It may not
be fair to say that mobility changed writing. The inherent fundamentals of the
writing process, the central discourse between those crafting text and those
interacting with it, doesn’t change because the writing became more mobile.
Mobility is an enhancer to text, allowing the greater spread of content across
different forms of media, creating new audiences otherwise not possible to
have. Molz discusses the idea of connectivity in her book, the idea that people
from reaches otherwise not connected have some sort of means through which to
enter discourse. The fact is that this just the idea of community on a
macro-scale. It’s been discussed numerous times by different authors read in
this course that one the key elements of writing is the connections shared by
the author and the reader. Mobility expands that concept. It doesn’t
fundamentally change it in any real way, but it certainly fits in with that
central theme.
Digital
mobility is what stands out as the obvious example. Information online exists
in every corner, in every language, and all things being equal, is available to
anyone who finds themselves there. The mobility provided by that digital
technology comes in the form of being able to explore that information in the
only feasible manor. Consider the example of having to find five books in five
libraries and the amount of effort that action would take. Being able to access
those same five books through digital technology means that people have a means
to fully gain access to information not always possible to access before.
As Molz alluded to, however, her
with examples, ancient forms of writing such as stone tablets and papyrus or
the modern equivalents of computers and smartphones, mobility has always been
part of the writing process. It is nothing new or unprecedented. But the
mobility provided by the rise of digital technology and the communities that
are created as a result are certainly new, and have mobility to thank.
No comments:
Post a Comment