And speaking of... Web 2.0... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Published on the original Storytellers Keep Blog on August 1, 2007.

Here's another video that my sister forwarded a while back (thanks, sis).

Given what my alter ego is working on, it is quite relevant, but it also appealed to the writer in me.  I know I have to think about how "the machine (we/us)" digests information and the new ways information is made available to us.  Thankfully, the basics -- form and content -- will always be relevant.  And the classic presentation forms (i.e., a tangible, I'm-holding-it-in-my-hands-sitting-by-the-fire-with-my-tea book) are still embraced by many of us.  (wiping forehead with relief)  Whew.

It's interesting that, even in this great age of affordable and easily accessible technology, we are seeing a slight division.  This is apparent even in my own nephews.  On the one side, my youngest nephew (he's 3), living in the suburbs, can already drive most electronic gizmos.  A wiz, he is my "go to" guy when I need some help starting up their DVD player.  I suspect he'll get a great deal of information and knowledge from the internet (or whatever the internet evolves into) as he grows up.  On the other are my waterdude nephew (11) and motorcycling nephew (13).  Living in a rural community, their exposure to computers and the "web" is more limited.  They get a lot of their information/knowledge from books and their elders/mentors.  As a writer, I want to be sensitive to these variants.

Bottom line... there is much to consider when crafting our works.  It is easy to get bogged down by the enormity of it.  When I do, I flee to the basics.  Form.  Content.  Audience.  (Not necessarily in that order.)  (smile)   Enjoy this video.  I certainly do.

COMMENTS

Liz Ness said:

I've often thought a fictional blog would be very interesting. A series like Dickens' delivered to the public, becaming a book upon completion. Readers would await the next installment every week. The cool/strange thing about blogs is that they currently have a quality of "truth" to them. It'd be fun to play with that a little...