ccr 760: on stolley

I don't propose to be well-versed in activity theory, but I'm not seeing how the use of a social media application (SMA), such as Delicious, is anything other than an individual activity occurring during the course of a collaborative project. Stolley notes (356) that the object (output – my term) of the team's activity is the document, project, system, etc. To therefore describe SMAs as “tool-mediated activities” because they do not appear in output is to describe just about every tool used by the technical communicator. Stolley's use of activity theory to frame his discussion just seems a little retrofit or unnecessary in the context of his case studies and discussion.

Beyond my inability to see through the essay’s framework, I think I understand the point Stolley is making by describing the use of Delicious (as an example of an SMA) in personal, academic, and professional contexts. Delicious, like many other second-generation web tools, was designed to be manageable, accessible, interoperable, and scalable. These are the principle aspects of tools and technologies that technical communicators (nay, all types of information workers) look to exploit in their daily activities. In some ways this move (both conscious and unconscious) on the part of the user further complicates the already complex work environment and the SMA. On the other hand, the move could have a mitigating affect. As Stolley notes (363-4), the SMA will shape the user's work (environment, processes, activities, etc.) as well as the output of that work. The ideal result then is a reshaping that improves inputs and outputs.

On a slightly divergent note, I don't agree with Stolley's imagining of the modern technical communicator. The ability to write code does not move the technical communicator “beyond a user-only attitude toward technology” (365). The ability to write code (or do anything) simply makes the technical communicator more valuable to the organization and self-sufficient on projects that require code slinging. One's attitude toward technology is based on more than skills and competencies. An appreciation for and understanding of the broader social and rhetorical aspects of technology arguably has more to do with "a new kind of digital literacy" than knowing how to use a particular tool.