鳥創意的窩

This is my final project of the subject 'New Media Technology' when I was undertaking the 2nd semester of my Master degree in QUT. Any quotation please advice in advance.

1. Introduction


The development of women's self-awareness, Internet applications and the literary canon contribute to a creative combination: Women's literature in cyberspace. There is a reason for building a gender specific cyber-world, that is women need their own place where they can say what they think without the worry of harassment or being ignored because their voices are restricted and restrained when men are around (Spender, 1995, p. 235). Page (1999, p. 112) mentions that hypertext represents a means for women by providing new possibilities of writing. Through writing, especially in a free and collaborative environment, women can establish their own space to express themselves and exchange information with other women. Although, as Spender (1995, p. 236) mentions, it is different between setting up women-only networks and keeping those networks women-only, the stage built for women is an opportunity to provide a fair, or women-oriented, world of communication. The meaning behind building a female' s literary cyberspace is not merely to create women's own space, but also to develop a new form of literature in a new medium.


This paper will discuss the development of women's literary virtual communities from three aspects. The first part introduces the forms of literature from print to online writing, and compares the distinction between literary activities in 'print' and on the 'net'. One important question will be addressed in this part, which is whether the features of online content decrease the quality of literature. The second part will discuss the relationship between women and the activities of reading and writing, and examine women's online behaviour. Moreover, the challenges that women are facing in cyberspace will be identified. In the final part, several critical issues will be discussed such as retaining the quality of online literature, copyright problems and the designing and management of a female-friendly website.


2. A new medium of literature


A piece of writing is the most essential factor to influence the development of literature, regardless of the forms. As Calvino (1986, pp. 114-116) and Morris (1993, pp. 6-7) argue, literature is one medium of self-awareness in a society, and creative forms of writing can provide special insight into people's life experience and inspire the perception of social reality. Moreover, Sartre (1967, p. 100) mentions that writers and readers attempt to seek and affect each other via a world of text, in which a writer's choice of the aspects of a piece of work would determine the readers, or by choosing the readers, the subject of writing would be affected. Writing and reading therefore are the processes to diffuse and perceive knowledge, creativity and ideas. Through these processes, writers and readers establish an interrelationship and mutual-influence.


A number of characteristics of the Internet, networking, density, interactivity and accessibility (Flew, 2002, pp. 10-16), facilitate the development of writing and enhance the relationship between writers and readers. From a reader's aspect, the shifting role between a reader and a writer is relatively easy in cyberspace, and most online content tends to be accessible and free. Compared with new media, printed books can neither be accessed quickly nor offer dynamic forms of content (Spender, 1995, p. 63). Moreover, readers find it is difficult to make contact with authors to provide feedback or generate discussion. However, some negative perceptions of reading on a computer screen have been addressed. As Dorner (2002, p. 23) states, the response time of computers moving to a new page, the tasks of re-size or close windows, and the search time to find the right function from an overcrowded task bar, slow down reading. In addition, Spender (1995, p.64) observes that some people feel secure with the fixed and permanent nature of printed books, and will feel a sense of loss when they have to look at a computer screen rather than a book. A piece of work originally created on the net has to be published in the 'real-world' when it becomes popular due to traditional reading habits (Ye, 1999).


In terms of being a writer, writing on the net is an entirely different experience and has distinct criteria. The accessibility of the Internet contributes to an age of "mass authorship" (Spender, 1995, p. 87). People who are interested in writing can have their work made public through the Internet without the approval or the knowledge of any authority (Spender, 1995, p. 86-87, Bolter, 2001, p. 206). Weblogs, an online tool that allows people to publish their personal writing and interact with others on the net, is a good example. As hypertext, which is a document stored in a computer that allows users to interact with it (Hayles, 1999, p. 213), is multi-path narrative and non-sequential (Flew, 2002, pp. 100-101, Spencer, 1995, p. 87), the text must be visually designed (Paglia, 2003, p. 271). Dorner (2002, pp. 108-113) introduces a variety of critical points when writing in cyberspace, such as narrative style, technique use, planning and editing. Paglia (2003, p. 271) also states that she chooses interesting vocabulary, uses slang and alliteration, makes shorter sentences and uses more exclamation points to make her works suitable for reading on the screen.


One essential issue that litterateurs show concern for is the retaining of literary quality. There has been a significant argument about the value of literature in Taiwan. Yang (cited in Wang, 1996) worries that literary quality will decline with increased popularity of online writing. He mentions that the old generation of writers are worried about neglect of delicate inference, the lack of involvement in the content, and the rough narratives of online writing. However, as Eagleton (1983, p. 33) argues, "Value-judgements of literature are 'subjective'". In Wang's article (1996), some online-freelancers claim that the definition of literature should be redefined to incorporate innovative and creative forms of writing and light-literature. From the aspect of new media, it is unfair to identify the value of online writing from the angle of traditional literature. It is believed that in the future, images, voices or even games will add value to online writing (Yao, 1999). While the print format of traditional literature is examined according to narrative quality, the online writing will probably develop an innovative style and approach in the media format.


3. Women's own literary cyberspace


Writing and reading represent a significant meaning for women because these activities make females exchange their perceptions. Morris (1993, p. 60) claims that women's writing reveals their lives that have been ignored, abased, mystified and misapprehended. Through reading and writing, females possess an opportunity of escape from "socio-political exclusion, domestic confinement and stifling mental decay" (Scott, Semmens, and Willoughby, 2001, p. 12). Moreover, they can communicate with other women who have encountered similar situations in their lives. As observed by Moers (quoted by Morris, 1993, p. 59), female writers tend to listen to each other's stories and voices and build relationships. The best writing by women is about fiction, stated by Kaplan (1986, pp. 290-291), because the scene is about social relations and an intersubjective world, and the writers have freedom to express themselves without the threat of losing their feminine identity. The need of women's own space and the tendency to share make women need their own space for writing. Woolf (1929, p. 96) argues, the suitable treatment will contribute enabling females to work their best and hardest.


Cyberspace is a place in which women can speak their opinions, develop their creativities and strongly maintain their self-identity as females. An open and democratised cyberspace facilitates the particular interaction (Sartre, 1967, p. 100) between writers and readers, as well women to women (Youngs, 1999, p. 66). Furthermore, it is not merely a development of women's virtual communities, but also a text-based content development, specifically for women, which is offered by the new media (Flew, 2002, p.100). Unlike most males who fear and worry that material on the Internet may cause crime or other social problems, most female users positively agree that the Internet could help to increase awareness about women's issues and gender equality (White, Shade and Brayton, 2001, p. 56). As cyberspace appears, women can establish a virtual cluster with others to explore their inner world, create self-awareness and acquire knowledge through the delivery of texts. It can be proved by Spender's observation that women like chatting via online communication tools such as email or message boards. Nevertheless, as most mediums have been designed by men, women tend to understand the rule, to find out how things operate and what the result will be before they become involved in online activities (Spender, 1995, pp. 174-175). Women's online behaviour therefore tends to be collaborative but cautious.


Since the late 1990s, a number of websites have been designed and established to provide an intimate space that consists of a variety of topics women care about. Most female websites adapt a magazine-type format emphasising beauty, health, careers, parenting, shopping tips, forums, and e-commerce (Shade, 2004, p. 64). As Powazek (2002, p. 17) states, content should be given to the site prior to the establishing of a community thus users know what they should talk. When those female sites appeared, female users started to exchange their experiences and ideas about the above topics. As a result, web producers of female websites design and create more community forums to foster the online communication.


The relationship, no matter between the websites and users, or users and users, is critical to attract women go on the net frequently. Tracy (cited in Harris, 1998) argues a six-step strategy could stick females on the web: initiate, nurture, sustain, invigorate, deepen, and extend the relationship with users. The so-called 'female-friendly' online environment is not merely about the designing of the web or the text choice on the web pages, but is also a space where women can relieve stress and obtain a sense of safety through the one-way information release or two-way communications. Further, a good online environment for female is demanded to solve their problems that women face in their everyday lives. An adequate number of women's cyber-writing communities would satisfy their requirement if the communities are prosperous because of the joint experience of exchange and sharing. There is one interesting phenomenon that happens in the fever of Weblogs. Although the ratio of females to males involved in Weblogs is approximately 40 to 60, each have a different focus. Males tend to write about news and politics while females write about their personal lives and diary lead men's Weblogs to be more famous and impressive than women's (Guernsey, 2002). Indeed, the usual occurrence of reading from the masculine perspective is also a reason to make women's communities depreciated and ignored. Burch (1999, p. 203) mentions that women's challenges in the future are how to exploit the Internet to achieve their goals and generate an impact on the new medium. The phenomenon shows that there is still a long way to accomplish these objectives.


4. Establish a woman's literary virtual community


In order to increase women's literary knowledge, to sieve and retain the high standard of writing in the online literary communities is an essential task. Morris (1993, p.6) defines 'literature' as a body of texts that are recognised for their own aesthetic qualities through the cultural practice involving writing, reading, evaluation, and teaching. For those female users who desire to demonstrate their writing talent and fulfil their dream of being a writer, online communities should add value in providing assistance or training to improve their writing skills. The fiction bitch, one service offered by an online writing site, satisfies the demand of users who need an expert to judge their writing (Weirdsmobile, 2004). 'The fiction bitch' reviews manuscripts that are mailed from the audience, and criticises them with unvarnished and experienced judgement. It also incorporates the forums into the original submission and the criticism for getting feedback from other users. This is a labour intensive task; however, it is an effective way to contribute to retain the high standard of writings. Indeed, judgement is given from the aspect of printed literature rather than the new media format. Nevertheless, 'The fiction bitch' is still a model for online literary communities if they intent to foster qualified authors.


The accessibility of the Internet raises the issue about intellectual property of online content. In the duel role of writer and reader in the online literary community, a user has to understand some basic principles about copyright to avoid involving in litigation. As Okerson (1996, p. 344) states, cyberspace seems to be a world that anyone can easily obtain another's creation by copying or scanning files on the net. From the writer's aspect, it is important to cautiously use written materials, and protect the work from the possibility of infringement by others. Abernathy (1999) indicates that placing copyright notices on all materials and to register creations with the Copyright Office are ways to protect online works. There is a mode that can protect author's copyright and help readers to access and distribute online content rightful. iCopyright.com is a copyright clearance company that provides a copyright registering service for online authors and electronic content providers, as well a copyright fee centre where readers can pay a copyright fees for acquiring specific content in a specific format (Bates, 2000). The revenue that comes from readers will be shared with the authors or the content providers. For those writers who register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office through iCopyright.com, the process of registration will be shortened and be responded to promptly. Moreover, writers can start to promote their work and receive revenue once their creations are requested by readers (Data Depth Corporation, 2004). Although not every reader will pay the fee to obtain the content, this business model is a demonstration that online content is valuable and the copyright of online content is as important as the print one. The solution of copyright piracy is believed to encourage writers to create a high standard of writing in cyberspace without worrying about the infringement.


In order to create a so-called 'female-friendly' online writing community, the design and management of the website are critical. Terry (2002, p. 83) points out that the administration and the design of a virtual community are important in attracting or repelling a user's participation. Shade (2004, p. 63) claims that women tend to visit websites for spiritual or religious information. As a consequence, the administration and management of a female community should follow the principles of caring about users' feelings and keeping in communication with them. Moreover, navigation tools should also be clear and easy use. There is a famous online writing community in Taiwan, Mypaper, which is an online content publishing system that allows registered users to establish a personalised column by uploading, managing and editing their writing online (PChome online, 2000). Unlike Weblogs, Mypaper offers a relatively simple interface for content management. The plain layouts and the easy-use editing functions help writers to concentrate on their works rather than worry about the design of their personal community. As the author observes, most female users' writings are categorised under 'diary' or 'literary creations'. This is a successful model to attract women to upload their high quality writing works on the net. However, in order to achieve the purpose of establishing a women's own literary cyberspace, a good community environment that associated with high standard of quality management and a copyright solution is required.


5. Conclusion


The women's literary cyberspace is a complicated concept because it consists of three elements: the gender issue, literature and new media. All the assumptions of women's literary cyberspace mentioned above are based on the viewpoint of print literature. Although some innovative writing styles have been implemented, such as interactive fiction (Williams, 1991, pp. 164-168), which differ from multimedia, the text still plays a critical role on the Internet (Bolter, 2001, p. 125). To establish a women's cyberspace about literature, merely focusing on online behaviour or the writing style is inadequate. There is a strong connection between the relationship of women and the Internet, Internet and the development of literature, and women and literature. Under this topic, those relationships should be associated tightly. As Bolter writes, the computer is "intelligent only in collaboration with human readers and writers" (quoted by Keep, 1999, p. 173). Through the deliberate planning of women's virtual communities, that includes the quality judgement and the copyright solution, a writing network can be established to develop online literature. It can be anticipated that women's literary world will be extended by the innovation of the new media. Moreover, as Gittler (p. 100) predicts, women will keep making information technologies make a difference.


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