The Times, They Are a’Changin’
It was panic stations here at Casa del Me when first I came across this article. I thought to myself, holy crap, he’s right. I hardly even read half of what he said what with the yawning and the skimming. Google has made me stupid. Damn you, Google! Damn you to hell! Once I sat down elsewhere and picked up my current read, cooler heads prevailed.
I do skim things I see on the internet, unless it’s written in an interesting voice or is particularly relevant. What that article doesn’t seem to take into account is the sheer amount of crap on the Internet. I’m not excluding myself in that, I’m as guilty of talking crap as the next blogger. What I try to do is make my crap interesting.
Also, isn’t it interesting, an article on how people don’t read large chunks of text any more has to be the longest internet article in the known universe? Just sayin’.
There’s another, related link which gives advice on how to combat the kind of word-fatigue people claim we’re suffering from. It’s not any more interesting than the first but it does make use of bulleted lists, claiming they are the best way to get your point across. Let’s do a little experiment, shall we?
Best served cold
Ella stepped through the doors and looked around, her fur-lined jacket tickling her chin. A shape lurched across her field of vision, its movements odd. She looked again.
“Is that…”
Her aunt glanced over. “Ah. Beryl. Yes, she passed last week.”
“She’s a zombie?”
Her aunt’s face creased from her smile. “Where else?”
Ella pondered. Better here than Arizona for the walking dead. “Why would anyone live here?”
Another smile. “They’re no worse than most other neighbours.”
For a moment, Ella watched Beryl. She grimaced and turned away. “Tell that to the woman whose intestines she’s eating.”
Compare that with:
• Girl visits her aunt in unspecified cold location
• Girl sees walking corpse
• Girl discovers this is common here
• Girl realises cold place is better for the walking dead than hot place
• Girl sympathises with zombie’s victim
Call me crazy but I prefer the first.
I do skim articles on the internet (so if I’m reading something of yours, make it interesting). I skim text on my computer as well (so if you email me, make sure it’s interesting). The problem isn’t my brain, it’s in the method of delivery. Anything on a screen gets skimmed. That’s why I do all of my editing using a copy I’ve printed out special. It’s why I have no interest in the new technologies like the Kindle. Its why, as long as I and people like me are alive, there will always be books. 56% of 18-24 year olds agree.
Neither Napster nor Kazaa nor the iTunes store have managed to close our music stores. That’s the cold, hard truth. People still buy CDs and they’ll keep buying books too. The world isn’t ending. The sky isn’t falling. And Google hasn’t made us stupid. Life goes on.
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, congratulations. Go and have a quick nap. Rest your eyes. They’ve earned it.