Computers and the internet have changed the way society looks at the world. This year, it is estimated that there will be nearly 3.5 billion internet users worldwide (WWWF, 2016). The internet allows almost everyone in the world to access blogs, social media and online shopping, as well as any other information. The internet also allows businesses to access their customers and employees worldwide, as well as interacting with other organisations. SteamRanger Heritage Railway and Railpage are two railway websites which share many similarities and differences in the purpose, form, context, and audience. The features of these websites will be compared in this essay. The SteamRanger Heritage Railway and Railpage have a similar audience, targeting …show more content…
Prior to the internet, the railway used posters as their main source of communication. With the dying age of newspapers and posters, and the need keep up with society, the railway needed to develop their website to become accessible to the world. The language used by the railway has changed dramatically over the last 80 years. It is evident in the poster from 1936, where the language used is direct, concise and informative, with short statements including the statement “Travel by the Centenary Limited to the Murray Bridge Carnival”. In the 1976 poster, the language has changed to a more casual and brief statement, with further information inside the flyer. The current website uses a formal, impersonal language to give the reader a quick understanding about what the railway is currently running. The authors also use a welcoming, inviting language, with statements like “Welcome to South Australia’s SteamRanger Heritage Railway” and “When you buy a ticket you are not just buying a train ride, but a whole new …show more content…
The purpose of the Railpage website is to allow people across Australia to view the latest news and blog posts in the Australian Railway world. For this purpose, the Railpage website is written in a blog style. In contrast to SteamRanger’s website, Railpage features personal language, short sentences and paragraphs. This makes it easy for the reader to interpret information quickly and get a basic understanding of the subject. The various post authors use impersonal language like “I noticed” and “I saw”. Authors of the posts can also upload photos of their experience and create hyperlinks to other pages. The format of the home page layout is also different between the two websites. The layout of the SteamRanger webpage is simple and organised with a focus on ease of use. The website uses few pictures of their services and has no outside advertising. It has clear links to different areas of their website on the left hand side of the page with the viewing area on the rest of the page. For example if you clicked on the hyperlink to Enthusiast pages, it would direct you to that page, where the reader can find information about the technical statistics of the locomotives, and explore more pages by following the