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"And here we begin to see how the age of social media resembles the pre-literate, oral world. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other platforms are fostering an emerging linguistic economy that places a high premium on ideas that are pithy, clear, memorable and repeatable (that is to say, viral). Complicated, nuanced thoughts that require context don’t play very well on most social platforms, but a resonant hashtag can have extraordinary influence. Evan Spiegel, the chief executive officer of Snap Inc., grasped the new oral dynamics of social media when he told the Wall Street Journal: “People wonder why their daughter is taking 10,000 photos a day. What they don’t realize is that she isn’t preserving images. She’s talking.”
by Joe Weisenthal
in article titled
"Donald Trump, the First President of Our Post-Literate Age"
published online on Nov 29, 2016

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Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the media has worked itself into a panic about the rise of fake news on social media. Reporters have examined the subject from dozens of angles -- profiling misinformation peddlers from California to the Caucasus, analyzing how hoaxes spread, raising red flags about media literacy, and much more.

You can understand why journalists are so worried. For one thing, most reporters genuinely want the public to be well-informed. For another, there's a matter of self-interest: Fake news undermines journalists' authority as arbiters of truth. Also -- and I'll let you in on a little secret here -- most mainstream journalists probably preferred Clinton to Trump, so the idea that fake news swung the election is a tantalizing story.

But all this focus on fake Facebook news obscures a much bigger story about the way social media -- the endless public opining and sharing of information -- is reshaping politics. Even if you've never given much thought to its meaning, you've probably heard someone say "the medium is the message," the famous dictum of media theorist Marshall McLuhan.

But what does that mean, and what does it mean specifically for the 2016 election? A possible answer can be found in the work of Walter J. Ong, a Jesuit priest and a former student of McLuhan's at St. Louis University. In his most famous work, " Orality and Literacy," Ong examined how the invention of reading and writing fundamentally changed human consciousness. He argued that the written word wasn't just an extension of the spoken word, but something that opened up new ways of thinking -- something that created a whole new world.

The easiest way to grasp the difference between the written world and the oral world is that in the latter, there's no way to look up anything. Before the invention of writing, knowledge existed in the present tense between two or more people; when information was forgotten, it disappeared forever. That state of affairs created a special need for ideas that were easily memorized and repeatable (so, in a way, they could go viral). The immediacy of the oral world did not favor complicated, abstract ideas that need to be thought through. Instead, it elevated individuals who passed along memorable stories, wisdom and good news.

And here we begin to see how the age of social media resembles the pre-literate, oral world. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other platforms are fostering an emerging linguistic economy that places a high premium on ideas that are pithy, clear, memorable and repeatable (that is to say, viral). Complicated, nuanced thoughts that require context don't play very well on most social platforms, but a resonant hashtag can have extraordinary influence. Evan Spiegel, the chief executive officer of Snap Inc., grasped the new oral dynamics of social media when he told the Wall Street Journal: "People wonder why their daughter is taking 10,000 photos a day. What they don't realize is that she isn't preserving images. She's talking."

In "Orality and Literacy," Ong laid out several key differences between the oral and literate worlds, and through these, you can see why someone like Donald Trump would thrive in this new oral context. Here are a few examples:

In the oral world, thoughts and expressions were, in Ong's words, "aggregative, not analytic," -- which is to say that language was formulaic. Ong, who studied ancient oral epics like "The Odyssey" as well as pre-literate traditions that survived into the modern age, wrote that old masters of the oral tradition preferred to speak of "not the soldier, but the brave soldier; not the princess, but the beautiful princess; not the oak, but the sturdy oak." That sounds familiar, right? Thus with Trump, it was never "Ted Cruz," "Marco Rubio," or "Hillary Clinton"; it was "Lyin' Ted," "Little Marco" and "Crooked Hillary." These endlessly-repeated epithets packed extra information into small, instantly-memorable packets.

Oral culture rewards redundancy, because when an audience can't go back and consult a text, speakers must guard against distraction and confusion. Repetition is one useful technique, and Trump is a master of it. Consider the remarks he made during a March debate: "I'm a leader. I'm a leader. I've always been a leader. I've never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they're going to do it. That's what leadership is all about." Oral traditions are all about hammering the point home.

Because all communication in a pre-literate culture takes place face to face, there's a greater emphasis on verbal jousting. As Ong puts it, oral communication often resembles a "polite duel, a contest of wits" -- in contrast to literature, which promotes abstraction by severing the link between author and text. Jeet Heer at the New Republic has made this point as well. Of course, aggression and argumentativeness are key to Trump's communication style.

None of this is totally novel in politics, of course. Politicians have always had slogans. Repetition is a standard rhetorical technique. And in general, the political world has always valued the ability to make a good speech.

Furthermore, the world is still an extremely long way from eliminating classical, written literacy. We can still look up something in a dictionary or Wikipedia. You can still experience solitude, getting lost in the deep stacks of a library, meticulously poring over authoritative documents word for word. But as information gets more social -- taking on the immediate, short-form characteristics of Facebook and Twitter -- it acquires more qualities of the oral world. And that lends itself particularly well to politicians who think and communicate like Donald Trump.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

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Donald Trump, the First President of Our Post-Literate Age

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In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the media has worked itself into a panic about the rise of fake news on social media. Reporters have examined the subject from dozens of angles -- profiling misinformation peddlers from California to the Caucasus, analyzing how hoaxes spread, raising red flags about media literacy, and much more.

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The most common advice my case studies shared was to write well (no surprise) and write about what you know or can learn easily. Specializing is the best way ... If you can become the go-to person for certain topics ...

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The most common advice my case studies shared was to write well (no surprise) and write about what you know or can learn easily. Specializing is the best way ... If you can become the go-to person for certain topics ...

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(same advice applies for budding academic writers and e-Poster presenters

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Beth Blair, one of the co-founders of the popular travel blog for moms, The Vacation Gals, was recently contracted by McGraw-Hill to write Break Into Travel Writing. In addition to doing travel writing, Beth also has a fitness column in Shape magazine. In our interview today, Beth talks about how she's made life work as a freelance writer. Be sure to check out her website as well.

Give us some info on your background as a writer and what led to getting the deal to be the author of Break Into Travel Writing.

My first career was working in the airlines as a flight attendant. Inspired by the inflight magazines, I decided to put the hotel TV remote down and start dabbling in writing. I think my laptop weighed eight pounds back then. At that time I was mostly publishing essays but eventually that evolved into air travel-themed service pieces. After having my first child in 2004 I took an early retirement and pursued writing full-time. At the time I was living in Tucson, Arizona and wrote for many local and regional magazines. I also launched TheVacationGals.com with two other travel writing moms, Jennifer Miner and Kara Williams. It's been quite the ride.

In 2011 my agent Neil Salkind approached me about writing Break into Travel Writing. Publisher Hodder-Stoughton was looking for a travel writer for this title in their creative writing series. I signed the contract and one year later the book was published in the UK. The book is available on Kindle and will be on bookshelves in the US in February 2013.
Freelance writing is a tough way to make a living, but being a flight attendant isn't going to fire up your bank account much either. How do you make it all work financially?
I haven't done my taxes yet, but I'm pretty sure I made more money as a writer than a fight attendant last year. I returned to the sky in 2011 but left last summer (again) after being put back on call 24 hours/day - six days/week. The situation simply wasn't feasible. I love flying, despite the minimal pay, but when it came down to it, my family always comes first. The decision was a wise one though because my career took a new and exciting path with the 2013 Shape Magazine column.
When you were putting this book together, what did you learn that you wish someone had told you years ago when you were starting out?
I'm one of those writers who made every mistake possible when first starting out and I didn't hesitate to share those blunders in Break into Travel Writing. I suppose my answer to your question is...Be authentic and take time to find where your talent lies as far as genre is concerned. Everyone's talents are different.

When I first started writing I thought I had to write in a certain manner and mimic successful writers. But as we know, the truth will always prevail. If you try being something you aren't, you will never find happiness or satisfaction in your work.
Further along the experience curve, did any consensus themes emerge from the veteran travel writers and editors you interviewed for it?
The most common advice my case studies shared was to write well (no surprise) and write about what you know or can learn easily. Specializing is the best way to land regular assignments. If you can become the go-to person for certain topics or places (including your own backyard) then you're on your way to scoring regular paychecks.
If you could hop on a plane and return to some place in the world you loved, with a bag of money in hand, where would you go?
I've had my eye on Iceland for years then I'd hop over to the land of my ancestors...Ireland.
Where are you going for real in the coming year? And why?
Right now my family is planning a road trip to NYC to see my stepson over spring break. He's turning 21. It's been a couple of years since we've been there and now that my kids are older I'm excited to show them more of the city. I was based out of Newark and JFK with my first airline, so I have a soft spot for the region. I'm also looking forward to meeting some of my editors in person. There's nothing like meeting people face-to-face.

___

Beth Blair is Twin Cities-based travel and lifestyle writer. She is co-founder of TheVacationGals.com and author of Break into Travel Writing (McGraw-Hill, 2013). She is also penning the 2013 Shape Magazine Weight Loss Diary column and blogging on Shape.com - and yes, she'll be talking travel and fitness. You may learn more about her at BethBlair.com and connect with her on twitter at @BethBlair.

Interview conducted in February, 2013 by Tim Leffel and edited by Kristin Mock.

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A Travel Writing 2.0 Interview with Beth Blair

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Beth Blair, one of the co-founders of the popular travel blog for moms, The Vacation Gals, was recently contracted by McGraw-Hill to write Break Into Travel Writing. In addition to doing travel writing, Beth also has a fitness column in Shape magazine. In our interview today, Beth talks about how she's made life work as a freelance writer.

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example of conference using Padlet as e-Poster platform

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example of conference using Padlet as e-Poster platform