In the passage quoted, from Socrates' dialogue with Phaedrus, Plato was warning against the rise of writing as an emerging communications medium in ancient Greece (Hamilton & Carns, 1989, p. 521). But despite his objections, Western civilization embraced writing and the new literacies it generated.

Today, changing social conditions, innovative technologies, and quickly evolving communications environments are fostering a new literacy revolution as we move from a typographic, or print-based culture, to a post-typographic one (McLuhan, 1962; Reinking, McKenna, Labbo, & Keiffer, 1998). As teachers and literate citizens, we can neither ignore, condemn, nor uncritically embrace these changes, which afford us a rare opportunity to participate in exciting new times. The New Literacies department of Reading Online invites readers to explore, share, rethink, and extend ideas about these new times -- about literacy, education, ourselves, and the world around us. Welcome!

I have several purposes for this initial column:

• First, I introduce myself as a way to explain the lenses and principles that guide this department.
• Second, I describe why current educational and social conditions make learning and teaching with new literacies so important.
• Third, I preview coming attractions -- some of the terms, topics, and authors who will be featured in future columns -- and provide a tour of the department, highlighting its features and explaining ways to interact with the authors and editors, as well as with fellow readers. I then invite you to submit your ideas and work. We want to hear from you!

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