David Pogue wrote an article for the New York Times about websites for sharing photos in which he evaluated a number of different services. He uses two hooks to catch the reader. The first is his reference to casual instant messaging lingo. Some younger people are comfortable with it and some older people are confused by it, but both are familiar with the social barrier it creates. The next hook he uses is a anecdote about his mother wanting prints of photos and her struggle to get them using an online service because of her unfamiliarity with technology. This is a story almost anyone can relate to, having been on either side of a similar situation.
Pogue's role as narrator shifts after his introduction as he begins to evaluate the different online photo services. The format of his writing also changes. His article divides into different sections, a section for each web service he evaluates. This organized structure gives a reader looking for quick information on certain services an easy way to read what he/she wants to. Pogue becomes a subjective evaluator, but keeps his casual, conversational voice to make the evaluations easily understood as well as to relate to points he made using the same voice as narrator.
While the article is an evaluation of photo sharing services, Pogue is also offering his insight into how people do things is changing. Many of the services he evaluates simply do not meet his standards. While he understands the process of sharing, his mom did not, and sharing was therefore difficult. Overall Pogue acknowledges that times are changing, but his disappointed in the amount of adjustment that requires.
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