[-empyre-] digital writing

[Barrie Collins <barriec@optusnet.com.au>]

oral tradition has an important social and cultural function, the unwritten
word and story passes down through generations, perhaps evolving over time,
like a giant, mutating meme. blogs have an evolutionary nature,
conversations evolving over time, branching out. oral tradition requires one
story teller to carry on the tradition and pass it on, while blogging has
many participating in the story and a widely distributed audience.

participating in a blog is textually flat or cold sort of experience with
the audience distributed over a large area and rarely in physical and/or
visual contact, whereas oral tradition requires a face to face audience,
facial expression, gesture, anthropic signals, the exchange is visceral.

what does oral tradition transmit? how does this compare to blogging?

oral tradition is story telling in a cultural setting, it is inclusive of
everything in a particular culture. words, sounds and gesture.

blogging seems much more generalised, sometimes focussed, sometimes wildly
diverse. it reflects the cultures of its participants and there are many
cultures because it is global. words and type and flickering vdu's.

we are dancing our stories in different ways today.

Barrie