What do we call the people we make content for?

What is the name for people who consume content? We have names for people who create the content – usually “creator” or “editor” – but what do we call the people on the other side? The people who view/read the content we create and edit?

  • "Visitor”: This is common, but this presumes someone is going to “visit” a website. What if you send them an email? What if they read your content on social media?

  • "User”: Do people “use” content? They “use” an app or functionality, but can we use that term to define people who view/read content?

  • "Public”: What if they’re not the public? What if it’s an intranet, or an email list?

  • "Consumer”: I love this, because people “consume” content. But there’s potential for confusion with the economic term “consumer.”

  • "Audience”: This is good, but what’s the singular? Audience is an aggregate term.

What do we call these people? Can we collectively define a term for this group?

This is item #31 in a sequence of 357 items.

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