We Interrupt This Tapestry . . .

Let's put down the butterflies and fork for a moment and get academic.

The Weaving Today website is probably best understood using Gee’s concept of affinity space (2004).  Users, however, appear to spend much less time in the space than most examinations of affinity space use would indicate is typical.  In fact, it appears to be typical for users of Weaving Today to log on once a week or less, for between 20 and 60 minutes.  Compared to players of MMOs or users of sites like Flikr, this is an insignificant investment of time in the space.  Interaction between users is fairly limited, too, with very few users providing the vast majority of posts.

This may be accounted for, in part, by the difference between the apparent age of Weaving Today users and more typical digitally native users.  Where “digital natives” (those 18-24 who grew up using digital technologies) are widely perceived as more able to use these technologies, some evidence indicates that “digital immigrants” are more likely to use technologies for “work,” that is, to accomplish specific tasks (Cowan 2011). 

Although it is dangerous to overgeneralize, younger users frequently have more time to spend in affinity spaces, and, because they also typically multitask, may spend time in the space while attending to a variety of other tasks as well. In contrast, older users are more likely not to multitask, and are more likely to spend shorter sessions on line (Wagner 2010). This may well be connected to the particular physical challenges of older users in digital spaces, where interfaces may favor those with socio-cognitive features and physical characteristics such as vision and motor control more often associated with younger individuals (Charness 20).

Because of these features, and taking into account the patterns of use I have been able to observe, it would seem that the Weaving Today site may function for most users less like an affinity space and more like a knowledge/reference site.  This view of the site is strengthened by the observation that the most frequently seen pattern of use is for a question posted by a member (you must be a member and be signed in to post) to be answered by one or more of the site experts, who are employees of the site’s parent magazine.  The relatively short amounts of time spent by visitors to the site also argues that development of individual identity in the space is limited as well.

It bears mentioning that, while we tend to think of participation in digital environments as a new literacy, it may be important not to confuse the concepts of “new media” and “new literacy.”  “Literacies,” as  Moje points out, ‘‘’make use of’ symbol systems and technologies for producing those systems.  They are not one and the same.” The ancient technologies of weaving are a literacy as well, one that may apply to modern digital environments is new and exciting ways.

In a nutshell, it appears that users of the Weaving Today site visit to seek answers to specific questions, look for related threads or blogs, and post a question if there is not already an entry addressing their particular issue, then returning when the post has been answered.  This sort of task-related use of digital technologies is, apparently, typical of the adult and older adult users who seem to make up the bulk of the Weaving Today online community. It is to be hoped that this limited time investment in online environments maximizes weaving time.

Back to the tapestry.  Over, under, over, under, over, under, pack it down. . . lovely.

References

Charness, N., & Holley P. (2004). “The New Media and Older Adults:  Usable and Useful?” American Behavioral Scientist 48, 416-433.

Cowan, B. (2011, November 6) “‘Digital Natives’ Aren’t Necessarily Digital Learners.” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Gee, J. (2004). Situated language and learning: a critique of traditional schooling. 

London: Routledge.

Moje, E.(May 2009) “Standpoints: a Call for new research in new and multi-literacies.” Research in the Teaching of English 43 (3), 348-362.

Wagner, N., Hassanein, K., & Head, M. (2010) “Computer use by older adults:  A multi-disciplinary review” Computers in Human Behavior 26, 870-882.