DTC 355: Blog #5

Textology and the Digital Revolution

James R. Kalmbach in his article Publishing Before Computers gives a brief albeit thorough history of writing.  From the alphabet to the printing press to reproductive technologies like the xerox, people throughout time have not only become authors, but they have become publishers. Kalmbach writes, “Over the years, publishing and the technologies for publishing have evolved from a limited, conserving activity to a pervasive form of social transaction,” and his goal is to “show that even though the technologies change the ways in which these technologies are used, the social forces they respond to have remained fairly constant.” (222)  Those social forces produced digital technology which changed the way we learn and communicate.  This is especially true through Textology. 

 

Textology is the digital revolution of creative authoring and publishing, putting text previously reproduced only on paper into the abyss of cyberspace for the public to both revere and scrutinize.  We still wake up in the morning to our faithful cup of coffee, but instead of reaching for the confines of our newspapers, we log onto the Internet and put our thoughts, ideas, opinions and emotions out into the world before we even reach the bottom of the first cup.  Computers and mobile technology have put the power of text into daily practice.  It’s not that the daily newspaper has been replaced, it’s the layer upon layer of hypertext dispersed across the planet - linking our countless souls.  This linking further propels the social forces that text created and continues to change mankind.  We are kindred spirits with digital technology; evolving and changing the face of literacy, understanding and communication.

I reach for my smartphone and type out a quick message: “How did kiddo do this morning?”  I log onto Facebook, checking and sharing trivial bits of information or relaying the latest emotional status through short, yet never ending, bursts of text.  I use punctuation as a way to pace my thoughts and to impress my emotions. The following is an example of this:

“Holy cow! The soon to be vacant duplex next door was advertised last nite with signs in the front yard that read: FOR RENT. In the 2 hours I've been home, I have seen 7 cars stop in the middle of the intersection to write down the number or call the Landlord. I even had one person knock on my door to ask me when someone would respond to her call. I'm scared. :/”

Just as the alphabet, the typewriter and xerography propelled literacy and communication through time, digital technology and textology will continue to make the power of text dynamic, fluid and ever evolving. 

Works Cited:
Kalmbach, James. "Publishing Before Computers." 2002. Web. 1 Oct. 2010