Avry Week 7

Scott Rettberg describes network writing as e lit created for and published on the internet. He details the extensive qualities that something like this can entail, like that the readers may be required to visit multiple sites to experience the true narrative of the piece using the internet's full potential. Network writing shares an interest in the material properties of the global network and the writing environments it affords. He also explains that different elements of network writing encompasses transmedia narratives (Christy Dena 2009) which are storytelling endeavors that plant blogs, games, and social network activity across the network in support of a narrative that crosses between all of its media manifestations. Rettberg highlights that this form of E lit often includes multiple contributors unlike traditional print literature - usually authored by a singer person. 

I am choosing to reference Lonelygirl15 created by Miles Beckett, Mesh FLinders, Greg Goodfried, and Amanda Goodfried. This was an early example of of network writing blending fiction with reality. It launched in 2006 on Youtube and was a series of personal blogs by a teenage girl named Bree (played by an actress). At first, viewers believed Bree was real, immersing the viewers, but it was revealed later to be scripted making it a major work of an alternate reality game (ARG) and networked fiction. The youtube channel has 183K subscribers and over 396 videos so its VERY big, but honestly super interesting. 

The "about" section on Youtube says...

"lonelygirl15, the first of many shows within the fictional LG15 Universe, tells the ongoing story of a group of young adults fighting against a mysterious secret society called, The Order. Seeking to avenge the death of their friend, the ensemble cast travels the world to protect girls with a rare and valuable blood trait sought after by the Order for its life-extending properties. On the LG15 website, community members can interact with the characters and each other in the forums, chat rooms and comment boards, and can create their own community generated videos and storylines that add to the ever expanding LG15 universe."

After looking through the whole channel, there were so many videos that are typically short in length but range from 1 minute to 5. As the videos progressed, it got kind of dark. Some of the videos were titled "handcuffed" "Proof of life" showing a girl being tortured. It was honestly really dark, especially since the very first video was Bree just introducing herself in an awkward and wholesome way, and it turned to something out of a horror movie.