The relationship between print and digital media is that they both are under the category of "everyday writing." Both ways of mass media communicate certain ideas and are intended for certain audiences. I found it very interesting when I read that, "Every country in the Western world uses more paper today, on a per-capita basis, than it did ten years ago" because everyone always talks about how computers will replace old-school methods of communication and how we are turning into robots and such. Obviously, there are some instances when using a pen and paper would be less time-consuming and easily accessible rather than a digital source. For some reason when I make lists I like to write them out instead of putting them on my phone for the fear of an accidental deletion. Print media allows the messages to be permanent, whereas anything involved in a digital way can be easily altered.
Just like mentioned in the article and reiterated by Amanda, all kinds of print media and digital media can be filed according to personal preference. Computers and software come with an organizational system, however, when dealing with papers, the organization is more manual. A handwritten letter is more personal and unique because it is time consuming, rather than a quick e-mail which can be circulated to a variety of people at one click of a button. A letter needs to be stamped and carried by the post office, whereas an e-mail can be immediately distributed.
I strongly believe that both ways of media will still be used forever because both accomplish the same task in different ways. As technology keeps growing, there is no doubt that there will be fast and simple ways to communicate wherever someone is, but if these methods fail, there is always a writing utensil and a piece of paper somewhere.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Week 12 Journal
What is the relationship between print and digital media? Will one medium replace the other medium? And what does this mean for everyday writing?
Both print and digital media play a significant role in our daily lives. We rely on certain information to come from a print text and other information to come from our Facebook feeds. In recent times, there has been a drastic urge to reduce the amount of paper we use because "paper kills trees" and dead trees kill us and a whole bunch of other environmental B.S.. Though this may be true, many people don't realize that without paper many of our daily functions would cease to exist and that would drastically affect how our world operates as a whole.
When computer technology started, as Gladwell stated, it was not supposed to replace paper. In many ways in modern society with the Go Green campaigns, populations around the world have begun to reduce the amount of paper they use and start going paperless, using computers to file and store many of those documents. Inventors have created devices to easily allow the transfer of files from paper to digital. But Gladwell states, "Everything we know about the workplace suggests that few if any knowledge workers ever refer to documents again once they have filed them away . . ." This can be seen with Dewey's invention of the filing cabinet. Once papers had been taken off the desk, out of their piles that produced active and ongoing thinking, things became less of a priority and eventually not referred to. The same can be assumed for computers, as their original function was to organize files and essentially "store" paper instead of having and excess and unnecessary amount of paper lying around office spaces.
Digital media will not, in my opinion, replace print media, at least not in this generation. I wholeheartedly believe this because paper and thus print media play active roles in our lives. If I write a to-do list for myself it stays in my mind because I'm actively thinking about the things that I need to complete to make that list shrink. But yet if I were to do the same on my iPhone, that list would get thrown to the back of my priorities because of other easily accessible functions my phone has. There have been countless times where I've gone onto my phone to set an alarm or check my email and twenty minutes later I'm scrolling Pinterest wondering what exactly I was supposed to be doing. Print media enables thinking as Gladwell says. Our piles on our desks, to-do lists in our notebooks, random notes we've left for ourselves all activate our minds into the here and now, but digital media cannot do that. Digital media stores our files for another day and sends us into a lull.
Both print and digital media play a significant role in our daily lives. We rely on certain information to come from a print text and other information to come from our Facebook feeds. In recent times, there has been a drastic urge to reduce the amount of paper we use because "paper kills trees" and dead trees kill us and a whole bunch of other environmental B.S.. Though this may be true, many people don't realize that without paper many of our daily functions would cease to exist and that would drastically affect how our world operates as a whole.
When computer technology started, as Gladwell stated, it was not supposed to replace paper. In many ways in modern society with the Go Green campaigns, populations around the world have begun to reduce the amount of paper they use and start going paperless, using computers to file and store many of those documents. Inventors have created devices to easily allow the transfer of files from paper to digital. But Gladwell states, "Everything we know about the workplace suggests that few if any knowledge workers ever refer to documents again once they have filed them away . . ." This can be seen with Dewey's invention of the filing cabinet. Once papers had been taken off the desk, out of their piles that produced active and ongoing thinking, things became less of a priority and eventually not referred to. The same can be assumed for computers, as their original function was to organize files and essentially "store" paper instead of having and excess and unnecessary amount of paper lying around office spaces.
Digital media will not, in my opinion, replace print media, at least not in this generation. I wholeheartedly believe this because paper and thus print media play active roles in our lives. If I write a to-do list for myself it stays in my mind because I'm actively thinking about the things that I need to complete to make that list shrink. But yet if I were to do the same on my iPhone, that list would get thrown to the back of my priorities because of other easily accessible functions my phone has. There have been countless times where I've gone onto my phone to set an alarm or check my email and twenty minutes later I'm scrolling Pinterest wondering what exactly I was supposed to be doing. Print media enables thinking as Gladwell says. Our piles on our desks, to-do lists in our notebooks, random notes we've left for ourselves all activate our minds into the here and now, but digital media cannot do that. Digital media stores our files for another day and sends us into a lull.
Week 12 Journal
Print
media and digital media are very strongly related. Print media came before
digital. With the advancements of technology, print media was “digitalized”.
Both forms have similar qualities and come with particular advantages and
disadvantages to using each one. Print media has the convenience of physically
being able to annotate and edit. Print is preferred because many people like to
be able to have a physical copy to read and edit as opposed to having to pull
the file up online and read off of a computer screen. On the other hand,
digital media can be stored and organized electronically, saving space and
paper. However, by storing digitally, the “art of piling” as discussed in the
article is lost. With little thinking, almost subconsciously, paper and other
forms of print media are organized in a very specific manner. For example, if
you were to exam my desk, you would find notebooks in one drawer, a pile of
important receipts on one shelf, a pile of business cards, a pile of miscellaneous
papers consisting of bank statements, syllabi, access codes for online books, letters
from friends, and anything else that comes across my desk. This pile is
organized by time, most recently viewed items towards the top. The way my desk
is organized makes sense to me, if an outsider were to come and try and find a
text, they would not be able to find it as easily as I would. The advantage to
having the text in print form is its ability to be “piled” or spatially
organized. Piles represent how we think. Paper is spatially flexible, so it is
able to be organized and arranged in a way that fits the owner’s needs. Digital
text on the other hand can only be organized in a way that is set by the
program used, there is much less room for flexibility. Due to the fact that
both digital and print possess their own advantages and disadvantages, I believe
that both mediums will continue to coexist. People will always enjoy the
advantage of being able to pile print medium, spatially organize, and
physically edit paper. However, the ability to quickly share and publish
digital media will also be favored. Everyday writing will continue to exist in
both forms. It simply depends on the user’s needs and preferences when choosing
which medium he or she will pick to communicate their message.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Extra Credit
What did you learn? What do you find most interesting about hook's piece? Be specific. Also, discuss the role that issues or race, gender, sexuality or class play in everyday writing.
If given hook's assignment, I would probably design a house with a significant amount of windows, a lot of wood features, granite counter tops, maybe a walk-in closet the size of Princess Mia's in the Princess Diaries movie. But if I were given an assignment that focused on our actual living spaces, I would have designed something that didn't focus on those aesthetically pleasing features but rather on the homeliness of the items inside. I grew up in lower-middle class, government housing so having a lot of windows, wood features, and granite counter tops were completely out the question because they'd be a ridiculous amount of money and for what? So a robber could easily see the computer you spent half of your bank account on? hook's point about the difference in class and how they would take the second assignment is interesting to me. It makes a lot of sense that someone who'd grown up with more privilege would design something that didn't function well because function wouldn't necessarily matter because they would have all the space they'd need. hook's argument that those who aren't well off would focus on functionality in the design says a lot about class structure and within that race and gender as well. Those who grow up in a lower class setting know how to make use of every little space. Most know how to think economically, using every little space to their advantage. hook's anecdote about the woman who was completely satisfied with her house being taken up by cots is an example. Material items don't matter to a lower class person because, frankly, they take up unnecessary space when that space could be used for something like a cot.
Race, gender, sexuality and class can all play a role in everyday writing. Wording, phrasing, spelling, what platform a person uses all are where someone can see all of those come out. If it's a letter, the difference could be in stationary: whether or not the rhetor writes using a piece of scrap paper or purchased stationary. It it's a blog post or a Facebook post, it could be how well that person uses grammar and spelling. If someone posts, "yo yall like my new rap it boss af," many people would assume African American, male, straight, mid to lower class, but it could certainly be Caucasian, male, gay, upper class. Race, gender, sexuality and class can all play a role in everyday writing but I think it's a discreet role and something that we don't necessarily need to comprehend fully to understand the text. We can know that the rhetor is gay but what if they are writing an article for a newspaper on the economic standing of the United States? Knowing these don't necessarily affect our understanding of the text. It is within a setting that society deems "normal" that they affect our understanding, for example a female writing a feminist blog.
If given hook's assignment, I would probably design a house with a significant amount of windows, a lot of wood features, granite counter tops, maybe a walk-in closet the size of Princess Mia's in the Princess Diaries movie. But if I were given an assignment that focused on our actual living spaces, I would have designed something that didn't focus on those aesthetically pleasing features but rather on the homeliness of the items inside. I grew up in lower-middle class, government housing so having a lot of windows, wood features, and granite counter tops were completely out the question because they'd be a ridiculous amount of money and for what? So a robber could easily see the computer you spent half of your bank account on? hook's point about the difference in class and how they would take the second assignment is interesting to me. It makes a lot of sense that someone who'd grown up with more privilege would design something that didn't function well because function wouldn't necessarily matter because they would have all the space they'd need. hook's argument that those who aren't well off would focus on functionality in the design says a lot about class structure and within that race and gender as well. Those who grow up in a lower class setting know how to make use of every little space. Most know how to think economically, using every little space to their advantage. hook's anecdote about the woman who was completely satisfied with her house being taken up by cots is an example. Material items don't matter to a lower class person because, frankly, they take up unnecessary space when that space could be used for something like a cot.
Race, gender, sexuality and class can all play a role in everyday writing. Wording, phrasing, spelling, what platform a person uses all are where someone can see all of those come out. If it's a letter, the difference could be in stationary: whether or not the rhetor writes using a piece of scrap paper or purchased stationary. It it's a blog post or a Facebook post, it could be how well that person uses grammar and spelling. If someone posts, "yo yall like my new rap it boss af," many people would assume African American, male, straight, mid to lower class, but it could certainly be Caucasian, male, gay, upper class. Race, gender, sexuality and class can all play a role in everyday writing but I think it's a discreet role and something that we don't necessarily need to comprehend fully to understand the text. We can know that the rhetor is gay but what if they are writing an article for a newspaper on the economic standing of the United States? Knowing these don't necessarily affect our understanding of the text. It is within a setting that society deems "normal" that they affect our understanding, for example a female writing a feminist blog.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Extra Credit
First off, I want to say that the assignment of drawing your "dream home" is very imaginative. I would like to think that if I were given that assignment, and if I could draw, my house would be just like the authors.
The author talked about how imaginative reading is and how it is truly a place of the readers own imagination and where they can escape. As an avid reader myself, I believe how that cannot be more true. I like home the author said that this project can connect people with different backgrounds. That people with different ethnicities and race and levels of poverty can have the same dreams. The author points out how if the students were told to think about the surroundings of their dream house. I believe that too be true because someones childhood would effect how they dream to be as an adult. For example, I live in a Miami suburb but my dream house would be located in the mountains or in New York City (two polar opposites). I think that would happen because I have gotten very bored in my childhood area that I want places that seem exotic to me and places where I can explore and the mountains and New York City both have that option for me.
I believe that race, gender, sexuality, and class all play major roles in everyday writing. These facts can change not only the topic of the writing, but can also change the writing instrument and surface. The conversations are very different between an african-american, gay male that came from a background of poverty compared to an upperclass white, straight female (and other variations of both, of course). Everybody has a different story that leaks into their everyday life and I do not see why it would not seep into their everyday writing.
The author talked about how imaginative reading is and how it is truly a place of the readers own imagination and where they can escape. As an avid reader myself, I believe how that cannot be more true. I like home the author said that this project can connect people with different backgrounds. That people with different ethnicities and race and levels of poverty can have the same dreams. The author points out how if the students were told to think about the surroundings of their dream house. I believe that too be true because someones childhood would effect how they dream to be as an adult. For example, I live in a Miami suburb but my dream house would be located in the mountains or in New York City (two polar opposites). I think that would happen because I have gotten very bored in my childhood area that I want places that seem exotic to me and places where I can explore and the mountains and New York City both have that option for me.
I believe that race, gender, sexuality, and class all play major roles in everyday writing. These facts can change not only the topic of the writing, but can also change the writing instrument and surface. The conversations are very different between an african-american, gay male that came from a background of poverty compared to an upperclass white, straight female (and other variations of both, of course). Everybody has a different story that leaks into their everyday life and I do not see why it would not seep into their everyday writing.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Extra Credit
While reading through "Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice," my eyes were open to many new things. I had no idea that writing could be subliminally political. The art project that the author's teacher assigned could have gone in an extremely and opposite direction if the children were asked to construct a house similar to what they live in. A vast majority of the ideas of structures would be different. For example, Hook mentions that the assignment could have "...created a sense of entitlement for some and deprivation for others." This would be due to the "white supremacy" and racial discrimination going on during that time. The art assignment would then be shifted to focusing on political and social hierarchies.
She mentions that when thinking of architecture, many think of space. In writing, there are certain techniques that writers think about. For example, a writer may always write in a certain perspective, or a particular tone. Both the art project and a piece of writing are explore creativity. The thing that I found most interesting while reading this chapter was how much race and gender inequalities were contained and showed in the project. While it was a "dream house," Hook explains that "...those of us from non privileged backgrounds would have had an opportunity to think about our architecture and design in relation to our lives both in the present and in the future." Even though the assignment was to create the imaginary, most people would base it off of the familiar.
I believe that race, gender, and social class play a major role in everyday writing. Without experiences from multiple races, genders, and social classes, there is little information on the situations that they undergo. For example, during the times of slavery, if there weren't any recordings on life as a slave, many people would remain oblivious and perhaps life would continue how it was. Everyday writing is up to the writer. Therefore, the writer can choose to what messages they want to get across to the audience. This piece was very informational and made me think of everyday writing in a different way.
Extra Credit: Race and Everyday Writing
For this extra credit assignment, read through bell hook's "Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice" and respond to it: what did you learn? What do you find most interesting about hook's piece? Be specific. Also, discuss the role that issues or race, gender, sexuality, or class play in everyday writing.
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