The Uncertainty Principle

Source: Marketing Land

The uncertainty principle is defined by Jenkins in Spreadable Media as when producers create content, they must consider content that resonates with the audience and to do so must ensure content is made available in forms that audiences will most likely find useful, and approaches for understanding what motivates audiences to circulate content ( Jenkins 196-197). This is relevant to digital writing environments because whether we're writing on social media or a website, the content that we put on there must be relevant enough as well as relatable enough for readers and users to feel that it is useful.

Think of how-to videos on YouTube. These videos are useful and many users find that the content is relatable enough that they may share it in their circle of friends who do cooking, baking, or even DIY's. Content creators need to make sure that first and foremost that they're producing a video when trying to put something on YouTube because that's what people are looking for. Then, they must be sure their content is relevant to what users may want to see, such as how to bake holiday themed cupcakes since Christmas is coming up. The users watching the video might think, "This is something that ____ may want to see, let me just share it on Facebook so that they can see it. Maybe someone else may find it useful as well." Having a relevant and well-made video will cause people to circulate the content, whether it's to help someone or just because the cake's decorations are cute and I want others to see it as well.

Words Cited:

Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media. New York

University Press, New York, 2013, pp. 196-197