I am weary today of technology. ( we are SO surprised……..not again! sigh)
It just seems to give us this false sense that we are “experiencing” something, when in fact we are sitting like a lump on the couch staring at a black box with flashing lights. And the thing that worries me a fair amount is that the flashing is speeding up. The scenes shift so much more quickly now. There are times I just close my eyes it gets so confusing to watch. If it reaches a certain level will we all turn into Pod People? Is this what the aliens are waiting for ? We will be needing our aluminum hats soon I think. I know two people who have theirs made already :-)
Even though I am a conflicted technophobe, I have spent time on the internet, updating the diary, answering email, it’s all about writing. Writing, writing, writing. I must be honest and say that I am so thankful for being able to share my thoughts, and my work, . . .yes, Virginia, it IS work. I mean let’s face it, in this electronic age putting one’s writing on a web site for potentially thousands of people to read is a pretty heady advantage over the old way of doing it.
Years ago people…oh like Mark Twain were completely dependent on newspapers, magazines and other publishers to print his work so people could read it. And it took a while for him to get feedback. One would have to guess if one was communicating in a way that was meaningful to others. But now, we get feedback in MINUTES! That’s amazing, astounding really.
BUT ! Mark Twain was paid. Most of us are (so far) are giving our words away. His words are still being read and analyzed many years after his death. Will ours be ? Maybe so, you never know. But I am printing all my entries out so there will be something to archive someplace safer than a hard drive somewhere!
So if we write LOTS of words on the internet and give them away, are they cheaper? Will our words have less and less value as there are more and more of them? The world is flooded with them, overflowing, choked, gagged. Too many. Too shallow. Too weak?
OR
Is the tyranny of the publisher going to come to an end ? There are people who think so. Which is better, getting paid for your work or giving it away for free? Getting paid is a lot nicer, but then there are those pesky editors to deal with. If we give it away, is it more noble? Or are we just dummies? I am hoping there is something in between there.
When you think about the sheer number of books being printed in the world, it boggles the mind. The thing I wonder about often, when facing this monolith of publication is, do I have anything to ADD to this pile that is of value? It’s the terror of all writers I suppose.
I just have a bunch of questions today, not that many answers. Because lets face it, we won’t know how this new way of doing things will pan out 50 years from now. I always had this fear that a lot of really great writing will be lost because people didn’t print it out and save it in a box somewhere.
We shall see. We shall see.