Scott Rettberg defines network writing as "electronic literature created for and published on the Internet" (152). I found this a little confusing because of how broad it sounds. Isn't almost all electronic literature created for the Internet? Then I realized that Rettberg is talking about platforms on the internet, or networks. The network, for example a social media website, adds to the meaning of the work, much like all other digital literature. The medium forms the message. I think that network writing is the most likely to get overlooked as not being "real" literature. Anyone can create content, and the internet makes it easier for people to find your work. I think people might not consider social media posts literature because someone could post something without the intention of it being "art." Does intention determine if something is literature or not? You would certainly have to filter through many social media posts to find something that could be considered literature, but I have noticed that it has become more popular for young women on instagram to make their account become like a blog. On each post there is always a very long blog-like caption and you can tell their posts are very curated.
I looked at the Youtube channel/blog lonelygirl15. The videos are from 12 years ago and I had heard of it before because many people believed it was a "hoax" and I was very confused as to what that meant. Basically, the videos start out as vlogs from a home-schooled teenage girl named Bree and everything seems innocent and normal. Eventually, the storyline becomes much more complex and you learn her family is a part of a secret cult. Bree is not a real person and the storyline is fictional, but that is not clear to viewers. This makes me think of how easy it is to trick people on social media. While most people do not lie about everything, they specifically pick what details they want to share in order to create a type of storyline of their lives
Meg Champagne
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After reading this I had to look more into lonelygirl15 and its crazy to see something like this. I agree that it is simple to trick people via social media platforms and how these platforms can be used for other reason other than "social" interaction.
ReplyDeleteI really like your question "does intention determine if something is literature or not?" and the points you made about instagram posts. It made me think about where I myself, and maybe even most people these days, get the majority of our art or writing inspiration. I personally believe that to decide whether intent determines literature, we would have to define literature and whether that would take on a deep meaning or simply a technical one.
ReplyDeleteIs it authorial intention that determines that though? Or some societal standard of what is deemed literature? Often it's publishers who get to decide, be gatekeepers, but that doesn't apply on the network, where self-publishing is the norm. So do we get to decide for ourselves? There is a whole theoretical discussion (years of it) of high/low art and who gets to decide.
DeleteLike that show Catfish, all about people tricking other people online. And I agree, network writing is pretty broad, and definitely what we're doing here is network writing... There is one cool Instagram account, Snow, by Shelley Jackson, who is the author of Patchwork Girl, I think we looked at it briefly in class. One word at a time.
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