Journal #10

Technology is a tool that enables writing. More advanced technology like computers and their access to the internet can help spread ideas and thoughts, creating a community that can collaborate with and improve upon the original idea or thought. Without sharing the writing one creates, that text is subject only to a small group's opinions. Out in the open however, anyone can see and respond to a text, adding upon it or critiquing it. In "Opportunity" Shirky states that "the hothouse environment of a collaborative circle can make the ideas and achievements of the participants develop faster than if the participants were all pursuing the identical goals without sharing." This is seen when people publish their findings in experiments and they are tested by others. The collaboration involved spreads the idea and allows for others to think about the theories proposed, potentially leading to new experiments derived from the original.

Without technology, there would be no way of writing. Technology such as a paper and pen or a computer keyboard are what allow us to write. Without them the only way we can spread ideas is through spoken word. Technology allows for a larger potential audience and allows for texts to be preserved in their original form rather than being paraphrased by whatever people remember of it. Technology is beneficial because people can use it to constantly improve and bounce ideas off each other. It creates a community that can come together and build upon itself.