Print is Dead (Part 1)

Print is Dead was a fascinating read for me, it takes a look at how far print has come in such a short period of time. I think about this in contrast with many things that we have today and how they may start off big but quickly lose our attention. Diets are notorious for this kind of situation, everyone has that one friend that goes from diet to diet in an attempt to keep up with the newest trends or ideas circulating. Now comparing this with how quickly print took off after the printing press was invented is crazy to me. Our attention spans today are just so different, we're constantly introduced to new technology and products that we're not impressed with any for a significant amount of time. Instead we like or try a new product for a little while and then move on when the next best thing comes alone. 

With the printing press we were suddenly able to access greater amounts of knowledge and it was open to the public. The only thing that this could be compared to is the Internet, but now that we have the Internet should it cancel out books? This is a question that we've been asking all semester, with all this knowledge at our fingertips why should we use something so mundane like books? I think that the answer isn't something that we can answer on a mass scale. Instead, I think it's something that each person has to think about and decide what works best for them. For myself the answer lies somewhere in the middle, I will continue to answer simple questions and things by using the Internet but I will also continue to be an avid reader and love what books have to offer me. 

Going back to my first point, I wonder if something like the printing press happened during our time if it would change us the way it did back then. Or if it would be like our endless fads, something we would spend a little time on and then move on once something different came along. I think that with the Internet we use it for so many different things that we have become dependent on it, will the same thing thats happening to books happen to the Internet? In a couple hundreds year will we invent something better and that we can use anywhere and move on from the Internet? Or will we just change the Internet and shape it to fit what we want?