Considering both Lessig and Jenkins, being a writer in the 21st century means that any idea can be reused to write something more elaborate. Lessig explains how people usually prefer the original over something that is a “remix”, so reusing content that is considered great does not make the remix great. Writing something original that people can or want to relate to makes a writer better than those who reuse something. In Jenkins’ article, Heather’s fake school newspaper based on the world of Harry Potter allows children to share their feelings and use their imagination by pretending that they are part of the wizard world. If used creatively, writing while reusing some of another’s content can be interesting as well as fun.
The emergence of digital technologies and Web 2.0 allows for new ways of composing by giving people a fast way to connect without having to leave their homes. In my previous journal entry, I discussed what collaboration was. Jenkins provided an example of online collaboration with Heather’s fake online school newspaper, as kids went on the site to write their hearts out with their imagination. Lessig’s friend, Ben, wrote papers with a collaboration of quotes in order to explain his findings, but he did not call any of the authors to ask if he could quote them because he did not have to. His collaboration of quotes made his writing not as interesting as it could have been had he tried to explain himself using less quotes and more of his own work.
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