i'm sure you're very surprised by this.

Today's blog starts with a story. When reading through Blogging this week I was struck by all the warnings Rettberg gives toward the information we show online, and how it can come back to haunt us. She lists a little known example (although not a digital example, but a valid one none the less) on page 51. At the top of the page she is discussing the beginning of GUI (graphic user interface) and it becoming readily available to the masses by Apple's introduction of Lisa in 1982. I'm not sure how many of you know this, but my Dad was a big-wig at Apple back in these days (he's the guy in the middle of the picture below) and tells the story of how the name came to be.

Steve Jobs named the computer after his daughter...which would have been really touching if the computer had been successful, but in reality it was exuberant to produce and never took off. (when Dad talks about it, he always rolls his eyes) How would you like to have what is considered one of Apple's biggest mistakes named after you? Thanks Dad, way to show your love. I guess the moral to my story is be careful with your choices, they will revisit you eventually.

I have preliminarily decided to write my conference paper on social media's effect on print. (((here's the big surprise...insert sarcasm here))) Jan asked me at the end of last semester if I was still a Super Print Nerd, and I think it's so ingrained in me that it is really all I think about. In the infancy of my research, I found Rettberg's inclusion of Plato very interesting. He was quoted as saying the written word "will destroy memory. People won't bother to memorize facts speeches or stories if they can easily access them in writing." and also that "a written text is basically unresponsive. If you ask a person what he means by what he just said, he will answer you. If you try to ask a text a question, however, it will 'preserve a solemn silence' (Plato 1999) and cannot defend itself." (pg 33) Plato was convinced that writing was the end of the true memorization. In reality, memorization is still done, but the context is a little different. The majority of strict memorization is for things like scripts, poems, songs, and Bible verses. People echoed Plato when television became popular that it was going to oust the radio, and now people are saying similar things about print. I know I am slightly biased because I have been in school for print for so long, but I truly believe print is here to stay, but not as it has traditionally been. The days of traditional newspapers are over, and I have been receiving daily e-mail blasts pertaining to the latest carnage for over a year. But where some traditions are dieing, new forms of print are starting to erupt and take off. When Rettberg stated "Instead of mass communication from a few producers to large, mostly passive audiences, blogs support a dense network of small audiences and many producers." (pg 57) the relatively new markets of SIP (Special Interest Publication) and VDP (Variable Data Printing) came to mind in print. SIP's are publications, mostly magazines, that have a small run rate and audience. Think Knitting Monthly. Variable Data, on the other hand, is the newest toy of the industry where each piece coming off the production line is unique to its intended recipient.

"[P]rint still holds strong as the culturally most respected medium." (pg 43) People are still reading, but the mass availability of the internet has caused expectations to change, and the industry must follow suit. People can find all kinds of individual web pages that pertain to their specific interests. Now they are also looking for print that can achieve similar results. There are more and more new title of magazines hitting the market each year, but instead of having a few large heavy hitters like Vogue or Business Weekly, readers are wanting things like Ceramics Monthly or Sandlappers Magazine. I (unlike many within my industry) feel that this is a good breath of fresh air to the industry. It's time to spread the wings of press capabilities and imagination to see what can come next and maybe for once harness the great almighty power of the internet to an advantage.

Ok. So I went on a little bit of a soap box, but welcome to what's constantly swimming around in my mind. It's a scary place, right? :)
I guess you can easily tell why Blogging held much more of my attention this week than Ulmer, but I do want to tag on a quick note about my reading this week. (I don't want anyone feeling left out) It was nice getting to delve back into the mind of Ulmer. Having just gotten off the Electronic Monument wave from last semester, much of the reading this week was a review, but a much needed one at that. I have to say, however, that I was really intrigued by the sample testimonials included in the end of the section. Reading them made me very interested to what my own MYstory will become. Many of the stories started the same, and I feel are how my project will end up as well with the classic "this project didn't begin anything like it ended" tale. Specifically, I was drawn the Kara's story on page 13. As I read through it I thought I was reading my own story. She writes about her obsession with repeating pattern (the image above illustrates the point...the pieces are a small portion of my senior art show), one that I share. Most of my work (and I discussed this last semester during the photography project) centers around repeating patterns. I almost had an "Oh, crap!" moment because my idea has already been done, but then I realized that as soon as I say that I'll end up doing a project totally unrelated (say...about a war memorial or something), so I'm happy to report that I'm back to being open minded and ready for the adventure.