Rethinking ‘Global Audience’ & Networked Digital Composition

Though not synonymous, digital composition and networked digital composition are often thought of as one and the same. In addition to the ease with which text, image and video can be manipulated digitally—especially with especially designed software for such purposes—networked digital composition explodes the possibilities for composition.

We can access information from a broader range of sources than ever before, including tapping into the flow of knowledge-building as it occurs via social media such as wikis, Twitter hashtag feeds, blogs with comments, etc. For example, recently Jack Dougherty and Kristen Nawrotzki launched a digitally-born text that would result in both digital and printed text. By being not just digitally-born, but networked and available publicly, the text could be truly open-review and collaboratively composed. (I participated in the initial concept-generation phase, suggesting a chapter exploring how the processes of composing text [as opposed to the products that are the result of composing] in the humanities has been influenced by networked digital capacities, called The Composing Processes of Writing History Digitally.)

With networked digital composition, we can compose with media previously available only to programmers and professionals. Of course, we don’t have to be ‘networked’ to use software we’ve purchased, but with the Internet we have immediate access to freeware and online webpages such as Picnik for images or Aviary for music.

We also have access to audiences like never before–both during the composing process and for our finalized digital products. On deviantART artists of all skill levels can create portfolios of work, ask for feedback on pieces or pieces-in-process and can create little enclaves of similarly-minded artists. Text, image, sound can also be taken up by those who view it and remixed—or plagiarized, if you will—with ease. Not only is networked digital composition available to one intended audience, it is potentially available to any number of individuals and enclaves, both nearby and global.

It is this final idea—the potential global audience—that I’d like to pause to consider. Though the fastest adopted technology we’ve seen worldwide—doubling in the last five years—the actual access to global audiences, who can participate similarly to those within the US, is far more limited than it may sound. Only 20% of those in ‘developing’ countries are online (see the link to “The State of the Internet Now” below), and those who are mostly on their cell phones. Marion Walton’s research out of South Africa asks us to question the assumed dominance of the computer in the digital age. She describes a ‘mobile-centric’ use of digital media: books via text, tweet, or the like; links to Youtube-like sites sent via text; chatting on the phone. Not only is the access to the Internet different across countries, but their devices, forums, and thus practices are also different.

Created by: OnlineSchools.org

All of this leaves me to wonder:

When we are composing with networked digital tools, what do we need to take into consideration regarding our potential global participatory audience?
What influence does this have on our composing processes and products? What influence does this have when reading texts from global sources? What influence should this have?

In the comments, I’d love to hear further questions that come to mind, as well as ideas you have as to how to begin to answer these questions.

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One Comment on “Rethinking ‘Global Audience’ & Networked Digital Composition”

Dee Anne
August 2, 2011

Not to answer your questions or be thoughtful in any way — but here is another way of presenting information that I found fascinating.
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

Gotta love TED talks.

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