[-empyre-] Post from cpr@mindspring.com/ forward

["Ashley Holmes" <a.holmes@cqu.edu.au>]

On 10 Jan Christina McPhee wrote:

>>Clearly, this is a contested and dynamic space Å and a necessary one to
>>this nascent field. But I have to say that I, like Henry, I find the myopia of
>>this term, New Media - as you have defined it - problematic.

I agree.

Perhaps 'electronic hypertexts' are just a subset of what we are discussing
here. However, consider the points elucidated by N. Katherine Hayles in her
review of Shelley Jackson's, "Patchwork Girl". Do they cover what we are on 
about, or are they too specific? In precis they are:

"Point One: Electronic Hypertexts Are Dynamic Images. [â]
Point Two: Electronic Hypertexts Include Both Analogue Resemblance and
Digital Coding. [â]
Point Three: Electronic Hypertexts Are Generated Through Fragmentation and
Recombination. [â]
Point Four:  Electronic Hypertexts Have Depth and Operate in Three
Dimensions. [â]
Point Five: Electronic Hypertexts Are Mutable and Transformable. [â]
Point Six: Electronic Hypertexts Are Spaces to Navigate. [â]
Point Seven: Electronic Hypertexts Are Written and Read in Distributed
Cognitive Environments. [â]
Point Eight: Electronic Hypertexts Initiate and Demand Cyborg Reading
Practices [...]"

For the full text see: Hayles, N. K. 'Flickering Connectivities in Shelley
Jackson's Patchwork Girl: The Importance of Media-Specific Analysis',
âPostmodern Cultureâ Volume 10, Number 2, January 2000.   Paras 8 â 13.
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/pmc/text-only/issue.100/10.2hayles.txt
.

Hayles is concerned to point out that she is proposing a game, the nexus of
which is ââto disallow all references to the content or operation of
electronic hypertextsââ In other words, these criteria are purposefully (and
playfully) devised to be devoid of data or platform specifics. As such, they
comprise a valuable starting point for establishing a critical dialogue
regarding hypermedia. Hayles calls it "Medium Specific Analysis".

Certainly, "hypermedia" is a term that I prefer to "New Media".

Cheers all,
spans