On Jun 15, 2005, at 3:57 PM, Chris Ashley wrote:
I think this is a really good point, and one worth
acknowledging and repeating. Don't confuse the tool's
current application with its potential. There was the
early dream by some of the web's democratizing
capability- that citizens will be more involved and
empowered. If that was the case George W. would not
be president.
Indeed. I was working at Macromedia from 1995 - 1998 doing tech support
for FreeHand, fontographer, and then Dreamweaver. When they first acquired
the engineers for Dreamweaver and I was trained on how to support it, I
thought it was amazing - kind of like "Quark Xpress" for the web. Then at
a company-wide shindig at Pajaro Dunes Resort, (those were the days....)
in between massive all night drinking binges, we actually got together in
groups and discussed the products etc. I'll never forget my supervisor's
look when we were talking about Dreamweaver - he had a great smile, as he
thought "A great democratisation - everyone will be able to make a web
page - oh the beauty..."
then his eyes widened, and he said
"oh, the horror...EVERYONE will make a webpage..."
and sure enough: within months a million pictures of pets were scanned,
record collections listed, etc. Oh. The Horror.
But then, I was on a list that shut down not long ago because the topic of
conversation for a week was "List all the crap on your desk". The List
Owner threw a fit and killed the list. I thought it was kind of cool,
myself...
The web has leveled the playing field
for easy entry, but the discipline of practice and the
place of the author filter out the good from the bad.
I dunno. I tend to think people find an audience or vice versa. Good or
bad - I dunno - depends on the audience I suppose. Discipline is a means
to an end and not an end in itself - but practice is a good thing as it
creates consistency. I think the author gains more from a practice than
the audience.
SVM wrote:
blogs m.body a perspective of elementary content
alteration in a melange of
communication dynamics driven/governed by economic
rationalism + blanket
perspectivism.....
I would like some elaboration on that, myself. It sounds intriguing, but
has a scent of philological obscurantism + blanket reductionism...
And Nietzsche's idea that truth depends on our
prespective? Yes.
Hmmm- so then solipsism is the only verifiable truth structure? Somehow, I
don't think you'd agree with that, but it's a risk of relativist arguments
going back to - oh jeeepers - a long way.
Besides - Nietzsche was crazy.
;-)
HW
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