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Both critical theory and hypertext have mutually theorized and informed each other in redefining textuality, narrative, and the roles and functions of reader and writer. Ilana Snyder’s “Reconceiving Textuality” examines this convergence of hypertext and critical theory, something that both don’t seem to be aware of. Hypertext theorists and critical theorists have common interest of … Continue reading
In chapter three of his influential work Mechanisms, new media scholar Matthew Kirschenbaum narrows his focus on storage to the hard drive. This device is particularly interesting for Kirschenbaum because “[m]ost users will never see their hard drive during the life of their computer”. Their invisibility from the vast majority of users, he argues, often … Continue reading
In his chapter, “A Brief History of Hypertext: Origins and Influences,” Andreas Kitzmann traces the development of hypertext, eventually concluding that “what is significant here is the manner in which [Hypertext] is being described and employed as a general paradigm with which to define and structure the very nature of expression itself, especially in terms … Continue reading
In his article “The Hyperlink as Organizing Principal” Alexander Halavais attempts to define the hyperlink not just in relation to it’s original intended use, but also by examining the larger social effects. He explains that, because that the hyperlink has been adopted in everyday use on the internet, we can see that “they reflect deep … Continue reading
Published almost 20 years ago, Sven Birkerts’ text on new media formats seems very dated. In an almost Luddite lament over the changes and consequences new technology (TV, fax machines and computers) will bring to society, Birkerts’ work truly functions as an “elegy”. For Birkerts, the change which new media formats will bring is the … Continue reading
In The Facebook Effect, David Kirkpatrick explains Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s moralistic position that “you have one identity” and that splitting one’s identity into different roles is an “example of a lack of integrity” (199). Based on this premise, Facebook believes that “by openly acknowledging who we are and behaving consistently among all our friends, … Continue reading
Daniel J Solove’s “Gossip and the Virtue of Knowing Less” raises important issues concerning privacy, issues that have become increasingly complicated in the advent of social media. Solove argues, in consonance with Helen Nissenbaum, that privacy is context-specific, and because of their context-relativity, all privacy cases cannot be treated in the same way. After pointing … Continue reading
In David Kirkpatrick’s The Facebook Effect, Mark Zuckerberg and others insist on the benefits of a more open and transparent society, suggesting that the ideal to strive for is consistency in behavior. Behind these claims is Zuckerberg’s conviction that “having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity” (199). By collecting … Continue reading
In the article “What Interactive Narratives Do That Print Narratives Cannot,” Jane Yellowlees-Douglas argues that hypertexts are, in effect, all interactive because one cannot unfold and participate in the story unless they have made certain decisions. She compelling asserts that hypertexts can do far more than printed texts due to the fact that the former … Continue reading
According to Kirschenbaum, new writing techniques on the nanoscale are a good place to start the conversation about the locatability of textuality. As he points out, even though we do not always think about information or “text”, stored for example on a CD-ROM, in physical terms, even microscopic data can be regarded as text. Kirschenbaum … Continue reading
New Media Genres 