Every extension of mankind, especially technological extensions, has the effect of amputating or modifying some other extension.[Marshall McLuhan, “Understanding Media”]
For the vast majority of years since Gutenberg enabled mass produced written communication, those thoughts which become “published” existed in the mind of an author, forming, percolating, and growing in the synapses of their brain. These thoughts were the fruits of that author’s imagination and experience, and generally speaking, good quality writing was a craft which took a lifetime to perfect.
[FF]->With the advent of the internet, the global digital network has radically redefined the craft of writing and much more than that. This is especially true of the Web, where any digital information can be made available to a potential audience of billions, within seconds. And with the advent of the “read-write” web, and specifically blogging, many a writer (or painter, musician, filmmaker…) who before would have had to find a way through the gatekeepers of what was made public – Recording Labels, Publishing Houses, Galleries, Agents, Censors – can now self publish with ease.
This trend towards a zero-delay publication of our thoughts continues apace. A book might take author decades to write or publish. [FF]->And a well thought out blog post might take hours or even days to compose. [FF]-> Enter Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »
