Beau

1. reflections on the techno-literacy memoir. Creating a techno-literacy memoir was, for me, an interesting experience. I'm willing to bet that many of my childhood memories were shared or at least echoed by my peers and classmates, but for me they were unique. As McLuhan stated "the medium is the message", and in this case that could not have been clearer. Normally, in a process such as this I would spend a week ruminating on possible ideas and then write them up in word processor. However, since that was not going to be the method of delivery, the "medium", I decided to use my final draft space as my first draft space as well. I chose to do this project primarily on a website because I had never created a website before then and had always found the idea of doing so intruiging and empowering. Sort of like once you have created your own webspace you have achieved an ascendance to techno-divinity and now dwell on Mt. Microsoft with the other techno-gods or something. I also posted some of my project on my blog, which is a meager excuse for a blog I assure you, simply because I wanted to empower myself further by creating a link to another webspace that existed exclusively by my whim. Ego, much? Hmmm.

2. Where is the new media taking writing? I think that one day, probably at least one paradigm away, "writing" will be a purely mental act. However, as I said, that is at least one paradigm shift away. For right now I'll do my best to stick to our lifetimes. One thing that we'll probably see more of in the coming years is interpretive, almost assumptive programming that are along the lines of the "T9" programs used on cell phones to make word creation easier and faster. As the computer comes to know your style and vocabulary it will be able to fill in the gaps faster than you could type. It will, of course, need its glitches worked out. Right now, you can type in "G" and the cell phones computer 'assists' you by completing your word, which was definately NOT "Inn". Another place I see writing going is much more text message based. As often as people my age and younger use their cell phones to communicate, and not for making phone calls, I've begun to wonder if that is in fact the wave of the future. It has several benefits. 1) you can have a long, involved conversation over the course of an entire day. 2) that conversation does not necessarily have to interrupt your daily business. 3) its very much like writing short e-mails or letters that are recieved almost instantly since whoever you are talking to is carrying their cell phone near them. Writing should be interesting in the future.

3. Ah, the text to web text project. This project was quite a challenge for me. Primarily, I had no papers left over from previous semesters for various reasons. Secondarily, all the short fiction I have is of god-awful quality. I shudder to think that somewhere, someone may be reading that incredibly bad script! With regards to the way the text changed, I have to say I misunderstood the project. I am terrible with directions and am prone to going off on tangents and I think that is what happened with this particular project. I didn't so much re-create what I had as make it mobile. Oh, sure, I changed some things. I broke it up in chunks, I changed the font, I edited it somewhat, but not nearly as much as I believe I should have. In short, I messed up. I purposefully thought very little about my audience, since I knew without a doubt that what I was presenting them with was frighteningly bad, as a means of being able to put out what pitiful material I did have in my possession. Basically I had stage fright.

4. Have I changed as a writer? As a writer, I think I've become more aware of audience than I have been in the past. Historically speaking, I like to keep my head down and run towards my goal, get there as fast as possible and then never look back. However, I'm typically writing for one or two people and I know that what I'm writing isn't nearly as important as how it is written and presented to those people. Cynical, yes. Very much so, thanks. However, this semester I've changed, grown up, matured even. My writing may or may not have gotten any better, but I think that it has, and that is good enough for me. I've learned new terminology over the semester, which is always helpful. I've learned new ways to say things and places to put the things that I've said, which is even more helpful. In short, which I say too often I think, I've grown as a writer.

5. Who was my favorite theorist? I really enjoyed N. Katherine Hayles. Compared to Bolter, who was so technical as to be nearly indecipherable, she was a breath of fresh air in a stifling room full of technical jargon, and sentences that make an issue cloudier instead of clearer. Don't misunderstand me, Bolter did have moments wherin his discourse could be illuminating and helpful. Such as his definition of "hypertext". But for the most part, though I think he meant well, his text was incredibly dense and hard to understand. It was after reading Bolter that I came to appreciate Hayles. Her background as a professor must have influenced her writing, because her style is very easy to follow. Also, compared to Haraway, whose "Cyborg Manifesto" borders on the insane, Hayles is easy to follow. While Bolter was too technical, Haraway was too...almost spiritual. You have the feeling that you are stepping through a beaded curtain into a dark, smoke-filled room when reading Haraway's essay, which is filled with science-fiction phrasing. Compared to this, Hayles is blessedly didactic. Her "how we became posthuman" was both easy to follow (if somewhat dull) and enlightening. That's one thing you can say for Haraway. Her writing was never dull.