Writing Machines is the course website for English 170L at Pomona College in Claremont, California.
Off-line Apathy
Submitted by crashingintowalls on 2 December 2006 - 2:52pm.
So, I'm a little disappointed with my final project thus far. What looked like an interesting concept for probing the relationship between online and "real" worlds may be generating interesting results, but these results must be inferred from the near absence of participation thus far.
I liked my prospects when I launched the project late last week. The site looked professional, but simple, and the "are you really putting a journal on Marston Quad?" that I got in class seemed to indicate a level of interest that could fuel the project. Several days, many pictures, several digesters and a few personal pleas later, I'm looking down only two contributions to the project.
Of course, that isn't to say that I'm finding it difficult to come up with interesting things to say about this. I remember watching the wind start to scatter leaves over the visual space as I walked away from it for the first time and smiling as my project began to interact with the world. I also remember an acquaintance approaching me in the dining hall to say that she liked the idea of my project. Clearly, this project is interacting with the world. However, it has become painfully obvious that the student population who can make contributions more interesting than the bird droppings on the outside of the written folio is itself interacting in a more meaningful way with finals.
My own walks out to check and photograph the projects have become experiences in themselves. I'm hesitant to hope for much at this point, but I caught myself looking for a change in the position of the written folder as I walked out today. I realize that my own role in this has become very passive. I observe, I record, I post and I publicize. From here on, everyone else is a more powerful creator than I am. I have a whole new perspective on Roland Barthes' "Death of the Author".
So, the summary of this post (if you're still reading) is that I could use a little help here. Check out the project, and give ten minutes to it if you can. I'm sure that I can write a paper about apathy, but I'd prefer not to.
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Hey, crashingintowalls. I'll make you a deal. I'll go write you a note and/or move some leaves if you go look at my blog and leave me a comment.
Sounds fair, huh? I've got to put on shoes, all you've got to do is click a link!
I think it may be harder to
I think it may be harder to solicit responses from the general public because it's a hectic time during the semester. That, and because people--and in particular, college kids--are by nature lazy beings.
It would be interesting to see what may happen if you offered people incentives to write in the journal? Maybe when you posted your digester messages, you could say something about free candy or something, and see if the number of responses go up? If you were to do that, and if there was an immediate increase in response, then that would be an interesting thing to talk about too: how college kids and this particular audience needs incentives if we are to do anything.
Anyway, I'll stop by the quad and help further your project along, but as for the rest of the pomona population, you'd probably need to bribe them to get them moving...
integrity or participation?
Yup, the thought of offering rewards definitley occurred to me on one long walk to go check the empty notebook. I already caved on my resolution not to send personal solicitations, which I saw as more coercive than telling the class what my project is about or posting the site on the digester. The standing resolutions are not to offer rewards and not to create a facebook event. Basically, I want to be as hands-off with this as I can. Even influencing the population that participates in this is taking control of the project that isn't mine now that it's out there. I want to resist some of the micromanaging that we accused Jackson of in "Skin." Just like I'm not going to guard the notebook against being picked up by someone's dog, I'm trying to let participation be somewhat natural (if I had enought time and faith I would have just put the sites up and let people walk by them and see who went to the url), and if the natural thing for people to do this time of year is not participate, then I think I have to accept that. Mind you, I will NOT mind if this thoughtful answer convinces you to go move some leaves around...
yikes
I just realized that I sounded pretty snarky there--it wasn't intended. Thanks for the commment on my blog--I really appreciated your stopping by (and all the others who have, and those who will, of course, in the near future...!).