Blog Post: Web 2.0 Video

The internet--and computers in general--have become a social center for a large percentage of the world's population. Michael Wesch, the creator of this video, does a fantastic job of demonstrating the advantages and the eye-opening realities of using the internet as a communication medium.

"Digital text" obviously has quite a few advantages when compared to barbaric, paper-and-pencil writing. For example, editing is much easier; spell check, cut and paste, etc. are all excellent tools that simplify the writing process when used properly. With computers, we can insert pictures, videos, and hyperlinks into whatever it is we plan on making, allowing us to more easily prove our points and present our arguments. This form of communication is a gigantic step from writing by hand.

With this step comes a few extra responsibilities. Michael may have initially been demonstrating a few possible directions in which the internet can take us, but then he presents some arguments that are, what I believe to be, the main purpose of this video. The web is truly linking everyone together. We really are the internet; there would be no internet without us--its users. As much as we all depend on the internet, that's kind of scary.

The video ends with the phrase "We'll need to rethink ourselves." I can't help but agree with this statement. When writing online, we need to be constantly thinking of our ethos. What kind of a mental picture of ourselves do we want to give to the audience? We need to keep in mind that we're not writing only for ourselves; anyone will be able to read whatever we write. Our pathos and logos need some attention too, of course. When writing online, we'll almost always have an audience that can instantly respond (like in the comment section of this blog); thus, we need to use reason when constructing our arguments, and we need to determine what types of emotions to evoke in the audience.