The False Novelty of Making Reading 'Social'
Alan Jacobs:
So what is it that sites like Findings and Readmill do? I would say that they enable asynchronous interactive digital commentary. That’s a mouthful; it’s a lot easier to say that they “make reading social.” But easier in this case is definitely not better. All these digital possibilities are turning the old and familiar experience of reading on its head, and the language we have to describe the changes hasn’t even begun to catch up. It needs to start.
