Using Blogs as a Source of Information

Blogs get a bad rap.  Of course, their bad reputation is not unwarranted.  There are quite a number that are pretty frivolous and don't have much substance (although those can be fairly amusing)--like this blog, for instance.  Sometimes, people use their blogs as an online journal, which is perfectly great, but it's not very enlightening for anyone other than family and friends.  There are, however, more serious blogs that aim to tackle world issues, keep up with political movements, or analyze classic literature.  I think these more serious blogs, with authors who are legitimately trying to reach out, share thought-provoking ideas, and collaborate with other great minds, deserve our attention and our respect.

In chapter 4 of the ebook Writing about Literature in the Digital Age, Ashley Nelson analyzes James Joyce's Dubliners.  She talks about her search for information and about how blogs and fan fiction were actually influential in her analysis.  Nelson admits that it's probably not the wisest idea to add a blog to your Works Cited page at the end of your 15 page research paper, but why not?  As we are moving even further into a world of ebooks, Wikipedia, and even the blogosphere, why can't we use some blogs as a source of information?

Yes, we have to be careful which blogs we are using, even if we are simply using a blog as a springboard for our research.  Then again, you have to be careful which book you're using, or which scholarly article you're quoting from.  All research must be taken with a grain of salt, including blogs (although we may have to use a pinch or two when it comes to blogs).

Adapting the Classics

Lately in my English 495 class (or my way awesome Senior Seminar which is all about fairy tales), we have been talking about the role of the storyteller in today's world with books, TV shows, and movies.  Darnton, a fairy tale scholar (yes, there are fairy tale scholars), once said that books were "lifeless" and that the tales lost  a lot of their meaning as soon as we write them down because the reader doesn't get to hear the storyteller's pauses, the voice inflections, etc.

I think there is a lot of truth to what Darnton is saying, but at the same time, I think books and different TV and movie adaptions give fairy tales a whole new kind of life.  With books each new reader becomes their own personal storyteller, and that is only enhanced when people decide to read to each other (and I'm proud to say that I read to my mom...whenever I can.  Because I am AWESOME at doing different voices for different characters).  Books create thousands of storytellers every day; isn't that awesome?!  So take that Darnton.  Books are cool.

I also think that TV shows and movies are a great way to create storytellers.  One of my new favorite TV shows is Once Upon A Time, which literally takes fairy tale characters and puts them in modern-day Maine. A lot of people might criticize the way they are portraying the characters is completely ruining the integrity of the fairy tale characters, but the producers/writers/directors/whoever else makes decisions about TV shows took that opportunity to simply retell the story.  Which I think is brilliant.  Also, British phrases are brilliant, but that's besides the point.

 With each adaptation, each movement rather--whether we move from an oral tradition to a written one, and from a written one to an audio/visual one--fairy tales get reinvented, and that's good, isn't it?  Times change, cultures change, storytellers and readers change.  Fairy tales, and any other kind of tale (classic, ghost...you get my drift) for that matter, must change too or else they run the risk of eating the Dorito-orange colored sun-tan dust of reality TV.  And that is a truly depressing thought.

Using Media to Grow Closer to God

I have been reading Douglas Rushkoff's book Program or Be Programmed: The Ten Commandments for a Digital Age, and I've actually found it really interesting.  I'm a little surprised by this because I honestly thought that it would be all about teaching the reader how to create and develop programs--which, I'll be honest with you, is just not my cup of tea.  Rushkoff isn't just telling his audience how to program. Rather, he discusses the importance of understanding the programs that we are using everyday in digital media.

The first thing that caught my attention in this book, however, was actually in the introduction.  Here was the one quote that really stood out to me as something that I haven't thought about before:

"In the long run, each media revolution offers people an entirely new perspective through which to relate to their world.  Language led to shared learning, cumulative experience, and the possibility of progress.  The alphabet led to accountability, abstract thinking, monotheism, and contractual law.  The printing press and private reading led to the new experience of individuality, a  personal relationship to God, the Protestant Reformation, human rights, and the Enlightenment.  With the advent of a new medium, the status quo not only comes under scrutiny; it is revised and rewritten by those who have gained a new access to the tools of its creation." (Bold font added)

I think the most important aspect of the digital media, and digital revolutions, that often gets overlooked is the fact that it can bring us closer to God.  In learning the basics behind each program that we use we give ourselves the power to create, and aren't we promised that we will become creators if we reach Celestial glory?

It's a small step that we are taking here, but it's an important step.  I agree with Rushkoff in that we must be active in this digital media revolution.  The Gospel teaches us the importance of being active rather than passive, and I think that applies to digital media as well.  We can use new technology to benefit the Church and to bring more people to the Gospel, but we can also develop a more personal relationship with God as we learn to become creators ourselves.

Program or Be Programmed: A Review

Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commandments for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff

My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this book Douglas Rushkoff not only discusses what it means to be a participant in this new, fast-paced digital world, but he also outlines ten rules (or "commandments" as he calls them) for for us to use so we don't get swept off our feet in media streams. Rushkoff takes his time delving into the possible repercussions of Time, Place, Choice, Complexity, Scale, Identity, Social, Fact, Openness, and Purpose.

Rushkoff begins his chapter by defining what he calls the "computer biases" concerning each of the ten aspects of dealing with digital media. With Place, for example, "digital media are biased away from the local, and toward dislocation." He then discusses both the benefits and disadvantages of each of the computer biases.

I really like Rushkoff's style of discussing each of the ten commandments of digital media. I appreciate how he presents both the good and bad in each aspect. I think a lot of people become one sided in the debate over the how good/bad the Internet is for its users, but Rushkoff tries to steer clear of that. Rather, he invests his time in trying to help readers understand how to stay on top of digital media so they don't become overwhelmed. There are times when his reasoning becomes convoluted, but his tone stays very upbeat and engaging.