Authors always have to keep their audience in mind. Unfortunately, audiences always change, especially when you target young adults like I do. One thing that really helps me keep my audience in clear focus is reading the yearly Mindset List, published by Beloit College. So what is this list? As the college puts it:
What started as a witty way of saying to faculty colleagues “watch your references,” has turned into a globally reported and utilized guide to the intelligent if unprepared adolescent consciousness. It is requested by thousands of readers, reprinted in hundreds of print and electronic publications, and used for a wide variety of purposes. It immediately caught the imagination of the public, and in the ensuing years, has drawn responses from around the world. This site now gets more than a million hits a year.
Some from this year’s list that jumped out to me:
9. “Don’t touch that dial!”….what dial?
12. Amazon has never been just a river in South America.
25. Video games have always had ratings.
37. Music has always been available via free downloads.
56. They’ve always wanted to be like Shaq or Kobe: Michael Who?
57. They’ve often broken up with their significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.
Undoubtedly, some of you are saying, “yeah, and?” Well, one day you’ll understand.
So, which point on the mindset list hit you the hardest? EDC
Edward D. Casey 