Welcome to Writing and the Digital Life.

This list is now open. You are warmly invited to introduce yourself and your
projects.  Where are you based?  What is your interest in Writing and the
Digital Life?  What are the burning issues for you? What would you like us
to talk about?

There will be a new discussion topic on or around the first of each month,
but you are also free to post news and other items of interest. The first
topic will be announced on 1st May 2005.

_What is the purpose of this list?
Text, in whatever language or script, is the passport to digital life.
Without it we cannot use email, web content, chat, discussion boards, or
instant messaging. In the ecology of global connectedness it is vital we
understand how writing and reading are being used, extended and changed.

This list will explore the impact of digital technologies upon writing and
lived experience within an interdisciplinary context. We will talk about the
relationship of writing and reading in the context of many subjects
including 'new and old' media; craft, art, process and practice; social
networks; cooperation and collaboration; narrative and memory; human
computer interaction; imagination; nature; mind; body, and spirit.
Contributions related to research, writing and teaching in the arts,
sciences, and humanities are all welcome.

_Isn't that rather ambitious? Can't you narrow it down a little?
No. The field is enormous but if we try to limit the focus important
connections will be lost. The list operates on the principle of the
cornucopia of the commons where - to quote from Dan Bricklin
http://www.bricklin.com/cornucopia.htm - 'use brings abundance', i.e. the
more you put in, the more you get out. Please note, however, that I reserve
the right to delete irrelevant, offensive or abusive posts.

_So what is of interest to the list?
Anything that addresses the impact of digital technologies upon writing and
lived experience, from vague, barely expressible notions to passionate
manifestos. This is the place for conjecture, imaginings, mappings and
propositions.

_What will I get out of it?
With luck we will birth some inventive projects, successful collaborations,
and unusual networks. Our conversations will stimulate innovative grant
proposals and help locate specialist courses, external examiners and PhD
supervisors.  Researchers will find it invaluable as a place to discuss
ideas and pose questions. Writers and artists can obtain feedback on their
work and glean inspiration from the mass of information collected here.

_How this list operates
As host, I intend to keep a low profile and allow the list to develop its
own tempo. I will, however, provide a rough structure in the form of a
monthly theme to provide a focus, and I will interject where useful or
necessary.

_Is there an RSS feed?
Not yet, although I understand that JISC are working on one. I considered
starting this discussion on a blog but in the end decided to use a JISClist
because it is fast and functions very smoothly on a range of platforms. I
also rather like the idea of this very basic interface which is easy to use
and accessible by both email and web.

_Is there a web archive for this list?
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/writing-and-the-digital-life.html

_Will there be more than this? Website, events, perhaps a blog?
Grant applications are in progress now. More as I know it.

_Who manages this list?
My name is Sue Thomas and I live in Leicester, in the Midlands of England.
In 1995 at Nottingham Trent University I founded the trAce Online Writing
Centre http://trace.ntu.ac.uk where I was Artistic Director until December
2004. In January 2005 I took up a new post as Professor of New Media in the
Faculty of Humanities at De Montfort University. I am also the author of
several books, most recently 'Hello World: travels in virtuality'
http://travelsinvirtuality.typepad.com  Contact me at [log in to unmask]
for information about postgraduate study, research projects at the
forthcoming DMU Centre for Creative Technologies, or any other enquiries.

Sue Thomas
Professor of New Media
School of Media and Cultural Production
Faculty of Humanities
De Montfort University
The Gateway
Leicester
LE1 9BH, UK
+44 (0)116 207 8266
[log in to unmask]
http://travelsinvirtuality.typepad.com/