Whether social reading will bring a better world

　　Mr. Steven is an associate professor in the field of media culture studies at New York University. at the end of his life, Mr. Stephen thought he knew what he was supposed to do. "This is the last year of my life, and all you have to do in life is to sit down and write a book, but when I go into the bookstore and start to write, I realize that I can't do it"

So he decided to do experiments designed to look ahead. "What will be the future of a book?" When was he no longer just a two-page combination or just text on paper?

His old age research project is still running, called "Open Utopia", a completely free online version of Thomas's ' utopia ' that anyone can browse and annotate. As an example of what is sometimes called social reading, ' Open Utopia ' is based on the idea that "a book should not be just a static text". Online, a book can become a collection of communities, a shared platform, where the user's responses and conversations are recorded. These interactions will eventually become part of the book, a magnified narration.

"We live in a world where people can go back to their books at any time," said Mr.

Moore's classic, 1561 Latin edition, explores the proper form of a perfect society. This is the main reference archetype of political philosophy for nearly five centuries. As one of the founders of an independent centre of artistic activism, Mr. Steven and the actors work together on how to make people aesthetic in life. Years ago, he went on a business trip to Mexico to do a Fulbright Law fund seminar, before leaving, preparing for the seminar, he reread Utopia.

"I read a utopia that is completely different from what I remember," he said, "I think it's probably because I read this book in the context of the disintegration of the Soviet Union." It inspired him to understand what Moore really wanted to say. For 500 years, people have been arguing about the question, "is Moore serious or just a joke?" Said Mr. Stephen. : "I think we all overlooked the point. "From this point of view, Moore is simply saying," If you want a whole new world, then you should paint your own blueprint for new worlds.

Moore's text looks like a perfect place to paint the blueprint again. As a starting point, Mr. Steven uses a free translation software. He asked his colleagues to help translate the printing version rather than the original article. New York University scholars have made new notes. He used free translation software Kickstarter asked strangers to help with donations, bringing in 4500 of dollars in income to cover network, design, and other expenses.

Mr. Stephens published his results on the web using the commentary news, an open free software provided by the future Book Committee. The Book of the Society, with the help of the social reading platform created by this Committee, is possible with online discussions and annotations. Bobstein, the founder of the organization, is a true supporter of voice reading. ' Open Utopia ' is one of several ongoing experimental projects. Social-reading organizations attract Mr. Steven because the organization aims to promote people to "create dialogue between people"

In addition to being an editor, translator and a true publisher, Mr. Steven also did his initial technical work himself. "I'm not a technician at all, but I want to be part of the first version myself," he said to me, "it's a necessary skill for a sociologist, or for me, as a professor of literature." ”

Open Utopia Project:

Does society really need a book that has existed for 500 years to produce multiple editions? Here we boldly introduce another version, the ' Open Utopia ' version. Mr. Steven wrote in his introduction to the project. The reason I do this is because there is not a complete version of the world that respects the author's original intent, that all wealth is the common wealth of the world, and that I believe the world needs such a version.

Guided by this spirit, The Open Utopia was released on the Creativecommon by the first version, making such a statement at its site: "Open reading, open copying, open revision".

With a desire to reshape a true and meaningful country, Mr, Toby even set up a wiki site called the wiki Utopia, where users can freely create personal notes about utopian words.

It is too early to accept the experiment. "I particularly like the idea that there is another world outside the noisy crowd," for an open, online edition of the 16th Century book, "This is the spirit of utopia."

It would be best to do this work in class. Taragelena, an associate professor of personalized research at the University of New York, is a major professor of first-year students writing courses on utopian texts. Her students are using a wiki utopia to build their own utopia.

For Ms Gelejas, the open utopia comes too late, and she believes this social reading tool can help solve some of the real problems. "It's always hard to keep discussions around text, especially when people need to express their own unique ideas like utopia," she told me. Through an open sharing reading platform, "these discussions have evolved into a part of the article", which also helps students keep an eye on this article.

Another study-oriented project was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. Carolgo de Smith, a poet who teaches contemporary writing, uses this platform to set up a "creative writing" class, interpreting Roland Batt's death of the writer.

Mr. Godesmith asked everyone to comment in class. They did it. "This tool has generated a lot of discussion," he said to me, "it's exciting that everyone will comment when they read." ”

The experiment was almost breathtaking. "We're not ready," he said. But a lot of discussion is not necessarily a bad thing, Mr Godesmith plans to use the Book of society again.

For an open utopia, the I hope of a more than Mr. "When I was in the most frustrated, I thought I should create a tool that I didn't have to do, or I could finish it in ten years." ”

Copyright issues limit the continued amplification of social reading. Degrees could have created a way for the public to dominate the creation of the text, but more readers wanted to get some of the latest works. A large number of publishers are unwilling to put their copyrighted work on the net.

In spite of this, there are more and more critical voices questioning the future of social reading. The conversation on the Web platform really attracts students to read. Do academics and those who love books embrace this view?

A regular book will allow readers to become isolated while reading. Social reading requires them to communicate with others. Whether this is a better world depends on the reader.