Journal 7- Marin

In my opinion, the first assumption one must make for reading in a hypertext is that each individual reader is going to have a different experience upon reading the hypertext.  Neal notes in his reading, “Since the assumption, though false, is that print texts are to be read from beginning to end”.  I believe that Neal encapsulates a lot in this sentence.  With previous texts in the twentieth century, there was never any question as to the order in which the text would be experienced.  The Western world reads left to right, top to bottom, and there was no opportunity for variance.  When the Internet (and therefore hypertexts) was created, this gave way to allowing the audience to make their experience of the text their own.  When adding another text as a segment of a different text, this introduces many more elements.  Between the original text and the linked text, the tone will be different, the biases will be different, and the overall message is also likely to be different.  Overall what I’m trying to say is that the spectrum for interpretation expands greatly when another text with many different variables in introduced.

Another consideration to keep in mind when reading in a hypertext is that the name “hypertext” alone implies twenty-first century writing.  And with twenty-first century writing comes the implication that the text you are experiencing has likely been shaped entirely by media that has preceded it.  The fact that the piece references a different media at all (the hypertext) is a sign that the piece you are reading was assembled through themes and ideas created by another author. 

Finally, because of these considerations, it is important to remember that the ideas and messages the reader draws from the text will likely be original and different to the other people experiencing the same text.  Because nearly all text today is a form of remediation, this means that each new remediation introduces an original idea based off of the text.  Text these days is interesting because ideas and messages are all interwoven into ideas and messages created by previous authors.  It is important to recognize the different sources that a hypertext introduces.