Crawford expands our current definition(s) of voice and adds a more modern aspect. This breaks through our current definitions of voice. Aristotle defines voice as a noise coming form a body that possess his definition of soul. Crawford analyzes a new definition of people having a voice through written texts, specifically online. In reference to her idea of contributing a voice online she says “Speaking up’ has become the dominant metaphor for participation in online spaces such as blogs, wikis, news sites and discussion lists (Karaganis 2007; Bruns 2008).” (p. 80) Crawford aims to express voice to be more about having and sharing an idea, or contributing something to a conversation, rather than distinguishing between voice and mere sound.
Crawford also introduces a new concept we have not previously studied, which is listening. Crawford’s definition of listening here is more comparable to reading, as she talks mostly about those who observed and read more instead of contributing to online conversations. In reference to these people she defines as “lurkers,” she says “Rather than freeloading, lurkers are actively logging in and tracking the contributions of others; they contribute a mode of receptiveness that encourages others to make public contributions. (81) Crawford further elaborates on the importance of this group in saying “The concept of listening, on the other hand, invokes the more dynamic process of online attention, and suggests that it is an embedded part of networked engagement – a necessary corollary to having a ‘voice’. (p. 82) This concept of listen is parallel to the past concepts of voice we have seen. Just like the “lurkers” who read rather than speak online, without listeners, why would people speak their voice or perform auditory pieces?
