a computer ate my book

Douglas Rushkoff made me look at the possibilities of the internet in connection to writing. I’ve kind of been a dinosaur- protesting the aspects of publishing the internet is changing- and I hate to admit it but I think it comes from a really ignorant place of not wanting to accept change and also from a stubborn place of not wanting to change my ways.
Why? Because paper and books and ink and the millions of different ways to bind pages are pretty. Sometimes holding a book feels better then holding anything else. Plus computers don’t smell as good as ink.
The way technology is moving is kind of scary. Buying a book online is taking away human interaction- reading a literary journal off a web site and saving it in your favorite’s folder is taking away the kind of nostalgia having that literary journal on your bookshelf gives you.
Maybe Douglas has more faith in society then I do- because deep down I’m scared that the less writing is available in only print- the easier it will be to forget about it.
It’s true there are more outlets for writers that are unknown because of the internet and blogs- but in my opinion it is also harder to find good writing on the internet because it is bogged down in search engines full of crap.
Plus- the blue light that buzzes from my computer makes reading less romantic.
But this essay did make me realize the interaction between readers and writers on the internet- something that print can’t really offer. And it completely changed my approach to the zine I am putting together because now I want to find a way to connect the print version to the internet.