Authorship and Online Writing

1. Authorship and Online Writing • Wiki Writing: Collaborative Learning in the College Classroom; Robert E. Cummings and Matt Barton (Editors) • Stephanie Vie and Jennifer deWinter—Disrupting Intellectual Property: Collaboration and Resistance in Wikis • Letting Go of the Words; Janice (Ginny) Redish • Chapter 7—Focusing on Conversations and Key Messages

2. Introduction Writing online challenges traditional authorship This can be a good thing, if we rethink the core concepts: writer, writing, writing process Corporate authorship: much online writing for websites is anonymous and multi-authored Collaborative authorship: much wiki writing is collaborative and continually revised What are the “pros” to this new context?

3. Why did the “traditional author” get old? • Traditional Western concepts about authorship: • Reward individualism over collaboration • View texts as properties owned by individuals • Don’t account for technology as part of the writing process So why exactly is this outdated?

4. Why did the “traditional author” get old? • Why is the “old” authorship outdated? • Websites are “community built, edited, and sustained” (Vie and deWinter, 113) • Web writing is often anonymous • Web content resists intellectual property • Other roles (editor, publisher) also differ • Writing online gets feedback instantly

5. Corporate Authorship: Writing for Corporate Websites • Characteristics: • Writing not often credited to the actual writer • Content is the intellectual propertyof the company • Corporate messaging and style are limitations • Professional or legal repercussions for what you say • Could get fired • Could be liable for errors or allegations

6. Corporate Authorship: Writing for Corporate Websites • Best Practices: • Use clear headlines and section titles • Use short paragraphs or lists, when possible • Inverted pyramid – put the key message up front • Layer information • Write for the end user • Share and engage through social media

7. Collaborative Authorship: Writing Wikis • Characteristics: • Shared space for writers and readers • Multi-authored texts • Encourages ongoing editing and revision • Writing is not “individual labor” – challenges intellectual property • Text is not an individual’s property

8. Collaborative Authorship: Writing Wikis • Best practices: • Create an interesting hypertext environment – spaces where “authorial voices” can make input • Encourage collaboration • Deconstruct traditional classroom practices • Emphasize how the collaborative process improves the end result

9. Conclusions • Tough to maintain traditional authorship • Still outlets – like personal blogs and social media personas • The web is open and free • Better to view writing as an ongoing process • Others probably will revise your work • You may not own your writing • New model: an ongoing conversation

10. Conclusions • There are “pros” to the conversation model: • Greater visibility for your work • Online writing can be quick and painless • Self-publishing • And you can revise yourself! • Your ideas benefit from the conversation – let others improve you