Dave Eggers on the Joys of Print

Dave Eggers spoke on print, as opposed to online, journalism last week at ASNE’s national conference. He outlined four reasons why he likes print so much more. I agreed with all four of them:

1. Comprehensiveness and containment

“It’s too exciting and distracting online,” Eggers said. While print — especially long-form print — encourages hunkering down and cuddling up, online journalism fosters a kind of low-grade, perpetual ADD. Online, “there’s always some button that wants you to click to cat porn,” he said, as the audience laughed. “You try to read something, and it’s flashing, it’s telling you to go somewhere else.”

Calmness, Curation, Cat Porn: Dave Eggers’ Joys of Print [Nieman Lab]

Life Without the Web

Cartoonist James Sturm, concerned that the internet is taking over his life, is going to go without it entirely for the next four months. Not only that, but he plans to blog about it for Slate via fax and phone (the irony, I’m sure, is not lost on him):

About a month ago, I started seriously thinking about going offline for an extended period of time. I weighed the pros and cons, and the pros came out on top. Yes, I want to be more present when I am around my kids and not be constantly jonesing to check my e-mail. But I also need to carve out some space for myself to make new work. Two years ago, I was a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, a retreat for artists, writers, composers, and other creative types. Although the main lodge was wired, the studios were not, and for three weeks I worked on Market Day, a graphic novel, without any intrusions. (Lunch was dropped off by my door in a basket.) I realize that I can’t replicate that ideal setting for sustained focus in my daily life, but I can certainly improve my current situation.

The responses he got from people (“You’re forcing people to bend over backwards to accomodate you.”, “You’re being selfish.” etc.) sound an awful lot like the ones I got when I tried to get rid of my mobile.

I’m Quitting the Internet. Will I Be LIberated or Left Behind? [Slate]

What Does China Censor Online?

The great firewall of China.

[via Information is Beautiful]