Twitter
Enhances: Conversation about current events. You cannot share multiple pictures like you can on Facebook at once. But with twitter it is all about conversation. When the Grammy's are on, everyone is talking about them. During the walking dead the conversation is there. We can talk and interact with people we have never met but share a common interest with.
Obsoletes: Blogs in a way. We no longer want to read someone's two page blog post. It is much easier and faster to follow them on twitter. It is limited to 140 characters and only required seconds of attention per person.
Retrieves: The act of sharing links to articles. Lets users talk about what is going on in the world.
Reverses: Twitter allows users to share links, pictures, and their thoughts. People sometimes use it as a Diary of sorts in which they use as a medium to remember what they did and their thoughts about what was going on.
While we can talk about twiiter in relation of the McLuhan Tetrad, what is really interesting is the effect it has on us. Sites like Twitter and other social media sites have killed our attention span. We can no longer read for more than 20 minutes. A writer from Spain said:
“The digital era has made us lazy and apathetic, and our stories, our literature, are losing their shine."
"Increasingly sophisticated gadgets and ubiquitous Internet access mean that we are ever closer to information and knowledge, and yet our ability to glean that knowledge, by reading uninterruptedly, has been irrevocably stymied."
"What’s important right now is our lack of concentration, our inability to be able to read, listen or write for more than 20 minutes."
I think it is sad how our culture has largely forgotten the culture of reading. Now there is so much on the internet that people forget to unconnected. It is rare to see someone checking out a book at the BYU library. We are so used to being able to get information in mere seconds that we no longer have the patience to search though a book, much less read one from cover to cover.
Here is the link where the quotes came from.
http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/09/technology-has-ruined-readers-attention-span-says-argentine-hernan-casciari/
I liked reading your attached article mostly because I can relate. It's interesting to think about the effects of new media on our attention spans. I also really liked how he talked about the effects it has on storytelling. Storytelling plays a part in marketing today and understanding how storytelling is changing helps us learn how to become better marketers.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of Fahrenheit 451 and the idea of books becoming obsolete. With devices like Kindle, eReader, and others of that sort, are we really enhancing reading? Is it really like turning the page of a crisp new book? The sensation of reading becomes obsolete. It's all about buttons and sounds and things that can keep us more entertained. We are a greedy lazy people who need to be constantly captivated. Nice post!
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