect people and has great potential for educational opportunities.  If we were not fortunate enough to have the time to go to the Virginia State Capital later this fall, it would be possible to build it on Second Life land and make our visit that way from computers here at the University of Richmond.  We would still be able to conceive what it feels like to be in the Capital Building even though we experienced it in an unconventional way.    

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