Author: Nick Schmurr

Horror stories have been a very popular genre of literature throughout history. I was able to select two books from Project Gutenburg that will fit well into our halloween theme. My first choice is “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, one of his most well known pieces of writing. The story details the thoughts of a man descending into madness after the untimely death of his beloved. Poe paces the poem with the repeat of a raven making noises, which builds on top of the loss of sanity of the main character. Poe creates a scary atmosphere that encapsulates the audience. He utilizes strong imagery and metaphors to create a mysterious tone as well. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17192

The second story I decided to choose is “Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley. This story is one of the most famous horror novels of all time, and is still relevant in pop culture today. It is the story of a man named Dr. Frankenstein, a scientist that is on the brink of bringing a body back to life. However, once he finally completes his experiment, he discovers that he had accidentally created a low intelligence monster. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42324

Manifested properly, each new person who participates in the production of digital marginalia changes the reading experience of that book for the next person. -Craig Mod

In this article, the author defines the post-artifact system as the consumption and engagement portion of the media making process. In traditional analog media, this is a closed loop that completes this system. However, the creation of digital media expanded the entire scope of what he originally believed. With this new tool, audiences gained the ability to interact with the content in countless ways. In Mod’s words, it is comparable to a conversation rather than a standard book. I find his thoughts to be very intriguing and understandable, and I agree with his assessment of the artifact system.

I resonated with this article because of the long term interaction I have had with technology. It has been everywhere around me since I was born, and I have observed the system of processes that Mod discusses in this article. However, the post-artifact system did not make itself fully apparent until social media became more common. I have observed and engaged with countless articles, blog posts, videos, and more. The interaction that I create with others online is an example of the post-artifact system. By doing so, I am contributing my own thoughts to the artifact, which in turn allows other viewers to experience a larger web of ideas and opinions during the phase of the system. They are then able to add their own opinions that in turn expand the system, thus restarting the cycle of post-artifact consumption.