Welcome to Printing Out the Internet: A Description
For a brief period of time, I worked at The New York Times. Late one night, while waiting for all of the articles to go through their final rounds of edits, I got to thinking that it might be nice to use some of the newspaper proofing technology to print out some of the content I really loved. This content would culled exclusively from the Internet but would be published in the user-friendly newspaper format—easy to read while away from the computer, for example during the long subway ride home.
My Times time has come and gone, but the desire to create a portable, analog version of the Internet remains. What differentiates the content on the Internet from that of a traditional print publication? What features does it have—besides limitless possibilities—that don’t exist in traditional print media? As traditional print and broadcast media adapt their content to the Internet, what would it mean to adapt content that originates from the Internet to traditional print media?
An important function of the Printing Out the Internet project, besides exploring how this pre-existing content can be reinterpreted, is creating a format for archiving content produced for what can be at times an ephemeral medium. Internet content, though progressively more valuable in our daily lives, can disappear leaving no trace but a broken Google cache. Examples: Muxtape playlists, YouTube videos, etc. Finally, by compiling key moments on the Internet into an archival publication, trends and common gestalts in culture at large emerge organically from user-generated content.
The printed publication will be released sporadically – hopefully at least several times each year if not each month — and the format will change as needed. The first edition of Printing Out the Internet will be designed for 8.5 x 11 inch black and white laser printer, and will be released as a portable document file that is downloadable at www.printingouttheinternet.tumblr.com. Subsequent editions may be produced in pre-printed form—the format will hopefully change and evolve over time. The Tumblr blog acts as a sort of server for the content that may be adapted or included in the publication. Readers may comment upon the posted content, may offer critiques of the content or its worthiness for inclusion, may offer suggestions for related or better content.
Rules:
1. The publication itself embraces the Internet as a democratic medium. As much as possible, the origins and contributors or providers of links will be recognized. In order to reproduce or reinterpret the Internet experience, the faces behind the World Wide Web must be illuminated.
2. Content originates from the Internet, not other, non-Internet sources. Content must only be available in its original format on the Internet. It has not been adapted to the Internet. An article in a printed magazine or newspaper could not be included in this content pool. Potentially the online-only content of a regular publication could be included on a case-by-case basis.
3. Items included should be considered part of the public domain. If there are questions as to whether or not they will qualify, the content will be excluded from print publication.
4. Content includes links, spam, screenshots, videos or images, status updates, Twitters, spam, blog posts, Facebook profiles, comments or threads of comments—anything available on the Internet or via a function of the Internet.
5. Anyone may submit a tip or link via comments or the links / tips page or by emailing holly@hollygressley.com.
