Symposium 5

This week symposium is about hypertext, there were three questions. First, How is hypertext relevant to us as media practitioners. Secondly, What prediction about network literacy should we be aware of. Third and finally, what are the consequences of being network illiterate.

I have to say today symposium is both interesting and complicated at the same time. Adrian and the rest of the tutors covers everything quite perfectly but it was towards the end where Adrian began to explain about ‘literacy’ and being network literacy is where I started to feel my head spins. We’ll get to there.

So hypertext is link to us as media practitioners whether we like it or not, though we are not required to do it as deeply and as intensely as programmers but it is important to understand the theory behind it. It has become a fundamental thing as IT IS linked to the internet so to be network literate, who uses a lot internet, understanding hypertext is crucial. Hypertext links to a wide and vast range of information, it is a non-linear form . Elliot uses the example of media using the network/hypertext/internet to expand, and it no longer keep their media in one form say TV or Radio but rather expanding to other form and in this era, the digital world.  I guess the way I understand it is that not understanding hypertext is the same thing not understanding internet.

Another way Adrian explain hypertext is that its a small pieces and have multiple ways of connecting, its are small pieces that can be used in bigger context and are stored to be use for a long time. Going to answer the second question is that i think that network literate is tightly connected with technology advancement and it seems that technologies are becoming more and more literate so we need to be network literate too. And being illiterate in the future is the same thing being hopeless and powerless as it is the power of the future, network literate that is.

But here where Adrian sort of lost me. He mention that being network literate is not the same with able to use the internet and how to click a button to go to somewhere else. Network literate is those people who create pages of html and php pages that make a simple clicking button connects us to other page. So here I am thinking what is being network literate. How do we know we are network literate? So in some sense we do need to understand how to program to be network literate! So am I network literate?

After all this, I’m not sure!