Preserved Text and Live Perfomance at a Blog Near You

I returned late last night from Los Angeles' Biola University, site of GodBlogCon. This was the first large gathering of Christian bloggers ever.

For me, GodBlogCon was a tremendous experience. Having the opportunity to meet and talk with other Christians who blog was great. While there was divergence in the types of blogs represented and some in the theological and political perspectives of the bloggers in attendance, there was a common commitment to sharing Christ with the world.

I was also challenged and stimulated by the ideas presented in both plenary and breakout sessions during the conference. I'll be presenting a few highlights in this and future posts.

Here, I want to talk about philosopher and blogger John Mark Reynolds' Thursday night discussion of two major forms of communication: preserved text and live performance.

Preserved texts, a slightly misleading term because it refers to more than the written word, includes things like books, magazines, movies, newspapers, and recordings. Each involves a performance or a piece of communication that is executed and completed. Whether through applause, indifference, or outright conversation, these media are insusceptible to dialog.

Live performance includes any live presentation for which there are audiences or spectators. It can include mere conversation, but incorporates plays, stand-up comedy, and even worship. Something of dialog always inheres in this mode of communication.

I think that Reynolds is onto something. For centuries now, live performance has become less significant and preserved texts have become more so. For example, few people attend plays. More go to movies. (And more recently, fewer are going to public screenings of movies, preferring to wait for movies to come out on DVD, so that they can be viewed privately. Some film companies are now beginning to release movies to theaters and onto DVD at the same time.)

Another example of this would be the death of the Chatauqua Movement, which saw prominent writers, educators, and others traveling to even the remotest hamlets of nineteenth century America to hold forth on art, literature, philosophy, and life. People who might readily be dismissed as hayseeds today showed up for these lectures and apparently, understood them. Today such people might be seen being interviewed by Chris Matthews or Charlie Rose...and be ignored by the millions.

Reynolds argues that while there is some fixity to blogging, it's more like live performance. There's a spontaneity to blogging and it invites dialogue.

He also argues that with the ability of individuals to publish to a worldwide audience, we're witnessing something akin to the Gutenberg Revolution in communications. But unlike the printing press, now everybody is invited to the party!

I think that Reynolds is largely on the money in this.

To read more about Reynolds' lecture, check out the following links:

Murdock from the A-Team
Sarcasmagorical
Charles Lehardy
B Relevant
A Voice in the Wilderness
Skye Puppy
Sharper Iron