Our last chapter in Scott Rettbegrs, "Electronic Literature" is about the topic of "Divergent Streams" Going into this final chapter, I had no idea what that meant. According to Rettberg, it includes other genres of electronic literature that do not get as much attention as the other five we have discussed thus fsr. Divergent streams are the extension of literature into the physical world and also include how they expand into different disciplines. The chapter discusses new technology and how that has connected itself to literature over time. Systems such as GPS, QR codes and radio frequency allows stories and locations along with writings. One of the examples of technology along with local projects was the "Yellow Arrow Project." Christopher Allen allowed participants to order yellow stickers int the shape of an arrow, place them in public and each one would allow for people to text a number and receive a short narrative depending on location. 
Kendall

chapter 7 divergent streams

Chapter 7 goes in to discuss topics that weren't yet covered. Rettberg describes them as "some of the most interesting current practices in digital writing." He briefly describes how other genres of digital writing have been developed and can help build upon genres of other categories.

I thought the part about locative narratives was an interesting take oh contemporary smartphones. Smartphones can be more useful than texting and phone calls but also the use of maps and GPS. "Our interactions with contemporary social networks and online shopping sites are not only based on who we are and what we do, but also where we are and the situations of the world around us." He points out that the use of smartphones can sometimes depend on where we are in the world.

I saw a news article today that talked about Poland using selfies to track COVID-19. They download an app called "Home Quaratine." It is mostly for people who have just traveled abroad, but they must download this app that measures how long they self quaratine (must be 2 weeks at least) and users must send in a selfie to prove they're not outside. If a selfie isn't received within 20 minutes they will be tracked by authorities.

This seems like one good example of using contemporary technology and putting it to greater use during this pandemic.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-update-poland-quarantine-app-asks-selfies-to-prove-isolation-social-distancing-police-patients/

Cassie H

chapter 7

Chapter 7 focuses on interactive spaces; this includes things like virtual reality and interactive art installations. Out of all the different types of digital literature this type challenges what literature is the most. One reason I think that interactive spaces are not literature is because it can exist without words. Most other types of digital literature we have looked at over the semester rely on words to convey their messages. They might use different types of media to enhance the experience; music, images, and hyperlinks are used in synergy to create a story. Without writing, hyperlink stories would not be able to exist. However, interactive spaces do not rely on words to convey a message. Some do use words to create an interactive experience, but it is not necessary to create an interactive space. One thing that I have realized over the course of this class is that does it matter if something is literature? One reason I enjoy reading is because it gives me a new perspective on the world in a way that is enjoyable for me. Literature is not the only form of media that can give people a new perspective: media like movies and are also important. If the media helps people learn while enjoying it, that is what matters. The word literature can be used for books, but just because something is not literature does not mean it is not worthwhile.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 "Divergent Streams" focuses on genres of electronic literary that could not be explained in detail within the book. A few genres Rettberg discusses includes "Locative narratives", "Interactive Installations",  and "Expanded Cinema, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality". Locative narratives is about the relationship between our interactions between the Internet and real life. Rettberg uses Google Earth and Street View as examples of programs that are able combine elements of real life and technology. Rettberg believes locative technology is able to create experiences through layers about the world. Technologies such as GPS, QR codes, and RFID are used to identify specific locations and used to deepen a electronic literature story. One example Rettberg uses is a "murder mystery by retracing the steps of the killer at the scene of the crime" (184). The main aspects of a locative narrative is the relationship of real life with a geographical location and include characteristics of how the "experience can be mapped" (185). Rettberg explains how many locative narrative are a collection of narratives and uses The Yellow Arrow Project as an example. The Yellow Arrow Project uses SMS and placed markers on the website which allowed the reader to send messages to the projects phone number. Interactive Installations is a genre that "extends techniques from electronic literature into arts and performance environments" (189). Text Rain is an example of a interactive kinetic text installation. Letters would drop at the top of screen and each letter would interactive with the image on the screen. Expanded Cinema, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality focuses on 3-D objects and sometimes 4-D environments. CD-ROM became a popular tool at the beginning of augmented reality with films using it to experiment with different techniques. 

The work I chose to focus on was Terminal Time. Terminal Time was created in 1998 by Steffi Domike, Michael Mateas, and Paul Vanouse. It is a 30 minute documentary about the history of the world. Terminal Time first "moved from the far past to the recent present...and the audience was presented with multiple choice questions and asked to clap for the options they preferred" (195). The questions were based on the audience's ideology biases and would change based on the audience.

Tim W

Chapter 7 - Divergent Streams

The final chapter in Scott Rettberg’s Electronic Literature covers “divergent streams” which Rettberg states “deserve fuller treatment  that the space of this volume will allow” (183). In this chapter Rettberg includes: locative narrative, digital literary installations, virtual and augmented reality narrative, and interactive and combinatory cinema. These pieces of literature all present some kind of physical art extension. To me, these forms of literature are exceptionally unique, as compared to the other kinds we’ve already looked at, because they are fleeting. 50 years from now there may not be any record of their existence. 

I chose to look into a locative narrative called Yellow Arrow Project, by Christopher Allen, Brian House, and Jesse Shapins. I chose this piece because it sounded familiar to our interactive assignment last week with our “I feel” markers. This piece was also really cool to me because anyone could participate, anywhere. Participants could act as a creator by ordering their own arrow online and texting the project manager through the number linked to the yellow arrow sticker. This allows them to add their own observation or piece to the link on the sticker. These stickers could be placed anywhere. Other individuals could interact with this art piece by calling the number on the sticker to retrieve whatever was linked to it.This project seems like something the world could need right now, good social distancing but easy communication. 

This is a link to a piece written about the Yellow Arrow Project: 

Docubase-YellowArrow

Sabrina Brown

Chapter 7: Divergent Streams

Chapter 7 of our textbook was about basically everything else that hadn't been covered yet, or divergent streams. I would describe these forms of digital literature as things you would not consider to be digital literature at first. Some examples are virtual reality, performance, installation art, and cinema environments. These forms are all very immersive and have a physical element. I think that virtual reality is the most obvious one in terms of being digital literature, and it gives the author a lot of freedom to create whatever they want and have a lot of control over the viewer's experience. I think that installation pieces and performances would be the least likely for people to recognize them as digital literature, but I think they are the most interesting forms. I think they are extra special because not many people have access to them and everyone's experience could be different. However, this is also limiting, because less people would get to see the art and watching a video online is not the same, which I realized when I did my analysis on Margaret Rhee's Kimchi Poetry Machine.

I decided to look at Teri Reub's Itinerant, which is a locative narrative that takes place around Boston Common, so that if you are in Boston you could follow the map while you listen. When you hover over a spot on the map, audio plays. I found it difficult to follow because parts of the story are pieces of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (digital authors must really like that book!), while the other parts are a story about an uncle who would randomly come into his family's life and tells them stories and causes chaos. It is also one of those pieces that does not need to be read in order, although I would think if you are walking around Boston Common you would want to go in order by location.

http://terirueb.net/itinerant-2005/

Meg Champagne

Ch.6 - Network Writing

Networks are both platform and material in electronic literature. Readers need to visit multiple sites to experience the full narrative. The main component of the networking experience is the text but video, audio, images, animations are also included in the process. Network writing also aims to tell a story across its platforms. They often involve writing, solving puzzles and included many forms of social networking. A big aspect involved in network writing is the collaboration. Having group narratives where people can add on different parts of the story creates for a collective activity rather than having one single narrator. Twitter fiction is really interesting to me. It is a pretty new form of story writing that people can come up with a short story in 140 characters of less in a tweet. It's a new way for authors to be more engaged with their readers and can get feedback through the comments It allows for authors to challenge themselves artistically and I really liked this idea.


Sofia

Chapter 6: Network Writing

Chapter 6 of Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg is about network writing. He defines network writing as, "electronic literature created for and published on the internet."(152).  Rettberg writes that though video and audio are important aspects of network writing, the main component of network writing is the actual text. Some examples of network writing include: Flarf, home page fictions, email novels, fictional blogs, Twitter fiction, online writing communities, collective narratives, Netprov, and network critiques. After reading this chapter, I realized that network writing is very prevalent in the world around us. A section I wanted to learn more about was Twitter fiction. I feel like tweets are a part of everyday life whether I'm viewing them directly from the Twitter app or if i'm seeing them broadcasted on Instagram, Facebook, or even Tik Tok. I searched for Bogost and McCarthy's Bloomsday on Twitter. I found a deeper explanation of this project on Bogost's website http://bogost.com/writing/blog/bloomsday_on_twitter/ It seems like an interesting concept but I had difficulties finding the actual tweets or even screenshots of the tweets online.

Maddie

chapter 6 network writing

Chapter 6 is about network writings which is literature that is created and published for the internet. Sometimes if requires the user to visit multiple sites to explore the narrative. My first thought with this sentence is how hypertext allows users to explore literature. However it seems in this chapter, Rettburg goes for a different approach of how writing can be a way to explore different network options.

Rettburg writes, "For much of the world, networks are a condition of contemporary life. Their ubiquity has changed the nature of our communications, our style of writing, and perhaps even the way that we structure our thoughts. (152) In my opinion, networking has become such a popular term for today's younger generation. Being about to network means expanding yourself in many aspects such as personally and physically. The way Rettberg sees it, is that authors can work in digital media that allows for them to create a character and face problems in a critical way.

Since the internet is a fully multimodal medium it allows for users to expand themselves like never before. Through social media and all the other applications that come with technology comes with knowing the roles. Contemporary electronic literature has provided us with self-concious literary artifacts, process', and performances. Becoming familiar with these traits has allowed us to have a better understanding of our own engagement with electronic literature.

Cassie H

Ch. 6

U found chapter 6 to be very interesting. The chapter begins describing its key topic, "Network Writing". The chapter describes this as "electronic created for and published on the internet" (Rettberg, 152). This can be summed up in a variety of things, blog posts, social media, etc. Rettberg then goes on to describe the internet today, saying that it is full of videos and posts all playing as you scroll down your timeline, stating that the main focus of our attention is about the text. Rettberg makes an interesting point that with all of these new forms of digital media, our reading and writing skills have no increased. "One need not be a Luddite or curmudgeon to recognize problems that networked communications pose: phatic likes in the place of developed interpersonal communication, memes in the place of reasoned argumentation, aimless browsing in the place of immersive reading, perhaps even dialogue with scripted bots in place of interaction of human interlocutors" (Rettberg, 153). I thought that this statement was relevant to my generation and how people go about their time on the internet. This, in my opinion, was very accurate in describing the literary pursuit of action within my generation.

Ryan Donahue

Chapter 6

In Chapter 6, Rettburg dives into the topic of networking writing, “electronic literature created for and published on the internet” (152). By definition, it seems that any piece we’ve looked at thus far could be considered network writing, and there are many arguments to support that claim, but when I think about network writing I think about collaborative online forums such as social media, blogs, and other forms of technology that allow users to contribute to a collective forum. This chapter talks a lot about how people of today view online forms of literature as comic or satirical. Instead of using the internet to peruse the philosophies of Kant or the works of Shakespeare, most people are writing fanfictions or sharing political memes.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for our society. Rettburg notes that “for all of the negative aspects of network discourse, a greater proportion of people spend more of their time writing and reading now than ever before” (153). Additionally, “Network encounters with network styles can be simultaneously critical and comic as there are few things funnier than recognizing absurdity within our lived present” (154). The online discourse that we are sharing today may not be “advanced” electronic literature, but it is still impactful, thoughtful, and influential. Kenneth Goldsmith argues, “what the world needs now is not more language but reframing and reuse of discourse that already exists” (163). There is so much unique, creative, interesting, and endless content on the internet, and it would benefit people to explore many of the writings that exist within it.

I was intrigued by this idea of “reframing” language, so I took a closer look at Flarf. Flarf is a movement that “make[s] use of the Internet as a text-provision technology,” rearranging search engine entries to make absurd and parodical poems. I found a Flarf generator that generated the following poem:

“The following lines of poetry are generated from word frequency tables of a combination of Andrew WK and Rush lyrics from I Get Wet and Permanent Waves, respectively.

corporation.

 we won't stop.

 because you puke.

 party going.

 you've got to party.

 just between us, i do you that you can feel all coming now my life to direct our loads.

 we'll party til you got.

 because we want.

 we won't stop.

 because you beautiful girl.

 you're everything that fight.

 you you're trying to get off on high never listen to get to die.

 we've got to go because we never kill stab we want.

 we will party going.

 you've got to some for superior cynics who dance we were nothing new.

 it's tight in chains- a red red red red red.

 you want the world out of integrity.

 for one another by such slender threads.

 we take what i say - watch him fall? making wars - we never do what we won't try and it's time coming back i saw you.

 open and have a choice.”

The Flarf poems seem like they could be authentic at first, but fairly quickly turn into absurd and laughable gibberish. Flarf seems to me like a good metaphor for the Internet itself.

Lily