METATEXT, HYPERTEXTUALITY, HYPERTEXT SYSTEM….

“We must write with an awareness that we are writing in the presence of other texts”

Online, where is the line drawn when it comes to virtual reality, real-life and private. Is there a clear cut between these areas, or have people accepted that nothing is private anymore? That we need to share professional and personal items online. Due to the online world being so interactive and consuming, participants (as I would call them) in this network community are able to do this through HTML.

To focus on one point from the reading, is Blogging (ironically). This medium demonstrates hypertext as it is the first available means of the web to allow an active reader or author. Things such as an RSS feeds sends the subscriber only the headline of a new blog, whereas Atom feeds add a summary and includes its links as well.

Hypertext changes the experiences we have on reading, writing, and text, influencing the way we communicate and think of print literacy. HTML is an effective way share text through navigational links, tags, search tools, and the ability to provide access to materials that may be classified.

‘Hypertext redefines not only beginnings and endings go the text, but also its borders’.

As this subject is getting into the hypertext stages, I thought I would do some extra research on what this topic is about, and how it relates to society. Coming up to the exam, I want to be confident about on this subject, and know why, how and who uses this form of language.

Basically this blog is hypertext, you can creatively link and interact with people from around the world, through pictures, music, text and programs. What we click on that takes the viewer to a different site is called a hypertext link or button. Hypertext systems are said to be useful for organising large databases that include all forms of information, that people can interact with via the web.

It seems to me that hypertext is the way of the future, the way people connect, communicate and interact with people from not only their society, but also on a global scale. This is an advantage of having a system like this, as everyone is linked together in some way or another.

I came across an article discussing Print Literacy vs Networked Literacy. I found it an insightful and informative piece that gave a thorough understanding on the topic. It is called, ‘Information Literacy: The Changing Library‘. Have you ever heard of a Cybrary?

Normally a library is a place of recorded history, and artefacts of symbolic representation. It is a physical space that are for printed, visual and audio pieces memorable within society.

This article discusses how Print Literacy is now and how it used to be, while intro ducting the topic of network literacy and how it affects Print now and into the future. A quote from this piece reads as follows, “Digitalization and its two main derivatives, the Inernet and hypertext, propelled information access and exchange into the era of cyberspace and the syber Library, or knows as ‘cybrary’. Networked communications technologies have transformed not only the physical space of this time-honoured learning place but also the literate and textual work that takes place in it” (Cushla Kapitzke)

Cybraries are the way of the future!!

‘Litera scripta manet‘ (The written word remains)…. or does it?

Hypertext is the way of the future, the next stage of literature, and the next step in education, art, culture and technical fields. Hypertext means Non-sequential writing. Theodor Holm Nelson in his reading ‘Literary Machines‘ talks about hypertext being text that branches out and allows the viewer to be apart of an interactive screen. There are multiple links that will connect the reader to different pathways throughout internet, which results in this being the most general form of writing.

“The computer and now the personal computer, have opened whole new realms of disorder, difficulty and complication for humanity” (Nelson), however my generation and those under me, this digital media and network literacy comes more naturally than it does to others. We have been brought up in a time where technology has changed dramatically, and we have no other choice but to progress alongside technology as it advances into the future. This brings the topic back around to technological Determinism*, where it is said that technology changes society. Is this the case? Do we change due to the fact technology is changing?

“Some people like all of this incompatibility and complication, and say it is the new world we much learn to live in” (Nelson). Personally I find print literacy easier to use and would say it is a preference of mine. However this is quite rare, as everything is online. I do admit, where would we be if there was no such thing as network literacy. I read this reading off a computer screen, although I was taking notes with a pen and paper. Some say I might be doing double the work load, but there is something about reading your own writing and notes that allows me to understand the text in greater detail.

Three major points about Networked Literacy:
-Origin: The parts where elements begin.
-Commonality: The sharing of elements between units.
-Links: Mark, annotate and connect portions of the units.

“The Future is not what it used to be” (Nelson).
We are entering into a new age, where everything is online. The written word has changed dramatically, and society will change alongside this. It is said that offices will be paperless, and that the world is advancing into a place where hypertext and hypermedia are taking over. There will be no more print literacy. We are leading an open hypertext network. To sit back and think about what the future is going to be like, no one can tell exactly. Will there be such a thing as going to a bookshop to buy a novel or will you have no choice but to read it off a compeer screen?

The questions are endless, and I guess the only thing we can do, is see where the future will take us.

*This is a great link to a website to someone who has has their own blog about understanding technological determinism.

This reading was an informative piece explaining what is network literacy, and how it is used within today’s society. I found this piece quite beneficial towards the concept of Networked Media and how links, and tagging work online. The internet is a way for everyone to connect, for people to read, write and develop online relationships through the use of literacy. When writing a blog, you are publishing it for everyone to see. It is a public piece, that will be seen, that can be linked to, and it then becomes interactive with the online world. To be Network Literate, you need to be able to connect with individuals through the use of online resources, that all connect to one another. This relates back to tags and links. When you link from your blog, you are allowing more interaction, resulting in you discovering more paths that lead in the same direction or different. I like to think of the internet as a web. Everything joins up, links out to external sources, however everything is accessible and allows for interaction between online users. An example of interaction is just in this course alone.. We read each others blogs, we create links to ones that we find interesting or beneficial, allowing my followers to see my who I link out to, or tag. This creates a cycle, where everyone is viewing each others work, generating ideas, working together and being interactive through an online source.

As touched on in Week 2 Symposium, was the term Technological Determinists. What is this term? How does it relate to society and the way the online world influences us?

Technological Determinism: Independent of other social forces. Determines cause and effect. Determines social change. Autonomous. Independent/Independent Variable. Mono-casual. CAUSALITY.

Technological Determinism shapes society, influences how we act, how we communicate and how we view the world around us. This term equals a SOCIAL CHANGE, which is seen as an highly influential part within history. Society is seen to be determined by society. All of the new technologies being introduced into the market, are transforming the way institutions and individuals see each other within the social interaction levels.

I recommend Visual Memory for more information on this topic, where you will find they have links to theories and evidence on how and why society has changed from technology. If technology advances.. SO DO WE!

This is my first link to another user’s blog. Hopefully this was done correctly. This link leads to another student, who is studying the same course as myself.

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/carli-barron/