Jul 15th, 2002
Online Collaboration
For several weeks now, I’ve been contemplating whether or not multimedia and the advent of the Internet are going to eventually replace existing media. In many ways, the interactivity of the Internet and the palpable experience of multimedia seem to offer a world of potential that transcends literature. Being trained in English and having a passion for writing, this is a somewhat disturbing notion. For a while, I had been contemplating whether I should scrap the whole writing thing and focus all my energy on multimedia.
Today, I realized that this would be horribly stupid of me. First of all, I’ve spent my whole life writing. Second of all, I suck at multimedia.
I think my fear of the Internet’s potential stemmed from an inability to comprehend what it could offer my existing talents. Now I realize, that the greatest thing the Internet does, is connect people and ideas. These ideas still need to be expressed in writing. Although multimedia offers a visually pleasing method of conveying information, it is ultimately not as close to our minds and our souls as our own imaginations, and I’m convinced that the most basic form of communication is timeless.
What the hell am I talking about? Well, I’ve added a new section entitled, “Work in Progress.” The concept is that I’ve started to write a short story, and I would like your help in writing it. Basically, I’m going to post what I’ve written so far, and then as your comments come in, I will mold the story accordingly. It is an organic collaboration of minds, not a solitary pursuit. Ultimately, I am going to do the writing, but as edits and comments come in, I’m going to keep a rolling list of contributors who will eventually get editor credits when the work is finally published.
