As I mentioned yesterday, I’m keeping a digital and analog journal of my day. This is inspired by a course I’m taking on London diaries, partially my own past experience, and partially a conversation I had with the professor of the course.
The course on diaries includes an interactive component. That is, in addition to reading London diaries, we will be crafting our own. Now, like many children of the 21st century, I love the idea of keeping everything journaled online. This way I can make notes on my phone as I walk, have them automatically update on my computer, where I can expand with more time. If I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, I don’t need to wake up a roommate with a lamp. However, the course requires an analog diary, so I needs must also keep a handwritten journal.
This doesn’t mean that each journal will be totally the same. Conversely, they will not be totally different. I plan to keep both journals mostly in sync, and keep only specific things out of each. For instance, problems I might have with the professor I won’t be putting in the journal that will be graded. Conversely, experiences I don’t much care about that I write for a grade won’t be recorded digitally.
In speaking to the professor about the idea of digital data, the point of Beowulf was raised. However, as I think about it, I agree with the professor, for the opposite reason. My professor’s point was that the Beowulf manuscript survived because it was hand written, and if a similar digital file would exist, it needs constant maintenance to keep operable.
I, however, feel the opposite, at least with regards to a journal. When I write in my physical journal, there are no other copies of the information. If I don’t show it to others, no one may ever know what I’ve written. I can burn the journal and remove all traces of it. Not so with a digital record. Even if I delete this WordPress site, there are still the memories left in the minds of those who read it 1 and potential digital caches and metadata associated with it. My “private” journal is only synced through the internet and a company or three, so there are almost certainly digital records of it. So while I agree with my professor about the permanence of digital and analog writings, I don’t quite know if I agree with the logic, especially on the level of skill and importance that my writings will 2 lack.