Blogs and social networks are the death of culture, or so haters of these 21st century phenomena tell Sneak. Instead of reading a book, or visiting the library, or doing anything to generally enrich their lives, the yoof of today is exchanging insults, fashion tips and tales of the night before on the internet, your roving reporter has frequently been told.

Well, Sneak has news for you; far from accelerating the decline and cheapening of our wonderful culture, social networks could actually be its saviour. Literary enthusiasts the world over are using this medium to spread the works of literary greats like Samuel Pepys and William Shakespeare, it has emerged.

Thus, the renowned diarist Pepys has been given a new lease of life, and a blog, to present his musings to a new generation of internet savvy readers. Which actually works rather well, his entries being the perfect bite-sized morsal to fit such a format. Less successful, Sneak reckons, are the attempts to condense Hamlet into a Facebook-style news feed, or Pride and Prejudice into a series of status updates. Sneak appreciates these attempts to engage the present with the past, but fears that the people behind these ideas may have bitten off slightly more than they can chew.

Then there's the journalist's journalist - George Orwell. The Orwell Trust has gone all Web 2.0 and decided to present his diaries to the world via a Twitter feed. Don't exepect the kind of insightful journalism you can find by visiting vnunet.com's Twitter page, but top marks for trying anyway, George.

08 Mar 2009