This morning I came across a great post by Darren Draper entitled “My Twitterversary & the Future of Writing.“ Darren makes some really good points about the power of blog writing, and the unfortunate results of services like Twitter.
About the power of blogging and potential to help writing he says:
“Let me begin by saying that blogging has done more to improve my writing than any class I’ve ever taken, book I’ve ever read, or pill I’ve ever swallowed. To write – and to think – for an often international audience on a semi-regular basis has forced me into measuring my words carefully. It has also helped me to sound smarter than I actually am. The ability to express my thoughts in word – mingled with pictures, video, and other kinds of media – not to mention the social interaction experienced through blogging, has truly elevated my thinking in ways unimaginable just months prior.”
I couldn’t agree more. 
He then goes on to write about how the smaller form writing doesn’t require any thought at all and poses some questions. I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll only reply to one.
- In embracing such simple tools for collaboration are we trending toward mediocrity – in our writing, in our reading, in our thought?
I would have to say… possibly. Often we think in fragments and those fragments put together on a canvas make a very large and beautiful picture.
On the other hand, my gut tells me it is not helping. Most students don’t use twitter, but they use texting, and a lot of the kids I know don’t even know what to capitalize and how to spell. I don’t care what you say about spell check… even with it, these kids will be limited in what they can do in the future if they can’t write correctly.
What about you? Thoughts?
