Upcoming Blog and Social Networking Lecture January 14 12:30 p.m.

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SAYS SOCIAL NETWORKS SHAPED BY WRITING TECHNOLOGIES
LOGAN — We AIM. We blog. We MMS. We VOIP. We P2P. Or, perhaps, you don’t? Whether you do or not, those who are interested in you do.“These revolutionary new technologies are shaping the ways people create social networks,” said Mark Zachry, assistant professor of rhetoric and professional communication in the department of English at Utah State University. “They are the most recent dramatic turn in an ongoing story that has been unfolding for decades.” Zachry will address the proliferation of digital technologies and their social implications at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, in the Utah State Haight Alumni Center. The presentation, part of the Department of English Speakers Series, is free. A light lunch will be served and everyone is invited.Focusing specifically on what writing is and what it does when mediated by these new technologies, Zachry will offer some suggestions about what writing is likely to become in the near future.Zachry is co-editor of “Technical Communication Quarterly” and a forthcoming book, “The Cultural Turn: Perspectives on Communicative Practices in the Workplace and Professions.” He has published several articles on the history of computers and writing since becoming a member of the faculty at Utah State in 1998.The Utah State Department of English Speakers Series was established to promote the value of arts and humanities in American public life. The series features faculty writing and research accomplishments, and noted visiting authors sharing their work. For more information call (435) 797-3858.January 6, 2004Contact: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858Writer: Mark Zachry (435) 797-2606