Technological Literature at Its Best: Blogging
Blogging, as a new way of writing through technology, has changed the mentality of many when it comes to being intellectually unique. It not only helps many communicate among friends and family, but also communicates our sense of literature. Writing brings out our innate love of writing, even though it may be public. Blogging has shown many that there is a reason to love writing and to not be afraid of it, especially me.
N. Katherine Hayles believes that there is great achievement in writing. She believes that writing has transformed into an electronic text that can be read in many different possible ways. Essays that are electronically “written” are still considered to be “informative, meditative, and/or journalistic (Electronic Literature Collection Volume One).” Facebook and WordPress are examples of this. These sources are not just social networking sites; they allow users to collectively show their interests for writing in their own unique style. They also let many people write in any form they want and allows for them to become intellectual by reading and writing in their own way. Hayles speaks by saying:
“At this time in the early 1980s, modular programming was a new idea, and she thought it had much in common with the composition techniques she used in her writing classes. Paragraphs were like modules; transitions were like comments and annotations; structure and organization were like flowcharts (p.35).”
Hayles believes that writing in one’s own unique way helps one to create a new kind of genuine way of writing. Using the phrase “modular programming” suggests that there is a movement arising in the world of writing. People are creating and inventing something new every day that they can share with others. Everyone can read this material, which is less private and more out in the open for the world to see. This helps everyone become more creative through the world of technology allowing the writing to be more graphic and more artistic in the perspective of the writer. The reader becomes more attuned into the reading by having the imagination work the story line. This enables the reader to be more in-depth in the reading and possibly help him/her to understand it better.
When Hayles experienced the world of technology, “she realized that everything important to her met in the nexus of this material-semiotic object. It called forth the questions that continued to fascinate her about scientific research: what does it mean? Why is it important? It confronted her with the materiality of the physical world and its mediation through technological apparatus (p. 15).” Blogging helps create a new type of research by looking material up. It allows the reader to be more conscious and concentrate more on the thesis with different graphics and a new persona in the writing. Instead of having to figure things out and flip through pages all one would have to do is scroll up and down to find the answer.
Birkerts would also agree that reading is not private anymore. It is out in the open and for everyone to see in the public domain. Birkerts thinks that reading in private is more appropriate than out in the public. He suggests that there is no reason for blogging or any electronic source, for that matter, to help an individual with reading. Reading privately helps one to become more intellectual and it helps them embrace the true nature of the story. Reading, according to Birkerts, should not be a way to communicate, but to bring the story to life in the mind without using graphics or any source of electronic dialect. To him, reading is a way to bring relief from the outside world. To reinforce his ideas, Sven Birkerts says:
“The reading I did in late boyhood and early adolescence was passionate and private, carried on at high seat. When I went to my room and opened a book, it was to seal myself off as fully as possible in another place. I was not reading, as now, with only one part of the self. I was there body and soul, living vicariously…But what I have not lost is a churning anxiety, an almost intolerable sensation that sometimes has me drawing breaths to steady myself. There is something about the reading act that cuts through the sheath of distractedness that usually envelops me. It is as if I suddenly feel the pure flow of time behind the stationary letters (37).”
Birkerts, here, believes that the new millennium, full of new innovations for writing, is a disgrace to society. He thinks that it is making society stupid and not allowing them to make reading a more private time. He also prefers paperback sources to the new electronic text. He believes that an electronic source is taking away the true story and no solid purpose for the electronic text to be in society. With that said, Birkerts would agree that just picking up a book or magazine allows a more in-depth way of reading. Society has changed and Birkerts does not agree with it, unlike my views.
For me, blogging has encouraged me to be more sociable with my own unique style of writing. It has forced me to go out of my realm of writing and bring forth new material that I am comfortable to show to anyone in the general public on the internet. I am not saying blogs are replacing books, but I feel it is another tool to expand the mind with new ideas. Personally, I believe blogging has helped me to achieve many ways of writing. Everyone can critique or show me appreciation for my writing not just in the classroom, but through blogging.
Blogging can bring more imagination to the work produced through the instrument of typing at the computer to publishing the work on the site with the majority of your work or portfolio. Using Facebook and WordPress are good examples for me. Showing my work to the public, by using the internet, has helped me to be more comfortable with my method and approach to writing. It has been a great resource and has allowed me to be the writer that I want to be. Creating my own stories and publishing it with my own designs shows how different I want to be with my writing compared to others using electronic sources.
I am not saying Birkerts is wrong about the new technological age with reading and writing, but it seems to be only his views and argument alone on the subject. He does not include outsider opinions or facts. Many do not believe blogging is a reliable source when it comes to being public because there can be intruders on the internet. It also may be distracting to the person who is working on a piece of writing through blogging. With that in mind, not everyone may believe in Birkerts or my ideals. It is just how you may feel as a person and whether you want to be private or public and how you want to express yourself in your own intellectual way through a paged book or on the internet.
Clearly, it is apparent that blogging goes hand-in-hand with the way people communicate now-a-days in an intellectual way. People can now use electronic devices to portray their own sense of writing in an exceptional style of literature no matter who appreciates it or not. For me, Facebook and WordPress help me to not be afraid of the style of writing I want others to read and comment on. Technology, during this day in age, has become a new form of literature and many people will always have views on this factor. With that in mind, Hayles suggests that technology has helped many, like me; embrace their literature side, unlike the beliefs of Birkerts.
Works Cited
“Contents by Keyword.” Electronic Literature Collection Volume One. N.p., n.d.
Web. 19 Apr 2010.<http://collection.eliterature.org/1/aux/keywords.html>.
Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies. New York: Faber & Faber, Inc., 1994.
214-215. Print.
Hayles, N. Katherine. Writing Machines. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2002. 35.
The Views on Hayles and Birkerts and the New Meaning of an Electronic Source: Blogging
Blogging, as a new way of writing through technology, has changed the mentality of many when it comes to being intellectually unique. It not only helps many communicate among friends and family, but also communicates our sense of literature. Writing brings out what may be our distinctive sense of love of writing in our own way even though it may be public. Blogging has showed many that there is a reason to love writing and to not be afraid of it.
N. Katherine Hayles believes that there is great achievement in writing. She believes that writing has transformed to an electronic text that can be read in many different possible ways. Essays that are electronically “written” are still considered to be “informative, meditative, and/or journalistic (Electronic Literature Collection Volume One).” Facebook and WordPress.com are examples of this. They show that not only do people connect socially, but that many can collectively show interest in writing in their own unique style. It also lets many people write in any form they want and to become intellectual through reading and writing in their own way. Hayles says that:
“At this time in the early 1980s, modular programming was a new idea, and she thought it had much in common with the composition techniques she used in her writing classes. Paragraphs were like modules; transitions were like comments and annotations; structure and organization were like flowcharts (p.35).”
Hayles believes that writing in your own unique way helps one to create a new kind of authentic way of writing. Using the phrase “modular programming” suggests that there is a movement arising from the world of writing. People are creating and inventing something new everyday that is allowing everyone to read material that is less private and more out in the open for the world to see. This helps those become more creative through the world of technology allowing the writing to be more graphic and more artistic through the eyes of the writer. This enables the reader to be more in-depth in the reading and possibly help him/her to understand it better. Blogging helps create a new type of research by looking material up. It allows the reader to be more conscious and concentrate more on the thesis with different graphics and a new persona in the writing. The reader becomes more attuned into the reading by having the imagination work the story line. Instead of having to figure things out and flip through pages all one would have to do is scroll up and down to find the answer.
Another perspective that Hayles would believe to be true is that reading is not private anymore. It is out in the open and for everyone to see. It is more public and allows the reader to look more in detail with the words that the author of the blog bestowed for everyone to see. Reading a blog helps everyone communicate with a story and possibly the author as well. This allows people to be more intellectual through reading. It also broadens the horizons of every individual with the help of others. Birkerts thinks that reading in private is more appropriate than out in the public. He suggests that there is no reason for blogging or any electronic source, for that matter, to help an individual with reading. Reading privately helps one to become more intellectual and to help them embrace the true nature of the story. Reading, to him, should not be a way to communicate, but to bring the story to life in the mind without using graphics or any source of electronic dialect. To him, reading is a way to bring someone relief from the outside world.
To reinforce his ideas, Sven Birkerts says:
“I would draw the line, imprecisely, somewhere in the 1950s. That was when television worked its way into the fabric of American life, when he grew accustomed to the idea of parallel realities-one that we lived in, the other that we stepped into whenever we wanted a break from our living. People born after the mid-1950s are the carriers of the new; they make up the force that will push us out of our already-fading rural/small-town/urban understanding of social organization. The momentum of change has already made those designations all but meaningless. Any many think it is a good thing (p. 214-215).”
Birkerts, here, believes that the new millennium, full of new innovations for writing, is a disgrace to society. He thinks that it is making society stupid and not allowing them to make reading a more private time. He does not prefer electronic text to a paperback source also. He believes that an electronic source is taking away the true story and that there is no reason for an upgrade in society. With that said, Birkerts would agree that an electronic source is a more detrimental way of being more intellectual then just picking up a book or magazine that allows a more in-depth way of reading. Society has changed and Birkerts does not agree with it.
Clearly, it is apparent that blogging goes hand-in-hand with the way people communicate now-a-days in an intellectual way. With that in mind, people can use electronic devices to portray their own sense of writing in an exceptional style of literature no matter who appreciates it or not. For me, Facebook and WordPress help me to not be afraid of the style of writing I want others to read and comment on. Technology, during this day in age, has become the new age of literature and many people will always have views on this factor. With that in mind, Hayles suggests that technology has helped many embrace their literal side unlike Birkerts.
Works Cited
“Contents by Keyword.” Electronic Literature Collection Volume One. N.p., n.d.
Web. 19 Apr 2010.<http://collection.eliterature.org/1/aux/keywords.html>.
Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies. New York: Faber & Faber, Inc., 1994.
214-215. Print.
Hayles, N. Katherine. Writing Machines. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2002. 35.
Reflection
For the revision of the Final Project, I brought more of Birkerts views on the new technological era for writing, specifically blogging. I brought the sense of privacy into the picture and made sure to back up Birkerts’ view by using a quote from his novel The Gutenberg Elegies. After, I brought more of my opinions on blogging, how I feel about it and how it has helped me with my writing. I didn’t necessarily say that Birkerts was wrong, but pointed out that it was more of his opinions and views on the subject that he was explaining to the reader. I revised my essay this way because I wanted to show that there are many different opinions about blogging and how it can change someone’s way of reading and writing. With that in mind, this paper has showed me how to make a clear counter argument and to back it up with quotes to bring more emphasis to the piece of writing.
As a writer, I have learned to not just put quotes in random places and to bring it in a paragraph in a smoother way that explains the writing. Writing with examples has been more helpful to make my arguments more clear. I have learned how to bring my thesis through my whole paper and to make my conclusion sound similar to my introduction so it does not sound like the body part of the paper. These examples have made me become a more successful writer that has helped me achieve my goals of writing literature during my first year at Washington College. During my next three years at school, I want to keep in mind my “To Do List” so that I do not forget my skills that I learned in the classroom of spring semester.
