Eyman has maintained his philosophy about the duality of digital text. Previously, he mentioned how traditional text is limited–a bounded object. On the contrary, in its domain, digital text is networked. It can be expanded to so many other forms of media (multimodality). For example, it may include code, audio, video, image, links, etc. Digital text, though, is not just content, it is an infrastructure that embodies what text itself is, interconnection. How?
The Evolution of Text
Digital text rarely remains static, it cannot be frozen in time. In my previous research, I have many times emphasized that digital text will always inevitably be remixed or revised, at the very least. Because of this, the rhetorical meaning of text will shift. Of course, this depends on the context, in order to persuade its reader. Eyman further emphasized that with this “revision”, a text’s life does not end when its original author first uploads it onto a network. This is something writers must consider–what their text says now and what it will become in time.
The Circulation of Text
Eyman again puts emphasis on the reuse of text. Because text is generally “quoted,” its meaning will be shaped by those who remix it. As I ended off in my previous paragraph, this is important to keep in mind because where and how text travels holds just as much importance as who shares it and to which audience it reaches. Why? Because once it reaches this point, it is beyond your control.
Being able to define digital rhetoric is very important because it offers the author the opportunity to plan, anticipate, and design his work so as to not cause offense. A writer would want to not just read what their work says, but to really interpret how it would work in a larger network.
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