I am writing a near future Sci-Fi novel and the protagonist wants to distribute news and messages either by creating a Blog or Website or I think better using hashtags. He does use the (future) media which I generally call 'Socmed' encompassing today's Twitter, FB, etc., but note he is communicating world-wide. I am a little unsure how this would be actually written into the text of the novel. Should I just invent a hashtag like '#takeNoticeOfThis' and drop it into the text or heading or is it better some other way? PS I have not seen a novel of this genre use hashtags in this was (or any other novel for that matter). Many thanks.
Durarara was ruined just by showing texts between characters which feels quite dead and sterile, so focus on the characters and emotions. Technology is also drifting more towards video loggs (or Starwars holograms) because body-language is very important for disambiguation of context. Also count on that people read a book (oxytocin) to get away from social media (dopamine & cortisol) for the sake of sanity.
Thanks, LazyBear. I tried to get a peep at the Amazon 'Look Inside' but it did not show to me what you mean about text. I see a mixture of #shing, 3D Holos and the like for comms. Thanks for the heads-up about Vlogs. Any suggestions as to the best online teach on the subject?
You can read about Youtuber depression as examples of where things are moving. Some Vloggers post videos about how Youtube make them addicted to creating content by chasing new viewer highs. This Youtuber talks about how he becomes another person when turning on the camera. Then just extrapolate from there and imagine how similar future technologies will have new ethical dilemmas. I started writing after a University course in computer ethics that covered these topics. It allowed me to describe different worlds in more detail.
I don't agree that everything is moving towards vlogs. There is a time and place to watch a video and sometimes a busy person prefers something written they can scan while at work or laying down in bed. Videos require more time and attention than a small article. I guess it depends on the intended audience though (for the character's news)? Durarara isn't a "book", so I don't really think it's fair to compare the two. I could see hashtags working. They wouldn't bother me in a book as the header for articles. I think having the article be centered in the page would be good too (aka bigger indents).
Well, I'm only using them so the protagonist and his followers and antagonists can manifest the virality of an Arrival over the media. I find a lot of Sci-Fi novels just stick to a few characters e.g. the US President, to represent worldwide reaction. It's a good way of expressing a world event and how it's affecting the mass of the population as well as public media. I mix this with the occasional news outlet debate where they call in 'experts' to explain and debate. Vroom, Vroom!
Hell, if you're going to make "socmed" a big thing in the novel, use hashtags as your chapter names. IMO, the audience would eat that up.
Yep, but not chapter headings I have brief tags in the flow as a sort of live background e.g. when the Aliens visit to present themselves to a select audience with live media distribution. I feeds public 'feeling' into the event. Thanks trigocc, yes Socmed tech is now arm wrapping mobiles with BT connection (for some) to the ear and a throat embedded audio channel.
Personally, I'd use a character other than the octothorpe. I think it would fit the sci-fi setting better by being more of a nod than a hammer Lots of opportunity though! It could be an ampersand called a string tether or just some really obscure character. Edit: Forgot to address the question. I think it would be fine to do it sparingly, or drop it in between chapters, and then simply say "he mentioned such and such on the Socmed" for the more frequent addresses.
I am putting them in thus: #AlienHater - kill the buggers before they overrun us! In between paras to reflect global feelings to an Arrival say.
Personally hashtags drive me batty, but they way you've used it above could be pretty effective. It'll take a chapter or so for the audience to get used to it, so I'd avoid putting anything too critical in the early uses. William Gibson has always taken a similar tack of just dropping the reader into the future without any explanation of the terms or tech he's included and leaving it to the audience to figure things out as they go along. Risky, but it can pay off. The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson has italicized chapter intros, many of which read like they are from some future documentary about the events and characters in the book. The information isn't critical, but it adds more flavor depth to the story without (to my eye) sounding like forced exposition.
You could check out Train Man (Densha Otoko), of which as been published in English. I only skimmed through it, but I believe it does something similar - the story is basically a collection of posts from a message board (2channel, which isn't 2chan or 4chan).
Yep, there are a few ways of doing it without going too heavy. The risk of not revealing future tech is that the reader does not get the full picture but teasing is good. Being my first attempt makes it difficult though. A lot of research is done so it is nice to develop the skill to précis it whether in blocks a or subtly during the story.
My only observation is that hashtags have been around since only 2007. If you're under 30, that may feel like a long time. If you're Gen-X (like me) or older, that was like 30 seconds ago. And given the breakneck speed at which new social media providers offer up their retread platforms (It's like reddit, but instead of up to down, it goes left to right, tooootally different experience!) my question becomes: What are the chances that hashtags are genuinely a permanent part of the DNA of internet use? Certain things do become like that, like the format of a URL, but how long will hashtags last before they become yesterday's meme?
the only time I've used them is when characters reference the #metoo thing ... like Dave at the beginning of Alphadog regretting getting drunk and hitting on his best mates fiancee, Kathy* 'this isn't who I am. I'm not some #metoo predator.." I reckon that even if #metoo sinks into obscurity one day the context will still make it clear what it was.. * Spoiler Through the course of the book and an alien invasion the best mate concerned is revealed to be a colossal D bag, and Dave and Kathy wind up together