December 2007 Archives
My dear readers! It has been far too long. Let's say I've been...lacking in inspiration, and also consumed with an English class.
Someone recently asked me what I think about the Kindle, if I think it's really going to change literature or whatever. No, quite frankly, I don't. I don't think it will change a damn thing. You know why? Because there is not really anything new about the Kindle. And really, other than PR hoopla I don't think it really intends to be anything more--it sets out to be an "electronic book," and that's exactly what it is. It's a book that happens to be electronic.
It's the same thing that is the downfall of traditional newspapers going online. They're still newspapers, they just happen to be electronic now. There's no change in the underlying technology. Because a book, that's a technology itself. A newspaper, that's technology too. Old technology, but technology nonetheless.
Think of it this way: if you slap an e- on the front of something, you're still in the old box. An e-book cannot be revolutionary because it's still defining itself in the terms of the old guard. Look! It's right there, hiding behind the hyphen!
This is not to say that the Kindle isn't cool, or that it might not encourage some people to read more. Those things are great. But does it represent a fundamental shift in literature? No. It's just old technology in new technology clothing. There's nothing truly original there except the books you read on it (maybe).
Someone recently asked me what I think about the Kindle, if I think it's really going to change literature or whatever. No, quite frankly, I don't. I don't think it will change a damn thing. You know why? Because there is not really anything new about the Kindle. And really, other than PR hoopla I don't think it really intends to be anything more--it sets out to be an "electronic book," and that's exactly what it is. It's a book that happens to be electronic.
It's the same thing that is the downfall of traditional newspapers going online. They're still newspapers, they just happen to be electronic now. There's no change in the underlying technology. Because a book, that's a technology itself. A newspaper, that's technology too. Old technology, but technology nonetheless.
Think of it this way: if you slap an e- on the front of something, you're still in the old box. An e-book cannot be revolutionary because it's still defining itself in the terms of the old guard. Look! It's right there, hiding behind the hyphen!
This is not to say that the Kindle isn't cool, or that it might not encourage some people to read more. Those things are great. But does it represent a fundamental shift in literature? No. It's just old technology in new technology clothing. There's nothing truly original there except the books you read on it (maybe).
"In the collective patter of profile-surfing, messaging and 'friending,'" writes the New York Times today, "academic researchers see the resurgence of older patterns of oral communication." Full article here.
