Definition
While it's a simple observation, one of the defining characteristics of the internet as a publishing space is that it is an interactive medium. This means that there are choices to be made about the degree and types of participation (which is to say, discovery, commenting, sharing, etc) that audiences and producers can engage in.
Engagement can therefore take on many forms, some of which may be:
- What pre-existing context(s) the space is engaging in.
- How audiences find the online space in the first place.
- What quantitative methods are offered to audiences for interactive engagement, such as 'liking'.
- What qualitative methods are offered for engagement, such as commeting or sharing.
- Which strategies are used outside of the space itself to engage with audiences, for example: social media such as Twitter or Instagram.
The answers to these questions are not obvious as approaches to engagement depend heavily on a variety of factors, for example: the concept which sits behind the show/space, and; the technical and social/personal capacity to facilitate different types of input (Is moderation required? Is it part of a broader 'engagement strategy'?).