“New Media and the Slow Death of the Written Word”

In the “New Media and the Slow Death of the Written Word”, we see that the author advocates old text and even admits to wanting to advocate “print on paper rather than computers” at first but then eventually realized that these old texts had some issues that needed to be resolved. So, even though he still loves the old text, he realized that the New Media had a new way of communicating with his audience, as Birkert and Postman, opponents who believed that New Media would be taking away appreciation of old text, had to realize.

Technology in the 21st century has greatly influenced the ways in which we work and communicate in our everyday lives. Whether it is seen by the increase in use of computers or the decline of the interestingness of the newspaper, we have now entered an era where the “New Media” has prevailed and for those who need to adapt to this change, there are rules that can be adhered to for a better transition into this computer-ruled time period. The New Media has made it possible to not only enhance but also appreciate old texts. To allow this connection to even happen, Mark Zeltner developed ten basic rules, using what he learned through experience, to serve as a guide for students learning to write for the new-media.

Rule number one and two both compliment each other in that number one states that in writing online , writers should stick to cold hard facts and not digress into lengthy explanations which is going to draw the reader away. Rule number two helps the write control the amount which is being written by making the text only being about a screenful and no more. I agree with both rules because the whole attraction of the internet is not to read long lengthy paragraphs and to just get the facts desired ,fast. Rule number three falls into the same category as one and two do, to keep it short and sweet. He expresses that you should still create an outline for your work , but to rule out the information that is unnecessary. I agree in the sense that you should keep some tactics that are used in writing printed texts into new media but just more modified and shorter.

Rules number four details that adding pictures can further help explain what you are writing about and help the reader further understand. Rule number five is about adding audio to the text so that certain sayings aren't interpreted wrongfully. Rule number six consists of attaching videos to an article as he explained with the John F. Kennedy video that some words can't quite explain a certain topic without having to experiencing it for yourself. Although Zeltner makes it clear that the pictures, audio and video should be relevant to the text and should be put there to enhance the reader's experience and help the reader understand better rather than to distract the reader. I agree with these rules because if there is an example of a speech that was made or a painting or a speech in the text and i have never heard of it then i would have to google it. It saves a lot of time for the reader and it gives your eyes a break from reading even though the text shouldn't be long regardless if the writer followed rules one through three.

Rule number seven deals with hyperlinks which is a link that take you to the definition of words and for footnotes that are in the article. Rule number eight includes adding in hyperlinks to other pages of the same topic but to add them on the bottom , that way when the reader is done they can go to the other pages instead of putting the link in the middle of the page and then losing your read to another site.Rule number nine states that the writer should add sidebars with additional information about the topic being addressed and the main function of the sidebar is to redirect the reader to the main article. I don't agree with these three rules as much because if your trying to convert paper readers to the internet all of the extra links can get confusing, the only rule I would keep out of these three would be the side bar just because it redirects you back to the main page so that the readers doesn't venture off to other sites.

The last rule , rule number ten is the most important because it explains how to properly use all of the previous rules like where the necessary rules should be applied and how. I agree with this rule the most because even if you have the right tools, but you don't know how to use them , then they become useless.

Overall I agree with all of the rules. Zeltner devised a well organized format for any new New Media writers to follow if they are trying to transition from paper writing to the computer. I can't think of any other rule that should be added since he covered most of the desirable features the internet has to offer. In Zeltner's conclusion he expresses that the written word is not dying but it's modernized and being used in ways it hasn't before. Also that isn't not destroying the future generation's potential to understand and read lengthy articles. Technology is constantly advancing which to some equals the death of the written word , but I believe it's the birth of a new way of writing