All the World's a Writing Space: Observations on Writing in the 21st Century

In the 1940’s you were writing . . .

In the 1950’s you were handwriting and . . .

In the 1960s, you were addressing . . .

In the 1970s, you were revising . . .

In the 1980s, you were keyboarding . . .

In the 1990s, you were emailing . . .

In the 2000’s, you were facebooking around the world . . .


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Six Observations: Print; Screen; Net


1. The net makes visible a collection of information connected to a making of knowledge that has existed for some time.

Question: What other studies have been created in this collective method?

2. The net makes possible new ways to collect information, organized by laypeople.
Question: Is this a writing capacity that we should teach in school?

3. The net invites a new kind of citizen journalist (Ben Franklin multiplied) keyed to critical information in crisis moments especially.

Question: What’s the role of the journalist in a 21st century world, especially in a democratic republic?

4. The net has been expertly employed by the Democrats, beginning with Howard Dean and later by Barak Obama, particularly to provide opportunities for people to participate.
Question: Now that Obama is the president—that is, the leader of a hierarchy—(how) can he make two very different structures—hierarchy and the web—work together?

5. Through the net, people—here and around the world—share as never before: words, pictures, video, audio.
Question: How will this sharing change the nature of writing, especially in three ways: writing as remix; writing as protected by copyright; writing as the expression of an individual “author”?

6. Via the net, people co-author in teams across the globe, using the screen as a principal drafting space; as a communication site; and as a means of delivery.
Question: How will these new writing practices change our composing overall, especially the practice of chunking text for the screen and for multiple deliveries?


-->And overall, how/will these practices change what and how we know?