Blogs: Digital Commonplace Books
Posted by: Robert Sandberg in Culture, Literature, tags: commonplace books
Blogs are comparable to the commonplace books that first began appearing among the literate in 15th century Europe. Today millions of bloggers keep their modern day commonplace books for many of the same reasons that 15th century Europeans kept theirs. Easily obtained, inexpensive paper made it possible for 15th century writers to begin recording their observations, notes, and favorite quotes into commonplace books. Today easy access to the broadband internet makes it possible to continue the commonplace tradition in digital form, compiling not only written documents, but documents created in many other types of digital media as well.
McCluhan’s “the medium is the message,” “global village,” and Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” become more relevant with each passing decade. Six centuries after the appearance of the first commonplace books, millions continue the tradition of recording in the paperless, digital blogosphere thoughts, essays, favorite quotations, and miscellaneous observations on art, music, culture, politics, and life in general. But unlike the paper commonplace book, with the internet-based “commonplace book” or blog, we can instantly read each other and leave behind our comments and reactions.
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