Journal #3 - Megan Quinn

Especially true to modernity, writing, technology, and circulation are intricately linked together to accomplish a goal: to get a message out. Circulation can be any platform a text is presented on. The advancement of technology has changed circulation from newspapers and TV to a more prominent online presence with the utilization of social media tools, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The purpose of writing has hardly changed; it desires to convey a message, to sway an audience into thinking or feeling in a way that suits the author. The articles by Jolly and Penny and Dadas are examples of two social movements, in different time periods, using distinct substrates. These are but two showings of how social movements employed writing to get their concerns out to the greater public. Writing, technology, and circulation were put to use in combination to rabble-rouse American colonists to support independence from Great Britain, as well as supporting abolition for slavery in the next century. Social movements are not a unique concept. It is the means with which the movement spreads that has evolved.

Social media has taken on a life of its own in the realm of circulating messages. Information can be rapidly disseminated to people nationally and globally, and there is an immediate response. Before the Internet, people relied on newspapers, TVs, and magazines to learn the happenings of the world; before mass circulation, it took even longer to dispense news and drum up support or protest for a cause. Letter writing was another means to approach people, as seen in Jolly’s article. The introduction of Twitter and Facebook not only encourages the spread of information but also incites conversation about it. Twitter is useful for capturing attention, with tweets limited to 140 characters, and inviting curiosity from people to find out more about something. Facebook does much the same, sharing posts and articles to friends’ and families’ feeds and allowing them, however brief, a look into what someone found significant enough to share. Social media has enhanced the dissemination of information and encouraged a quicker return rate to a call to arms, which could explain the multitudes of social movements happening at once, instead of their being a focus on a singular issue.