FEATURE
TECHNOLOGY AND INDIE MEDIA (Isabella)
It’s a love-hate relationship between D-I-Y media makers and technology, particularly when it comes to the self-published, hand-made booklets commonly referred to as zines.
While unrestricted self-expression remains the chief reason why people make zines, according to Lindsay Gibb at Broken Pencil, technology has revolutionized how some people make them. Computer design programs have transformed what used to be a painstakingly laborious project into a much simpler one. And in exchange for scissors and glue, several zinesters are picking up the latest publishing software. Though some do rebel against the “pro-looking aesthetic” and stick to “cut and paste” , says Gibb.
Beyond changing appearances, technology has “absorbed some of the energy that used to go into zines, “ says Jonathan Culp from Satan MacNuggit—a group all about “radically independent media”. For Chris Landry, punk-rock zineseter, it’s done much more.
“I think the internet has eliminated certain types of zines,” he says.
Sarah Evans, co-founder of the Anchor Archive Zine library in Halifax disagrees. She says technology has far from killed zine-making. Instead, it has made zines more accessible to the public and made distribution easier, she says.
Through sites like Facebook, Ning, and other social networking tools, the internet connects pockets of D-I-Y media makers and fans of their work. It builds community and helps collaboration, Evans and Gibb say.
For 24-year-old Amber Forrester, author of the zines Culture Slut and Fight Boredom, the internet is vital to her craft. She sells her work on Etsy.com, belongs to the ‘We Make Zines’ Ning network, and writes a blog called ‘hello-amber’. And if it weren’t for internet access, she wouldn’t have started making zines eight years ago, she says.
“I didn’t know how to find zines without the internet,” she says.
Despite her online presence, Forrester still makes cut-and-paste print copies of her zines rather than electronic versions.
“It’s the complete lack of personal connection (with) e-zines and blogs,” says Amy Leigh of zine distro twelveohtwo. “With a zine that’s in your hand, it’s tangible. You can see how much time, and effort and heart that’s been put into that.”
Alex Wrekk, author of Stolen Sharpie Revolution –a D-I-Y guide to zines and zine culture—shares Leigh’s perspective. “When you do a zine, you have to think about it...you have to think about layout, you have to think about production, you have to think about distribution...it’s not as immediate and I think there’s something very special in that.”
LINKS (all links)
Danielas Links:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/authors/quirk_mingles_jane_austen_and_sea_monsters_121639.asp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jan/16/mashup-novels