Comments on: The Internet has created a generation of great writers http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/ Advice at the intersection of work and life Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:32:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Jay Gald http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-265778 Jay Gald Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:38:42 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-265778 I'm a little dumbfounded by this post. I've been teaching college composition for a number of years now, and, contrary to what the post suggests, I find student writing getting more and more superficial with each passing year. True, the youth may be writing more on to Facebook et al, but this doesn't translate into good writing. Sure, maybe they can put together a well-crafted sentence in 140 characters, but this doesn't translate into depth. What it does translate into is shorter attention spans which leads to superficial writing: well-crafted and no depth. Do you think the fresh college graduate can read better than, say, somebody from Gen-X? Think again. Reading and writing are inextricably intertwined. How many college kids read Crime and Punishment for fun anymore? Moby Dick? Which is superior: Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings? Do the math. What the Internet has encouraged is group think and short attention spans at unprecedented levels. I'm a little dumbfounded by this post. I've been teaching college composition for a number of years now, and, contrary to what the post suggests, I find student writing getting more and more superficial with each passing year. True, the youth may be writing more on to Facebook et al, but this doesn't translate into good writing. Sure, maybe they can put together a well-crafted sentence in 140 characters, but this doesn't translate into depth. What it does translate into is shorter attention spans which leads to superficial writing: well-crafted and no depth. Do you think the fresh college graduate can read better than, say, somebody from Gen-X? Think again. Reading and writing are inextricably intertwined. How many college kids read Crime and Punishment for fun anymore? Moby Dick? Which is superior: Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings? Do the math. What the Internet has encouraged is group think and short attention spans at unprecedented levels.

]]> By: Patrick Gant http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-264865 Patrick Gant Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:18:00 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-264865 So glad you wrote this post, Penelope. This has been one of my mantras for many, many years: this is a great time to be a writer. Never before have we had such a literate society, along with the tools to share ideas.  What has changed dramatically in just the last 100 years is what the written word is used for, not to mention who uses it.  As you rightly point out, in Western societies writing was once the vestige of a very select few (exclusivity was less the case with the Arab peoples in the Middle Ages...but that's a story for another time).  The written word was essentially the monopoly of churches. Then, with the printing press, it became a shared monopoly of commerce and industry. It became a simple tool to separate elites from masses. If you could write, you were somebody. Like all exclusive clubs, it had rules (e.g., grammar, punctuation, style, usage). If you didn't follow the rules, you'd face derision (I see some of that spirit is still alive, sadly, in a few comments in this thread).  In other words, writing/literacy was an old-boys' smoking club.  Plenty wish for a return to the old days. They liked when they were in control of things. It was easy to ignore people when you could devalue what they had to say based on whether they were educated, let alone "literate." That world is gone. We are moving very, very quickly to a point where most of the world's population will have at least basic literary skills (and yes, there is still much more work to do). In developed countries, more people that ever before have tools at their disposal to share ideas, publish, communicate, express things.  That many do not have F. Scott Fitzgerald's eloquence really isn't the point. We are at the start of something huge in human civilization.  The written word belongs to everybody now. So glad you wrote this post, Penelope. This has been one of my mantras for many, many years: this is a great time to be a writer. Never before have we had such a literate society, along with the tools to share ideas. 

What has changed dramatically in just the last 100 years is what the written word is used for, not to mention who uses it. 

As you rightly point out, in Western societies writing was once the vestige of a very select few (exclusivity was less the case with the Arab peoples in the Middle Ages…but that's a story for another time). 

The written word was essentially the monopoly of churches. Then, with the printing press, it became a shared monopoly of commerce and industry. It became a simple tool to separate elites from masses.

If you could write, you were somebody. Like all exclusive clubs, it had rules (e.g., grammar, punctuation, style, usage). If you didn't follow the rules, you'd face derision (I see some of that spirit is still alive, sadly, in a few comments in this thread). 

In other words, writing/literacy was an old-boys' smoking club. 

Plenty wish for a return to the old days. They liked when they were in control of things. It was easy to ignore people when you could devalue what they had to say based on whether they were educated, let alone "literate."

That world is gone. We are moving very, very quickly to a point where most of the world's population will have at least basic literary skills (and yes, there is still much more work to do). In developed countries, more people that ever before have tools at their disposal to share ideas, publish, communicate, express things. 

That many do not have F. Scott Fitzgerald's eloquence really isn't the point.

We are at the start of something huge in human civilization. 

The written word belongs to everybody now.

]]> By: DOCUMENTS » Next Phase of Your Career: Design » DOCUMENTS http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-262310 DOCUMENTS » Next Phase of Your Career: Design » DOCUMENTS Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:14:51 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-262310 [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...] [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...]

]]> By: Simulacrum http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-1/#comment-261949 Simulacrum Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:51:00 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-261949 There is more meaning in her post than your pedantry reveals. There is more meaning in her post than your pedantry reveals.

]]> By: mamasmouth.com :: Next Phase of Your Career: Design :: http://www.mamasmouth.com http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-261673 mamasmouth.com :: Next Phase of Your Career: Design :: http://www.mamasmouth.com Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:21:38 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-261673 [...] This means that you will be more valuable and more relevant if you can think in terms of visuals. This makes sense. It’s clear that in the last twenty years, as emails became the norm, if you were great at communicating via text, you had an advantage. [...] [...] This means that you will be more valuable and more relevant if you can think in terms of visuals. This makes sense. It’s clear that in the last twenty years, as emails became the norm, if you were great at communicating via text, you had an advantage. [...]

]]> By: Next Phase of Your Career: Design http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-261154 Next Phase of Your Career: Design Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:01:05 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-261154 [...] This means that you will be more valuable and more relevant if you can think in terms of visuals. This makes sense. It’s clear that in the last twenty years, as emails became the norm, if you were great at communicating via text, you had an advantage. [...] [...] This means that you will be more valuable and more relevant if you can think in terms of visuals. This makes sense. It’s clear that in the last twenty years, as emails became the norm, if you were great at communicating via text, you had an advantage. [...]

]]> By: UTILITY DOCUMENT » Next Phase of Your Career: Design » UTILITY DOCUMENT http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-261147 UTILITY DOCUMENT » Next Phase of Your Career: Design » UTILITY DOCUMENT Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:11:47 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-261147 [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...] [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...]

]]> By: Next Phase of Your Career: Design | | UTILITY DOCUMENTSUTILITY DOCUMENTS http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-2/#comment-261127 Next Phase of Your Career: Design | | UTILITY DOCUMENTSUTILITY DOCUMENTS Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:16:26 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-261127 [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...] [...] This means that we will be some-more profitable and some-more applicable if we can consider in terms of visuals. This creates sense. It’s transparent that in a final twenty years, as emails became a norm, if we were good during communicating around text, we had an advantage. [...]

]]> By: Richard Gilbert http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-1/#comment-260871 Richard Gilbert Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:04:00 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-260871 There is a great deal of really terrible writing being done.  I see it every day on my monitor. Poor spelling and grammar are endemic! Spelling correctly is not terribly difficult; my computer points out my bloopers.  I keep a dictionary on my desk and when my computer tells me I'm wrong, I figure out what I did and I fix it!  There is not, AFAIK, a grammar checker.  A pity; some people really need a grammar checker!   There is a great deal of really terrible writing being done.  I see it every day on my monitor.
Poor spelling and grammar are endemic!

Spelling correctly is not terribly difficult; my computer points out my bloopers.  I keep a dictionary on my desk and when my computer tells me I'm wrong, I figure out what I did and I fix it! 

There is not, AFAIK, a grammar checker.  A pity; some people really need a grammar checker!

 

]]> By: Richard Gilbert http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/10/19/the-internet-creates-an-era-of-great-writing/comment-page-1/#comment-260872 Richard Gilbert Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:04:00 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/?p=4092#comment-260872 There is a great deal of really terrible writing being done.  I see it every day on my monitor. Poor spelling and grammar are endemic! Spelling correctly is not terribly difficult; my computer points out my bloopers.  I keep a dictionary on my desk and when my computer tells me I'm wrong, I figure out what I did and I fix it!  There is not, AFAIK, a grammar checker.  A pity; some people really need a grammar checker!   There is a great deal of really terrible writing being done.  I see it every day on my monitor.
Poor spelling and grammar are endemic!

Spelling correctly is not terribly difficult; my computer points out my bloopers.  I keep a dictionary on my desk and when my computer tells me I'm wrong, I figure out what I did and I fix it! 

There is not, AFAIK, a grammar checker.  A pity; some people really need a grammar checker!

 

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