Additional Website Evaluation Comments

Rob, I found your review of the Brainerd website very insightful. The point you raise about the appropriateness of his simple web design vis-à-vis his content and easy tone is a good one.

This website, more than any other that we reviewed last week, made me think about the issue of audience. Roe likely had a good understanding of who his audience would be and what kind of content and features they would appreciate. This is not to say that I think Roe shaped his website to please a particular audience; I actually think he probably constructed the site mainly because he was interested in learning more about Brainerd and wanted to explore the idea of time, place and memory. I think he could’ve taken a closer examination of those latter issues and potentially created a more expansive site and rich discussion. But as the memory section clearly illustrates, the site is meaningful to a (small) number of people and had the power to evoke a lot of personal memories to those associated with the town. I imagine that thinking about audience could be more difficult when your topic is not as specific.