Writing CyberMedia Content

My content for this CyberMedia project is focused on the nature of synchronicity and will by necessity overlap other disciplines such as the notion of psyche and soma, mind and matter, the philosophy of quantum theory, mythology, folktale, intuition, Psi, divination and the collective unconscious. To keep each page relatively brief and still cater for viewers who may not be familiar with some words, concepts and symbols, I will be making extensive use of hypertext links. Linked words will open a 'notebook' style page with an explanation, definition and links to further study. I'm not yet certain how to incorporated these links into the 'printable version' which will be all the synchronicity pages in one .pdf document. Perhaps a glossary of terms? References will be included in the document though I may need to link to them specifically as well. I want the content to be easy to navigate, easy to understand and easy to use. The operant word is easy!

Mark Berstein offers an insightful article on 10 Tips for Writing CyberMedia which I have adapted to suit my project:

• Write for a Reason--to explore the concepts of meaningful coincidence from a multidisciplinary approach.
• Write Often--although the project will be due the end of November, I don't see it as static pages. Updating links, adding information and creating new pages will be part of the ongoing 'upkeep' of this project.
• Write Tight--This is a site for students and those interested in understanding the concept of synchronicity. It's not a mini-novel. I am editing for unnecessary words (especially adjectives) and looking to keep a consistent and scholarly voice.
• Make good Friends--solicit the aid of a critical friend for feedback, link to other sites of interest that may link back to me and offer a discussion forum for viewers to meet.
• Find good Enemies--readers do want to hear divergent approaches, disagreement and controversial theories. Present them, linking to well written sites that question my thesis.
• Let the Story Unfold--this may not seem applicable to a non-fiction project yet I do want to build, through the linked pages, an understanding of our current knowledge of synchronicity in a crescendo of non-linear writing, not a straightforward information dump.
• Speak Out--one of the consistent criticisms of my non-fiction writing in the past has been to take on a holistic approach such that the reader has no idea where I stand. I want the work to reflect current knowledge AND my orientation to that knowledge (as apposed to hiding in a diplomatic portrayal of everyone else's work.
• Be Aware of Cultural Bias--where in my work are issues of gender, race, ethnicity or educational-socio-economic background impinging? I need to read carefully against the text to test for lack of bias and judgement or to point it out where theories contain such bias.
• Use References and HyperText Intelligently--Many students have complained of getting lost in G21 or various assigned readings on the WWW. Navigation is important but also making certain, for this project, that links make sense, are easy to return from and add to the overall pages, not detract, confuse or diverge.
• Use an Authentic Voice for the Audience--I want to 'tell the story' of synchronicity in a way that brings insights and understanding through both visual, auditory, hypertext and textual mediums. I want to do this with a scholarly voice that is also warm, poised and intriguing. This last point on the list is probably my most challenging.