Although not directly related to the presented question, Adrian’s venture into the shape and form of hypertext was particularly memorable. This point took me back to good ol’ symposium two – yes, that one with that frustratingly slow yet effective book example. At that time, I found the concept of the Internet as a medium without beginnings and ends somewhat unclear. The issue here was that I was not considering the Internet as a hypertext system, and instead was more so focused on the content that it contains. My understanding however has since changed after the multitude of lectures and readings revolving around this previously foreign notion.

I often start on a webpage of one kind, end up somewhere completely new and wonder how I got there. This, is the power of hypertext.

Hypertext forms the structure of the world wide web as we know it, enabling users to click from one hyperlink to the next as they ‘surf’ the net. The underlying complexity of the system allows for an interactive user experience, offering users the choice of which online path to take out of billions of possibilities. There is no formulaic approach saying that you must start on Google and end up on Wikipedia; no standardised beginnings and endings. Contrastingly to the static form of print literacy, the user of hypertext is free to make it up entirely for themselves as no page numbers exist to guide their journey. As Adrian put it, media online has no edges or endings. As I like the put it, the hypertext is metaphorically a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book on steroids.

Keeping it short, sweet and straight to the point.