1What is online journalism? - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

176 Journalism Online
categorization, we can put web users broadly into the following
three groups.
Captive (wide-eyed innocent) – they will use your resource
regardless of its presentation, design or their skill level. A
captive audience will be uncritical of the work and often judge
content on their preconceptions about the subject or author,
rather than any intrinsic value within the content and design.
Fans who visit pop star sites often fall within the captive user
group.
Non-captive (the browser) – this is probably the most common
type using the web. As browsers, they look for specific
information with little idea of where they can get it. Once they
find it with a search engine or link, they may read the document
if it gives them what they want, as long the presentation is
reasonably user friendly.
Experts (the surfer) – these look for specific information
presented in a specific way. They expect sites to ‘work’ in a
certain way and often disregard content and reject sites if they
do not meet their criteria. Once they have found a site that
meets their needs, they are less likely to return to it regularly
like the enamoured browser. They will just add it to their
bulging collection of bookmarked sites, to be monitored
occasionally.
However, it should be noted that web users are chameleons.
Many will fit into more than one of the above categories,
depending on the subject-matter they are seeking. The expert
can become a captive when trawling the fanzines of his favourite
football team.
Technological variations
Designers of web pages usually have good equipment. They work
on it all day and it pays the bills, so why not? They also often have
the latest kit – for the same reasons, but also because some of
them are in love with technology.