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Digital content never ceases to amaze me with its ability to transform, evolve, and be altered with little to no effort.  A few clicks, some finger swipes, a copy and paste are often all that is required to modify data or recreate it as something new and different. 

In 2012 I taught a course at a localcollege and had to obtain permission to use some copyrighted information.  The whole process felt long and complicated for a couple of measly signatures. I’m continually astounded at how many transitions this small amount of information went through to complete the transaction.   Here is how it transpired:

1.  Contact organization to inquire about permission. 
2.  Receive email with organization’s form as an attachment.
3.  Download form (saved to download folder automatically).
4.  Fill out form (not saved because I knew I was going to print it).
5.  Print form.
6.  Sign form – wet signature.
7.  Scan signed form (form is now stored in scanning device’s memory and in my email inbox as an attachment and exists physically).
8.  Email back to organization as an attachment.
9.  Organization downloads form (presumably saved in a download folder).
10.  Organization prints form.
11.  Organization adds in handwritten comment and signs.
12.  Organization scans form (presumably also saved in scanning device’s memory and to organization’s network, could also exist in user’s email inbox).
13.  Organization emails signed form as an attachment back to me. 
14.  Download form (saved to download folder automatically).
15.  Save to computer for my records.
16.  Email form to school as an attachment for their records. 
17.  School downloads form and saves it with their records (presumably saved in download folder).

In addition to validating the need for digital signatures, this example also illustrates the many forms and formats content can take in the digital world.  Just in this one transaction the content morphed from digital to physical to digital to physical to digital, each time to record a routine transaction.  The content was saved and replicated multiple times in multiple places throughout the process (desktops, email attachments, stored in download folder, printed, scanned, etc.)  If I think about this one scenario replicated hundreds, or even thousands of times throughout the day to accomplish one tiny thing, the volume produced starts to feel overwhelming, especially when I consider that only two instances really need to be kept: the double-signed physical version held by the organization (unless they have a policy to save these forms only in an electronic version) and the electronic double-signed version maintained by the college where I taught.

Digital content has the ability to morph and replicate itself in ways that may or may not be apparent. The ease with which it can be copied and pasted, saved as a different format, embedded as one format within another (e.g. how tweets can become web content by being a feed) remain a constant source of fascination for me. Digital content can be snipped, morphed, and reused in different contexts or new ways that differ vastly from the original intent. 

Once in a digital format, content can be reshaped, reused, replicated, created, published, and disseminated all within instants, often without a lot of forethought.  Content can remain hidden and buried, or cleverly camouflaged as something innocent that is secretly infecting your computer with every keystroke.  The digital landscape is constantly evolving.  Despite all the challenges and nuanced complexities that exist, the dynamic nature of digital content also offers an abundance of opportunities that I can’t imagine living without.