Introduction to Digital Publishing
class intro:
- syllabus overview
- schedule
- blogging
- class Slack channel
- projects:
- mini-essay on future of the digital book
- formatting public domain text
- multimodal publishing project
- class publication(s)
blogging set-up:
Login and make a blog post: introduce yourself and describe the area of digital publishing that interests you most.
I will provide blogging prompts and/or exercises to help you think critically and creatively about the themes each week. Blog posts should be approximately 250-500 words , demonstrate a solid understanding of the readings/screenings and the ongoing themes in the course, be crafted as mini-essays with proper grammar and spelling and include relevant links, media inserts, “featured image” and metadata (tagging, categories).
As upper-level university students at a Tier 1 research institution, your writing proficiency should reflect that status. We will discuss what makes good blog writing throughout the course.
A:
-posts are a proper and timely response to the week’s reading(s) and prompt
-posts are developed arguments with (if required) supporting evidence (quotes, embedded videos, images etc.)
-posts are around 250-500 words
-posts are formatted with a featured image, blockquotes, external links (where appropriate), categories, tags
-you make 5-10 comments on classmates’ (in your group) blog posts (during the semester)
B: significantly deficient in any one of the above areas
C: significantly deficient in any two of the above areas
D-F: significantly deficient in all 3 of the above areas
Talk:
- digital publishing as ongoing crisis/upcoming opportunity
- formats: web, epub, kindle, pdf, pod, aax
- publishing workflows
Digital publishing overview:
- dpi – publishing at CMDC
- academic:the digital review, electronic book review, Living Books About Life, Scalar, gamer theory
- zine: open thresholds, p-dpa.net, gauss-pdf, anonymous press, servinglibrary.org
- art journal: the new river, lateral addition, ubu.com/aspen/, eclipse archive, taper (code poetry)
To Do:
Brainstorm final class project
The future of the book and publishing – discussion
Publishing in the Metaverse / VR, NFTs, etc.
Publica – books on the blockchain
AI and Book Publishing
GPT-3 ai assisted writing
A new Dr. Seuss book written by A.I. Starring Ron Grigsby. Using OpenAI’s new GPT-3 we inputted “Here is a transcript of the new Dr. Seuss book:” and the A.I. generated the title and all of the words.
Discussion: The Future of the Digital Book in the metaverse, with AI as a tool for creation, production and distribution…
Project 1:
“The Future of the Book” Mini-Essay: 10%
DUE September 13th
- blog post
- minimum 1500 words
- maximum 3000 words
- include images in the essay
Drawing on the readings about the book’s evolution (from cuneiform to touch-screen tablet) and with your current way of making/reading/watching/playing digital technology, what do you imagine a “digital” book will be in 20-30 years? This question requires you to look toward what you want from immersive experiences for learning, playing and imagining.
This is to be a speculative, maybe even fictional, mini-essay. Write as if you are living in the future and comparing the digital book experience of that future to your experience now and to the book as non-digital material object in the distant past.
- the mini-essay is to be at least 1500 words, and no more that 3,000 words.
- use images, diagrams, sketches to support your idea
- the future does not necessarily exclude the analog!
- quote from “The Book”
- discuss what the experience of future authors and readers will be like, but also address the technological production of books. who will publish these texts?