Harris uses the term “forwarding”
to describe the common response of people to an author. He explains how it is incredibly rare for us
to intend for direct contact with a writer, so we gravitate towards conversing
someone’s work with other readers.
On http://blogs.denverpost.com/artmosphere/
, the author, Claire Martin, discusses Marilyn Singer’s “Follow, Follow” a book
about how changing emphasis and phrasing can completely turn around the
intentions of a written work. Claire explains in her post that the book is
funny and entertaining while being realistic and teaching kids the importance
of making sure things say what they mean.
By responding to readers as opposed
to the author, someone makes an argument for others to judge. They must be as
compelling as possible because they don’t know who will be assessing their
responses. This is perfect cause for discussions to become incredibly personal
and probably end up being more honest than they would if the plan were to have
the author read them. One of the biggest things I have mentioned on here a few
times is that with blogging, responses are direct and immediate and you can’t
get away unscathed if you say something that doesn’t resonate well with whoever
reads it. But, that is assuming the response is directed at the blog. If someone’s
response is to another group of people, such as the viewers of a particular
news station, forwarding could be more harmful than beneficial because it turns
questions and comments into accusations soon to be approved by strangers.
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