“In the ELI, the shelf-life of its products, typically textbooks and tests, runs some 5–10 years or so before they are revised or replaced. While in the Computer Center, the shelf-life of computer manuals, etc., is often just a matter of months before an update appears or some patch is incorporated.“

I found this quote interesting because it really brought to perspective the difference in books and technology. While technology is always advancing and moving forward or adapting to whatever technological need we have today, books stay the same until they are unusable. Technology is much more expensive than books and yet it needs the most changes and is often replaced in a matter of months. This shows me the importance of upkeep of books.

“Many people are occasional members of more than one discourse community. In my own case, I am a member of the institute where I have had an office for the last thirty years, but also I am active in the wider world of English for Academic Purposes by, for instance, serving on a number of editorial boards. My current hobbies are bird-watching and butterfly-watching, and I belong to various associations that support these similar but not identical activities. In the past, I was a member of a focal DC that brought together a very disparate group of people who were interested in the postal history of Hong Kong, about a hundred philatelists from some twenty countries.”

This quote in particular piqued my interest because I realized how many discourse communities you are actually incorporated in when you find a new hobby or interest. There are so many different communities and even for a short period you are part of that community. This is something I will think about whenever I find a new interest or develop a new habit or hobby.

Some discourse communities I find myself categorized in are cat lovers, artists, and photographers. These communities all have something in common pertaining to the interest. Cat lovers all love cats, artists do art, and photographers take photos. Each interest communicates differently. Cat lovers share photos of cats and awe at them and artists and photographers share their work to other people in order to branch out or make connections.