Friday, October 15, 2010

The Written Word

Bombarded and overwhelmed by sensory stimulation that insists we only keep our eyes open to enjoy the effect, it boggles my mind so many millions still persist in communicating through the written word. Yet many still do.


Our civilization has reached the point where all we need do is click on the TV, point a mouse in a general direction, or hold an oddly phallic like gadget in our hands and aim it at the screen to get our entertainment fix. Certainly too many of us waste our time settled in on couches while watching that Andy Griffith marathon or back to back to back half hour segments about the 1000 ways to die.

Thankfully there seems to be enough of us still out there interested and focused on creativity. Enough people either creating it or actively seeking others creations for their own pleasure. And contrary to how I often feel about the endemic mind rot that came along for the ride as our ability to communicate instantly expanded, the creativity that will spring from this new age of communication is going to be mind blowing.

It won’t all be good. Current trends certainly point that out. But when a new community is created made up people from around the globe who have focused interests, new creativity will and has already resulted. Networking works.

The worry I also have from time to time that reading and writing will soon be a thing of the past is misplaced. That Johnny can’t read nor can Betty write will not kill the written word. The written word is still alive and well. It is just evolving along side and taking advantage of the new expansion in mass media alternatives. Many new electronic gizmos coming on the scene are helping. Kindle, I phones, books on CDs all are helping to ensure the written word will be here long after you and I are worm food.

And then there is my favorite new spin off, the blog. 25 years ago I would never have dreamed I would be hooking up with Muslim Marv from Tim Buck Too or Aussie Al who lives on some god forsaken sheep ranch miles from anywhere. And I certainly would not have guessed that I would become the writing fool I have become. It is not important whether  we write well or write poorly. It is only important that we write.  Writing keeps the written word healthy and ensures it will be around as long as our species exists.

See Ya.........................................

4 comments:

Tom Harper said...

Don't worry, we can still get rid of that quaint primitive written word. Using a call phone camera, a person's blog post can consist of nothing more than a YouTube video. And the blog comments can be just a link to the commenter's YouTube response.
Ah, the future...

susan said...

I love the written word and your version is excellent. Blogging is a mind expanding adventure for readers. Personally, it's been very rewarding to discover that people whose work I respect actually like what I draw :-)

Chef Cthulhu said...

Again, well said.

Unless you're doing this with speech recognition software.

Mauigirl said...

Agree completely. I am amazed at the way people can interact through the internet, on blogs and discussion groups, and even Facebook. And no, the written word will remain with us. The grammar or spelling may change, but that has happened throughout time. We're evolving creatures and our writing will evolve with us, but will not go away.