Digital Literacy

The sponsorship of a particular type of digital literacy seems to differ primarily from print-based literacy advocacy in its intent. Getting someone to read is perhaps foremost about spreading literacy as its own goal. But digital literacy is inherently more specific, since its application is often limited to the particular platform in question.

The ability to use Twitter for example, certainly a type of digital literacy, applies solely to that platform and has little cross-compatibility with other forms of digital communication. The advocacy or mentoring of someone into the Twittersphere thus is really about getting someone connected into the Twitter ecosystem.

Print-based literacy may be seen more as a building block, or an entry level access to all that the written word enables. But digital literacy belongs in a sub-category primarily concerned with getting access into particular communities.

I find digital literacies for myself are a combination of falling into them myself by trawling the web, and getting linked to it by friends. Who your peers are really affects what kind of digital literacy sponsorship you’ll experience. A particularly tech-savvy crowd might be riding the edge of new forms of communication, while a less hooked in crowd may be content to do with older systems.