Digital Awareness
One of the hardest and slowest aspects of traditional writing is the critique/feedback process. It takes a lot of leg work and time to get your work out to individuals to proof, read, and provide feedback on your work. Luckily the web has helped streamline the feedback process and open up new avenues for which to seek critiques.
Web Log (Blog)
Blog
Web logs, or blogs as they are more commonly known, are great places to post your work for many people to see. Blogs generally have a built in comment/feedback system which allows people to quickly respond to your work. This almost instant response mechanism is one of a blog's greatest advantages. Generally if something takes too much time to accomplish on the web, users don't bother to participate. Blogs are covered in much more detail in the Join a Community section.
Message Boards
Message Board
Message boards are public forums on which users can post topics and hold discussions on a variety of subjects. Boards can sometimes be moderated. Moderation can be good in that it cuts down on off topic responses and spam, but some users don't like the fact that what they say is monitored so they will not use the message board.
E-mail
E-mail is a more personal way to solicit feedback. You can e-mail friends, family, collegues, publishers, etc... : bascially anyone who you want to read your work. They can then read your work on their own time, make comments, and respond back to you. While this method may not be as fast as blogs or message boards, it can yield more personal and relevant feedback.
These are just of the few ways you can elicit feedback for your work. They each have their pros and cons and are useful in different situations and combinations. Only you as the writer can decide how you want to receive your feeback. However, the bottom line is...BE CREATIVE. Explore and use the internet the way you want to.
2005