New Media and the Slow Death of the Written Word

As our technology continues to improve and evolve, we are introduced to new concepts and new ways of doing things. However, technology also makes some of our traditional ways of doing things obsolete and force change. A good example is the effect of the “New Media”, which refers to digital works, over the “old media”, which includes newspapers and books. In the article New Media and the slow death of the written word, Mark Zeltner, mentions how most of his young students prefer to read online and avoid the printed word altogether. While this is a major cause of concern for him, he concedes that writing for the internet also has many inherent benefits and urges his students to embrace the New Media.

Zeltner introduces ten rules for writers of the New Media to follow. The first of these rules is to “write tight”. It means that writers should be concise and to the point, without beating around the bush. This is a good guideline to follow for many types of articles, especially informational articles. However, not all writers would be able to achieve their goals if they were too brief and only gave facts. For example, in a persuasive article, such as an article promoting a candidate or a political agenda, it is essential to infuse the text with suitable adjectives and include subtle hints to influence and mold peoples’ perceptions.

The second rule, “break the text into appropriate chunks” goes hand-in-hand with the third rule, “think in modules, not chapters”. It is the writer’s job to determine not only what information to include, but how the reader should view it. The computer screen is inconvenient for reading because it can display only a certain amount of information at a time. Longer articles that require constant scrolling or numerous clicking are very annoying and may frustrate readers. Also, there is a risk of losing the train of thought and ultimately missing the point of the article. Using modules and easy- to-view text can help readers overcome the physical limitations of the computer screen.

The next three rules describe how we can embellish our articles by taking full advantage of technology. Pictures, audio and video all enhance the meaning of a work. For instance, an article about a Stradivarius violin (which usually costs more than a million dollars) will be greatly enhanced by a video showing the characteristics and tone of the instrument. However, pictures and videos should not be overused since they can be distracting and sometimes may divert attention from the article.