Digital literature

Reading a 500 page chapter book is very different to reading an online magazine or blog. Websites entail so much more. There’s more to read, glance at listen to work out. It seems as if the way we read things today are different due to the Internet and its new abilities of hypertext.



‘Nobody is going to sit down and read a book on a twitchy little screen. Ever’-Annie Proulx-Book on top. NYT.1994

Today not only are people reading books on their ‘twitchy little screens’ but applications have been created to download them Kindles, Ipads, Ebooks & Sony Readers have been invented for this purpose.

Although some of us do not read in a linear form anymore, we’re still able to make out the point of whats being read and the ideology.

‘Hypertext, which permits readers to choose their own paths through a set of possibilities dissolves the fundamental fixity that provides the foundation of our critical theory and practice.

it’s as if not only technology has made a new way for us to read things, but us as individuals are grasping new ways on how literature can be read. if literature is not read the simple way due to digital literature, what will happen with books in years to come? Will they too be written and read in a different way?

Tagging and Blogging.

Tagging and blogging.

Tagging is used for people to recognise whether it be a picture of someone being tagged on Facebook or general tags to find things on websites or blogs. Being able to tag is very useful this is because it allows things that are being searched for to run faster and easier.

When I’ve finished writing this post I will add tags such as ‘Digital cultures, tagging, blogging’ this is because like meta data, it allows users to add categories.

Another example is general articles that get read online. This could be a 500 word post talking about the latest summer trend. Keywords and tags given in this article could be anything from ‘fashion, skirts, denim etc’ just words which are to do with whats being read.

Search engines such as google, are really useful because as long as the main subject of what you’re searching for gets typed in the first couple results are the correct ones, becuase it recognises the keywords. This is the same with YouTube. YouTube has no generated itself like google to guess what you’re probably searching for. If I typed in ‘Beyonce. . ‘ The YouTube results would show.

‘Beyonce at the Grammy’s’
‘Beyonce Single Ladies’
‘Beyonce Single Ladies dance routine’

All searches would immediately come up in either alphabetical order or in search of what has been looked up the most.

Twitter is one of today’s most used social network, like google you can always find out what is going on within the world by #TrendingTopics. You simply type in the Twitter search bar and see many other results as to what was typed in.




If its simple to tag and archive words online, what will be next? Will it come to a point where we ourselves don’t need to tag basic keywords, so instead it’s automatically done for us?

Virtuality in today’s society.

‘The term ‘virtual’ encapsulates two distinctive concepts and largely negative idea of the fake, illusionary, non-existent, and the overly whelming positive, idea of the potential, which connotes, productivity, openess and diversity.’-Ryan avatars of story

The virtual of reality was once pictures we saw and knew existed. E.g. The globe, the beach everything most of society knew about. Now virtual reality has gone beyond that point due to the fact not everything can be proven especially when you’re on an online community, due to the virtual world in cyber space, things can be made made up.




“Virtual reality is like passing through the movie screen to enter the fictional world. of the ‘film’, and entering a virtual environment is like ‘being able to walk through ones TV or computer, through the vanishing point or vortex and into a three dimensional field of symbols”-Margaret Morse.

An example of this would be the Simms virtual reality game, this is because of the virtual world the Simms was built in. Though you’re able to make a character you can’t exactly go into the game itself and go through your computer or TV. Instead an immersion is created.

Ernest Adams calls it a ‘Narrative immersion’. This is because the player gets to ‘care about the character’.

Virtual reality shows a form of second life, but how can you have a second ‘life’ when it’s not actually reality? Will this be something else technology will create. One day if were bored with our current situation and reality, we can pack up and leave to our ‘second life’.

Intelligence & Robots

What is a robot?

‘A programmable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialised devices through various programmed motions for the performance of a variety tasks’

Robots and Cyborgs are quite similar but apart from both being artificial creations the main difference between them both are that robots though for themselevs.

In 1963 John McCarthy left MIT to start an Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Stanford University. In 1966 he went onto create ‘Shaky’. This was the first mobile robot to respond to someones action.

1966 was also the the year Eliza was created at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. Eliza was a robot which also responded but would use a statement giving to make up a question.

‘Hubert Drefus-1979 ’ Insists that any really intelligent machine (Which he thinks is impossible in principle) must demonstrate more than just a logical elements of human thinking. A truly Intelligent machine would have to be capable of actual conversations. This would be evidence idling, rather than working towards some particular intelligent function.’

This was what Eliza never had. It was also similar to MSN’s smarter child, a programme on instant messaging which was really a robot. Any given keyword or phrase typed to it, would immediately have a question answered back similar to Eliza.




Robots were designed to be able to think for themselves and have a more superior knowledge of not close to the human one. There are still limitations on what we can do as humans that they can’t.

We are able protect information online this is by simple things like CAPTCHA. This is a system with blurry numbers and letters only the humans can read and make out, which get typed out for security reasons to dodge fraud, theft, virus’ etc. This can be read by us but not computer programmes.

Different types of robots today are still being created, but they still have no emotions, due to the fact they’re not human but simply an artificial programme, but with technology expanding what could the late future hold? Will they be able to create a more improved version of Eliza, who does not only respond out of statements, but its able to hold a conversation?

Cyborgs and Artificial life.

A cyborg, also known as a cybernetic organism, is a being with both biological and artificial (e.g. electronic, mechanical or robotic) parts’-Wiki

Cyborgs are a part of technology as they are now being used in everyday life and have also become quite dependant.This shows the growth in technology and the changes it has had in society for the good.

‘The term cyborg (cybernetic organism) was put forward by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in 1960 to describe a self regulating man machine system, supposed to be more flexible than the human organism thanks to the fusion of organic and mechanical parts’- Dani Cavallario Cyberpunk & Cyberculture. p45

When you usually think of a cyborg, what usually comes to minds are fictional characters we’ve all come across. E.g The Ironman, The Terminator or even any of the robots from Starwars. Today a cyborg can be anyone who has an artificial body part. Having a metal replacement arm or leg, to a pacemaker to help prompt the heart beat at a normal pace.





Are we ourselves turning into technology? If so are we tampering with nature? What will be the next step for us if most humans turn into cyborgs?