Paul Schacht Video Conference - Digital Thoreau

Our video conference with Paul Schacht on Monday morning about his involvement in the Digital Thoreau project and the TEI was eye-opening in that it made apparent just how large, complex, and multi-dimensional the project, and the movement, actually is.

The first item I would like to make note of from the conference is the sheer number of layers of revisions that have been produced of Thoreau's Walden.  It is hard to believe that what scholars believe to be 7 distinct drafts of Thoreau's original have evolved into appearing as over 20 different reproductions.  Of course, that's what happens when multiple people with different viewpoints and backgrounds come together to analyze and transcribe the same exact work - there are discrepancies.  It is exciting to think that we as a class are going to play a hand in this transcription and growth of the project, and our work could actually help further Digital Thoreau.  It feels like we are some sort of team of diplomatic transcribers being called in to de-fuzz the project a bit.  Of course, that is probably  tooting our horn and giving us way more credit than deserved, but knowing that our work could have an actual impact on the project inclines me to put my best effort toward it.

The second item I would like to note is the social component of the Digital Thoreau project.  It was intriguing to hear Schacht talk about the social buzz they are trying to create around Walden by digitizing it, then allowing people to comment on it (as if it was a Facebook page, minus the trash, Schacht said).  I found his answer to James' question about who would modify the comments on the page to be interesting and agreeable.  His answer was that because the project targets a much narrower audience than most social media sites, it will probably self-regulate.  Those people visiting the site and leaving comments will most likely be involved and knowledgeable about Thoreau, and will not be just any crazy person who makes obscene comments on YouTube or Twitter.  However, it's important to remember (and Schacht did note this, too), that even really smart people can be really big nitwits.  It will be compelling to see how much the social factor takes off, and if all the concerns of anti-collaborative humanists - those afraid of people with little knowledge and/or malicious intentions derailing digital projects - have been worth all that huffing and hawing.