Digital Culture: Standardization versus Customization
In the book “The Printing Revolution Early Modern Europe”, Elizabeth Eisenstein details the implications of the shift from scribal culture to print culture and how the introduction of the printing shop was one of the main catalyst behind several notable historical movements. The printing shop was an agent of change. Eisenstein states the following in the introduction of the book:
“As an agent of change, printing altered methods of data collection, storage, and retrieval systems, and communications networks used by learned communities throughout Europe (Eisenstein, xvii).
As I read the passages we were assigned, I found myself reflecting on the current communication shift to the digital culture we are experiencing in our modern day and how it is affecting all areas of our lives—political, cultural, education, religion, etc. Standardization was heavily discussed in this text as a result of the emergence of printing. However, rather than standardization, I would like to briefly discuss how one of the most important implications of the present day shift to digital culture has been customization.
In October 2001, I was a freshman in undergrad and my dad decided to purchase my first laptop, which was a Dell. At the time laptops were about 5 times the price they are now. However, my dad didn’t just purchase me any old laptop. What made this purchase so different was that it could be customized and built according to the specs my dad wanted for me to have. It had a removable drive that allowed me to either insert a DVD drive or hard disc drive. Dell (and I’m sure other prominent computer companies at this time) had this new fad where you could build your own laptop. This was something very new because we were accustomed to buying things according to the standard of what you see is what you get.
Consumer behavior and buying trends have definitely moved from standardization to customization. Today customizable technology is at the forefront and demanded down to every purchase you make —cell phones, clothes, cars, homes, banking, pets, etc.
One important aspect that Eisenstein points out is how the emergence of print culture did bring about changes to education. Eisenstein points out how people’s way of thinking and learning evolved with the advent of printing. In reference to undergraduates, Eisenstein states:
“Gifted students no longer needed to sit at the feet of a given master in order
to learn a language or academic skill. Instead, they could swiftly achieve mastery of their own, even by sneaking books past their tutors… (Eisenstein, 38)”
Printing allowed for more information to be disseminated and viewed by the masses. Therefore, people had access to more knowledge that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to take advantage of. With regard to higher education, online education as option to obtain your degree is a byproduct of the movement towards customization. People no longer have to sit in class and listen to lecture. Instead, they can now learn at their own pace and in their own environment using their own technologies.
