Interactive Hypertext for Interactive Readers :: Hypertext Internet Reading Essays

Interactive Hypertext for Interactive Readers With every new advancement in technology the roles of the writer and the roles of the reader are changed sometimes it is a small change and other times it can be a drastic transformation. In this modern age it seems the role that the reader or the audition plays is shifting significantly. I dont think there has ever been a point in history where there was as much interactivity as there is currently. The main reason for this change in the readers role is the rapidly growing amount of hypertext being used. In the 1960s, Ted Nelson was the first soul to coin this popular term hypertext but I prefer to reference Bolters description. Hypertext, as described by Jay Bolter in Writing Space, is layered writing and reading, where you can click on links within a narrative or article. These links work as reference points and can work as footnotes or as references to what you were reading. They can also take you to an entirely different type of webpage all together. Bolter also points out that it is important to realize that the second webpage you are linked to is not always subordinate to the first. On page 33, Bolter describes hypertext as being similar to prewriting which kids learn to do in school. I think prewriting is what Ive always called a mind map, which is just a map drawn out like a spider web to show how each thought process is interconnected to all the other ideas. Hypertext can be related to, but is not the same as, intertextuality(178). Intertextuality is the interrelation of all text on the same topic, quarrel or culture, while hypertext is references within a text and allusions between texts. I think it is important to see the changes in the role of reader in hypertext prevarication and reference web pages that incorporate hypertext.The reference web pages that use hypertext give the reader more interaction and power, and which in turn, gives the author much less supremacy. Hypertext in refe rence websites can be very helpful, it enables someone to click on one website and have numerous links to an unlimited amount of information and knowledge. This makes me applaud if the people who have ready access to the internet will become smarter, over time, due to the accessibility of hypertext.