I really like all the metaphors included to describe the web, it's very telling how each variable of an idea can influence the outcome of what a website may represent or become. I think the way the author has written this essay also reveals how she has a deep respect and appreciation for websites from independent creators. Her desire for artists especially to partake in the building of websites is something I found very encouraging since I am majoring in art and choosing this career path can feel hopeless sometimes. I'm glad the author reminded me of the ways artists are needed and wanted in the world today. The author presented many possibilities that a website can take form through the use of metaphors and I think this is very enlightening to the fact that a website can be anything you can think of. It can totally be purely a creative freedom, like a painting can. Her mention of her students asking her questions surrounding building websites that adhere to the commercialized models of today is not an expection too far from what I have coming out of this class. But reading this essay has given me the oppurtunity to see through a new perspective, a new picture in my mind when hearing the word "website".
The author's rant is valid. I also have found myself questioning what the word "technology" truly encompasses, and I usually find peace in the addition of the word "digital" in front of technology so that I can separate the many other technologies the author mentions that in fact, do not grow on trees. She also brings to attention the idea that because our generation has grown up with technologies readily available, perhaps we have grown to severely underappreciate their accesibility. This makes me think of all the exploited workers in 3rd-world countries around the world used by the fashion industry, for example. I can also relate this to the idea of talent when compimenting artists. The word "talent" suggests an innate ability that is precocious, and fails to acknowledge the hard work necessary to develop such a skill as drawing or painting or sculpting or sewing, whatever it may be. This is similiar to how many of the technolgies we use in our everyday lives are not simply born into existence, but are a result of the skills and labor of artisans, engineers, mathematicians, and many more.
The author's emphasis on the word "handmade" is clear throughout this essay. The ideas presented in this piece indicate that this was perhaps, a source of inspiration for the elements surrounding this class's structure, if the title wasn't enough of a hint. I think the way physical, printed objects are compared to the digital handmade web page is interesting. There are, of course, obvious similarities and differences, but I think the ephemeral element of the nondigital is something I hadn't really thought about before.
The illustrations and colorful text throughout the essay makes me feel like I am reading a storybook with pictures. The illustrations themselves give off a nostalgic playfulness, accentuated through their watercolor-like texture. The beginning chapter of the author's journey towards sharing how they came to build a computer is interesting enough to make me want to read further into their story. I appreciated the simple explanations like when comparing a computer's binary system to dawn and dusk, or the inner workings to an abstract painting. I know the author was focused on the present, but in fact, I would like to learn more about the history of computers that was briefly mentioned. I believe gaining an adequate understanding of the past is integral to informing the present idea.
The structure of this website is awesome, to say the least. It's an active representation of what the author is discussing in the essay. I was confused and sort of anxious when first encountering the stream of incoming tabs on the right side of the page and the gradual reveal of the paragraph's sentences as though someone was typing them out in real time. I felt unsure at what I was supposed to do and a bit overwhelmed. As I read on, however, the tabs seemed to imitate an influx of notifications, the essay embodied the ghost of a person on the other side of a conversation, the other side of the screen. I did not expect to gain such an experience from simply reading an essay, but I am glad I did.