Writing greatly influences the way we communicate and think. According to Applen, a “writing space” is a “material and visual field” we compose and read on and from, takin the form technologies, paper, and computer screens. (Applen, 33). Different writing spaces affect the ability to think and interact with each other. Writing on a computer, is material practice, and can be difficult for people to decide between thinking and text. Bolter expands on Ong’s ideas by describing two later stages in writing history; the “age of print” and the “late age of print.” Printing replaced handwriting because it allowed people to make and share copies quickly.
Late age of print describes the age that we are living in currently. Print still exist but electronic formats are more popular. Books are important , but they no longer feel essential. People debate whether digital writing will replace text. Many scholars use value print text and hold it to higher standards. Online journals are seen as equals to print. I like them both, and often both publications can be found in text or digital format.
Remediation
Bolter’s meaning of remediations describes, the “shift to a new form of media that takes some of the characteristics of a previous form and refashions it” (Applen 34). For example, The Little Mermaid movie remediates the book. It shifts from book to movie but keeps some of the characteristics. When this happens, the implication is that the newer medium improves the old media. Another example is how the Internet allows us to send email, it remediates the telegraph as a technology(Applen 35). Remediation shows us that all media can be changed and reshuffled. When media the text is remediated, it is viewed differently to the audience
Hypermediacy
Hypermediacy describes media that constantly remind us that we are looking at a construction—the opposite of transparency—and “offer themselves as immediate experiences” (Bolter 25–26). For instance, some documentaries are hypermediated. The films reminds the viewer exactly what they are looking at. The transparency, showing microphone and camera reminds the viewer that it is not just tv show, or an invisible window of reality. Basically, hypermediacy happens when the medium shows itself off.
Writing shapes how we think, communicate and experience media. The shift from handwriting to print, and to digital formats shows how writing influences our understanding of text. Hypermediacy reminds us that mediums are good in their own constructs. Remediation reminds us that text can always change and reshuffle to create new mediums. These concepts helps us understand and interpret writing as communication.
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