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• 1 media/electracy background image page 2.jpg 2017-11-14T07:02:28-08:00 Epoch III: Electracy 22 A brief description of electracy, a theory proposed by Gregory Ulmer. plain 2017-12-14T19:26:46-08:00         Electracy is “to digital media what literacy is to alphabetic writing: an apparatus, or social machine, partly technological, partly institutional. We take for granted now the skill set that orients literate people to the collective mnemonics that confront anyone entering a library or classroom today” or, essentially, the skillset used to navigate technological hardwares and softwares, yet this is much more than just a skillset, it is an extension of literacy (Belanger).  Electracy was first introduced by Gregory Ulmer, a University of Florida professor who studies the transition from literacy to electracy in terms of media studies. Literacy is the ability to read and write, but electracy encompasses the ability to read and write as well as the ability to use and understand technology. It includes both hardware and software, but understanding how to operate software and problem-solve in online spaces is a large proponent of electracy. Electracy “encompasses the broader cultural, institutional, pedagogical, and ideological implications inherent in the transition from a culture of print literacy to a culture saturated with electronic media” a culture that has swept the nation from the moment personal computers and internet connections became available to the average American (Wikipedia). It can be further understood by the apparatus created by Ulmer to show the purposes and functions of electracy.
  
          Technology has progressed at rapid rates from that point on and has swept the consumer market with more and more devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, laptops, gaming systems, televisions, and even watches and now virtual reality glasses. Hardware and software feed into each other similarly to how form follows function in human anatomy. Electracy has created a culture that functions and communicates not only through print anymore, but handheld devices. People check the weather on their iPhones, read the news on Twitter, and communicate via texts and video chats. Having these physical devices available creates a space for us to connect virtually. People can connect virtually from halfway across the world in a few seconds, and sometimes faster depending on processing speeds. Conversations are had by fingertips and not by face-to-face interaction or even in the form of writing, but by texting. Using the keyboard is a characteristic of how technologically fluent a person is--something indicative of the technology based culture we now live in. If something happens in the physical world, it is commonplace for this to be a topic for discussion in the virtual world as well, which is where hashtags come in.