Kate Pullinger’s piece “Jelly Bone”, and the Oolipo platform altogether, provide a rather interesting new form of electronic literature that tackles one of the largest issues with the concept of electronic literature as a platform; it solves, or at least seeks to solve, the problem of accessibility. Electronic literature, as a whole, is typically less accessible than regular literature as it is typically interacted with via a computer. Oolipo solves this connectivity issue by taking the platform of electronic literature and placing it in a more mobile and accessible format: the handheld mobile device. This takes the one major drawback of electronic literature, the immobile aspect of needing a computer to access it and turns it on its head. While yes, it still requires both internet access and the privilege of having a mobile device that can access internet, it does open up the field of interaction substantially. With other platforms of electronic literature, one was typically immobilized within their own home or someplace that had access to both the internet and a computer. With Oolipo, and with the ever-increasing movement of free, public wifi access, electronic literature is becoming more and more accessible and easy to consume.
Student, Chef, & Amateur Cultist
To me, part of what makes Jelly Bone so accessible is not just that is can be accessed on a mobile phone, but that it uses the same rules of navigation that we are familiar with on our phones – we scroll, swipe, and tap to interact with the story.
Unlike some of the desktop-based experiences, which had new and unfamiliar rules which required instruction, the experience on the oolipo platform felt intuitive.
I agree with how you compare Oolipo to electronic literature in general. Oolipo really does make a difference in reading and interacting experience by allowing us to read on phones!