Chelsi Chang-- Journal #3

Writing, circulation, and technology are all deeply interconnected. Each abstract idea can build upon another to make something even better. For example, technology has definitely impacted circulation in ways we are still learning about today. The advent of social media websites has made so many people’s thoughts and ideas so readily available that you can almost learn anything about a person based off of a simple scan of their profile. One example of that is in the article we read by Joel Penney and Caroline Dadas where they examine the Occupy Wall Street movement. They discussed how much of this movement gained traction through social media, namely Twitter. Users were able to tweet and retweet their strong opinions about the one percent as well as find and meet up with people with similar views. Mixing technology with writing has allowed people to express themselves in a faster, easier, and more accessible manner. There is no longer one sole voice that speaks for the public; the public can now speak for themselves and anyone in the world can find, read, and—usually—reply at no cost.

We can even go back further into history and look at the Gutenberg printing press as a form of technology that changed the circulation of writing—arguably the most important moment in mass media history.  The advent of the printed word allowed people to mass-produce thoughts and ideas at a rate unprecedented in human history. Suddenly books and manuscripts existed with more than just one copy and literacy became a reachable goal for the middle and lower classes, as novels were more readily available to them.

            Even before the printing press, writing and circulation were still linked. Margetta Jolly discusses this idea in her article as she talks about the women who fought for peace during the 1980s. Despite being miles and miles away from one another, these women were able to create and maintain a sense of community by writing to each other as much as possible. The shared meaning created through these letters kept them motivated as they fought for world leaders to stop nuclear missiles and listen to their demand for peace.

            These three words both build upon and complicate the relationship with one another yet they can never be separated.