Modularity and Variability

In “Writing for the Web, Composing, Coding, and Constructing Websites”, Applen explores the evolving relationship between new media and literacy. He highlights how digital technologies are changing the way we create, consume, and interact with information. This is noted specifically when he talks about modularity and variability.

Modularity

Applen uses Lev Manovich to help define modularity. “Units of information are modular if they do not change their ‘seperate identities’ and retain their ‘independence’ when they are used to construct larger bodies of information. In other words, it is a system that is made up of interchangeable and seperate parts. Applen offers a great example of this when he says “The manager of one Web site can decide to link her Web site to another Web site, but she cannot make any changes to the Web site that she is linking to and thus it exists as an independent entity” (Applen 8).

This link is a seperate part of the webpage that has one job only: to take you somewhere else when you click on it. If this person wanted to remove the link, it wouldn’t change or affect the webpage at all. Another example not related to the web would be Lego pieces. Moving around pieces or replacing them wouldn’t change the entire structure.

Why is this Important

Modularity reveals a great deal about new media, particularly its flexibility and efficiency. It allows creators to make quick adjustments like removing a link from a webpage or adding new content without having to create a new webpage. This is very different from traditional print media which reminds me of a conversation we had as a group in class, where once something is published, it is final. The author can’t go back and change the information once it is already out there. This shows how new media supports updates and customization. Print simply cannot offer this which leads us into our next topic — variability.

Variability

Again, Applen uses Manovich to help define variability. “Variability is Manovich’s term for the characteristic of new media which means it is never ‘fixed’, but exists in ‘potentially infinite’ versions” (Applen 9). To put it plainly, variability
refers to the ability of digital content to adapt and change based on different factors, like devices or real-time data. Unlike traditional media, which is fixed, new media is never fixed and can be customized and updated regularly. The best example I could use would be a streaming service like Netflix. Netflix offers personalized recommendations based on viewing history. My Netflix recommendations might be completely different from someone elses. This flexibility is tailored to individual users’ needs. Again, variability in new media shows us that digital content is flexible and designed to change and adapt unlike traditional print.