Update Culture and the Afterlife of Digital Writing PDF
Preview Update Culture and the Afterlife of Digital Writing
UPDATE CULTURE AND THE AFTERLIFE OF DIGITAL WRITING UPDATE CULTURE AND THE AFTERLIFE OF DIGITAL WRITING JOHN R. GALLAGHER UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS Logan © 2019 by University Press of Colorado Published by Utah State University Press An imprint of University Press of Colorado 245 Century Circle, Suite 202 Louisville, Colorado 80027 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America The University Press of Colorado is a proud member of the Association of University Presses. The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wyoming, Utah State University, and Western Colorado University. ∞ This paper meets the requirements of the ANSI/NISO Z39.48– 1992 (Permanence of Paper). ISBN: 978- 1- 60732- 973- 2 (paperback) ISBN: 978- 1- 60732- 974- 9 (ebook) DOI: https:// doi .org/ 10 .7330/ 9781607329749 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Gallagher, John R., 1983– author. Title: Update culture and the afterlife of digital writing / John R. Gallagher. Description: Logan : Utah State University Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical refer- ences and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019033219 (print) | LCCN 2019033218 (ebook) | ISBN 9781607329732 (paperback) | ISBN 9781607329749 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Electronic publishing. | Authors and publishers. Classification: LCC Z286.E43 G35 2019 (ebook) | LCC Z286.E43 (print) | DDC 070.5/797— dc23 LC record available at https:// lccn .loc .gov/ 2019033219 The University Press of Colorado gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the University of Illinois toward the publication of this book. Parts (but not much) of this manuscript have appeared in previous publications. Some of the ideas related to templates in chapter 2 appeared in “Challenging the Monetized Template,” Enculturation 24 (2017): n.p. A small section in chapter 4 appeared in “Five Strategies Internet Writers Use to ‘Continue the Conversation,’” in Written Communication 32 (4): 396– 425. A small section of chapter 5 appeared in “Monitoring and Managing Online Comments in Science Journalism,” in Citizenship and Advocacy in Technical Communication: Scholarly and Pedagogical Perspectives, edited by Godwin Agboka and Natalia Matveeva (New Yovrk: Routledge), 137– 52. However, most of the ideas have been updated and edited. Duty Calls, courtesy of XKCD CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Update Culture 3 1 Methods and Participants 17 2 Template Rhetoric 32 3 Textual Timing 49 4 Textual Attention 77 5 Textual Management 100 6 Ethics in Update Culture 135 7 Learning and Pedagogy in Update Culture 147 8 An Epistemology of Change 156 Appendix A: How This Book Came to Be 163 Appendix B: Initial Interview Questions for Reviewers, Journalists, and Bloggers 169 Appendix C: Initial Interview Questions for redditors 170 Appendix D: Follow- Up Interview Questions 171 Notes 173 References 175 About the Author 185 Index 187 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The people most responsible for this project are its participants. I did not pay any of them. They graciously volunteered their time, often when it was convenient for me. Interviewing them was a pleasure. I consider talking with writers to be the best part of my job. To all the bloggers, journalists, redditors, and reviewers: thank you for making this project possible. In terms of scholarly support, Steve Holmes offered me in- depth guidance throughout this project while keeping a sense of humor along the way. I acknowledge that my spouse, Shelby Hutchens, tolerated interviews at random times of the day and listened to me drone on about the project, especially toward the end. There are many people in the computers and writing community I am grateful for knowing and friending; while I cannot name all of them, thanks to Kristin Arola, Kevin Brock, Jim Brown Jr., Aaron Beveridge, Dànielle Nicole DeVoss, Dustin Edwards, Harley Ferris, and Rebecca Tarsa. Because this project was largely conceived as a new project, it holds little relationship to my dissertation. Nevertheless, the seeds of this project started in my disser- tation, and I wish to thank Donna LeCourt and Anne Herrington for giving me the methodology that made this book possible. I am indebted to Paul Prior’s and Catherine Prendergast’s career advice, humor, and grace during my career at UIUC. Thanks to Maria Gillombardo for suggesting Afterlife as a possible title of this manuscript. Thank you to Rachael Lussos for copyediting this manuscript. Thank you to the University Press of Colorado and my editor, Rachael Levay, for support throughout the publication process. Thank you to the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, which provided a subvention grant to help increase the circulation of this book. Family, and the values family represents, is the most important thing in life, something my participants reminded me of during our inter- views. I dedicate this book to my family, especially my father (John E. Gallagher), Quentin, Landry, and Shelby. My sister (Michelle Carr) and mother (Karen Holmes) were enthusiastic about my writing throughout many years, and I thank them for their support over the long arc of a life. Andy Potts listened to me read terrible undergrad papers late at night— thank you for your support, good sir. My friends, Greg Sargent
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