Abstract

The topic of this paper concerns directions humanistic expression might take in response to its diffusion on the World Wide Web and is in part speculative. The first part of the paper will suggest that the prospects for independent humanistic expression on the Web are reasonably good. The argument concerning the benefit entailed by its presence on the Web will be drawn from an analogy with an economic argument for the benefit of making cultural products available online and relies on research about Web structure. The second part of the paper will suggest that presence on the Web might induce a “Webification” of independent humanistic expression in favor of chunking, simpler articulation, and an increased emphasis on sampling and exemplification. It will also suggest that this tendency may be amplified by the advent of pervasive computing. The essay will conclude with the suggestion that an independent humanistic commons can be expected to develop in parallel with more formal, professionally restricted forms of humanistic communication.