Watching the web
Writing used to be easy. More complex and expensive, yes, but reassuringly slow. The writer would write, it would be sent to an editor who would edit. Then a sub-editor would get involved. It would be typeset, printed and then eventually distributed. Even writing letters was slow, since it was normally done by hand, then had to be folded, addressed, stamped and posted.
James Cary
The internet has changed everything. Writing is instant. It shouldn’t be, but it is. And I’m not sure we’re prepared for the changes that have already taken place. For example, it is very easy to forget the situation of your reader. Previously, he may have been a commuter on the train or she may have been a friend with a mug of tea at the kitchen table. Now your reader is a someone peering at a screen. So one has to be brief. Despite the fact that the internet has a limitless amount of memory, the need to be concise has never been greater. Twitter makes a virtue of it. 140 characters can say an awful lot. This is no bad thing — one Bible verse can take a lifetime to unpack.
