Statistics and Sentiment: A Report on the digital essay ‘Kafka’s Wound’ by Will Self for the LRB and The Space

1. Statistics and Sentiment: A Report
on the digital essay ‘Kafka’s Wound’
by Will Self for the LRB and The
Space
Helen Jeffrey
Associate Publisher
London Review of Books
September 2013

2. - 1 -
Table of Contents
Page No
1. Introduction 2
2. Sentiment 3
3. Statistics 4
4. Conclusions 5
Appendices
Appendix A Tweets recorded in the first 30 days of the project
Appendix B Google Analytics reports for the ‘Writer’s Blog’ from 1st
May 2012 to
8th
August 2012
Appendix C Google Analytics reports for ‘Kafka’s Wound’ from 9th
August 2012 to
8th
August 2013

3. - 2 -
1. Introduction
Could there be a way to embellish the unadorned line of the text without losing the
impetus and coherence of the reading experience?
Could we create a rhythmic flow in and out of the sequence of sentences, to take in
other texts, video and audio material, pictures and photographs, so that reading
becomes multidimensional but not merely fragmentary?
Will enriching the line of a text deepen it or confuse it, energise it or dissipate its
élan?
‘Kafka’s Wound’ is an innovative project that re-imagines the literary essay for the
digital age. It was commissioned from the London Review of Books for The Space –
an experimental digital arts platform developed by the Arts Council in partnership
with the BBC.
The London Review of Books wanted to create a digital literary work that pushed
the boundaries of the literary essay well beyond its traditional form; using digital
technology to loosen and enhance the structure of the essay, changing the way the
reader interacts with the text. The project depended on the engagement of a writer
who was both a leading exponent of the literary essay and inspired by the potential
of digital media to expand and deepen the essay form; the London Review of Books
commissioned novelist and essayist Will Self.
The project was approached as an experiment, an exercise in co-creation and
collaboration. It was seen as an opportunity to embrace an element of risk. Will
Self, as Professor of Contemporary Thought at Brunel University, suggested
approaching the University putting forward the idea of involving academics from the
School of Arts in the project; inviting them to submit creative digital responses to the
Kafka short story:
“We aim to produce a digital literary essay that is 'through composed', weaving
together all media: computer graphics, music, filmed performance, video diary and
linked data into something that will hopefully fully express the praxis involved in
composing a literary essay.”
Implicit in the form and content of Kafka’s Wound was the notion that by through-
composing the essay with wide array of co-collaborators, Will Self’s original thesis
could be collectively mediated through a feedback loop of other perspectives. By
blogging on the overall thinking behind the essay, and then continuing to blog while
material was being assembled and the site designed, Will Self hoped to give rise to
a novel form of creative and scholarly multi-disciplinary digital publication. This
‘Writer’s Blog’ went live on 10th
May 2012 www.thespace.lrb.co.uk/blog.
In terms of the essay itself, there was to be no compromise in quality, depth or
length. It would be as demanding of the reader as a typical LRB essay, with no
introduction or explanation.
The digital essay went live on 9th
August 2012 www.thespace.lrb.co.uk.

4. - 3 -
2. Sentiment
“@RMSYL: Will Self's Digital Essay ‘Kafka's Wound’ is what the Internet was made
for. End of. Switch off. Buy a typewriter. http://t.co/Q9TbwKcZ“
In the 30 days after ‘Kafka’s Wound’ went live tweets referring to the essay were
monitored in order to gauge the response of the public to the project. Tweets that
are original (not re-tweets), and expressed a level of judgement or opinion were
recorded. Tweets by influential individuals were also identified. These can be found
in Appendix A.
An analysis of the tweets showed that 96% were positive, with only 4% negative.
It was a policy of The Space to exclude the option for public commenting on any
project directly.

5. - 4 -
3. Statistics
Google Analytics reports for the ‘Writer’s Blog’ from 1st
May 2012 to 8th
August 2012
can be found in Appendix B and reports for ‘Kafka’s Wound’ from 9th
August 2012 to
8th
August 2013 can be found in Appendix C.
The ‘Writer’s Blog’, documenting the early part of the project, had 3,239 visits,
6,988 page-views, and 2,100 unique visitors from 1st
May 2012 to 8 August 2012,
mainly from the UK (62%).
Significant global audiences have engaged with the digital essay in the first year,
from 9th
August 2012 to 8th August 2013. There were 49,208 visits from 152
different countries/territories. There were 118,165 page-views and 30,569 unique
visitors in that time although the unique visitors number is likely to be somewhat
overstated as some individuals will be using more than one device and they will be
recorded more than once.
The ‘average visit’ duration is comparatively high (7+ minutes). It actuality the time
on site is likely to be much higher as the recording algorithm used by Google for
this metric can only be used comparatively. Returning visitor numbers are high
(39%); as readers return to the site on the same device and re-engage with the
content.
The bounce-rate is low (2.6%) evidencing positive engagement as it implies the
large majority of readers are exploring at least one page beyond the page on which
they initially land. The average pages-per-visit figure of 2.40 and again this
indicates that readers are engaging with more than one element of the work. It
could be surmised that the majority of readers are exploring beyond the text and
engaging with the additional content.
The UK represents 43% of visits with USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, India and
Brazil sending high levels of traffic. It is interesting to see countries where English
is not the native language performing well.
Referral traffic is the strongest driver of visits (50%) with 452 different referrers.
The top referrers are the LRB and The Space. Social sharing sites perform well;
twitter and Facebook account for 24% of all referrals.
Organic search, such as Google, accounts for 22% of visits but no one search term
stands out as significant.
Direct visits (28%) can indicate that the site has been bookmarked for return visits.

6. - 5 -
4. Conclusions
The ‘Writer’s Blog’ element of the project performed relatively well within the
parameters set for it. Due to time constraints and other external events the feed-
back loop process the blog was designed to support, in terms of moderation of Will
Self’s initial thesis, was limited to one iteration. There is scope for further
exploration of this approach in other collaborative projects.
In the first year ‘Kafka’s Wound’ has attracted a significant global audience, and has
performed beyond expectations, particularly considering the low-level of traditional
marketing for the project. Visitors to the site have displayed high levels of
engagement and the numbers returning to the site are high. Social sharing and
recommendation has been a key driver of visits. The sentiment expressed via
twitter during the initial 30 days after the project went live shows an extremely
positive response to the digital essay from a range of different perspectives.
Considering all the above it could be argued that, in terms of audience and
sentiment, the project has delivered a positive response to all three of the original
questions:
Could there be a way to embellish the unadorned line of the text without losing the
impetus and coherence of the reading experience?
Could we create a rhythmic flow in and out of the sequence of sentences, to take in
other texts, video and audio material, pictures and photographs, so that reading
becomes multidimensional but not merely fragmentary?
Will enriching the line of a text deepen it or confuse it, energise it or dissipate its
élan?

7. - 6 -
Appendix A
Tweets recorded in the first 30 days of the project
@lynnna_k http://t.co/ggKZOWoh What do you think about The Space experiment of a
digital essay - contextual layers on top of thoughts on Kafka? #ux
@unhilarious @eclecticV Amazing essay on Kafka. Thought you'd like this site. Very
interactive and incorporates interesting elementshttp://t.co/DyiQAQTE
@Sylent_Wryter This is one of the best, if not the best, postmodern essay on Franz Kafka
from @wself. Bravo! http://t.co/EPFVfgQJ
@collectormaniac Watching a panel discuss one of the most interesting things from the
LRB lately, their digital essay 'Kafka's Wound.'http://t.co/dUhaIciI
@saltpublishing Will Self discussing the digital essay http://t.co/JT2xPZbZ
@ramonakoval I'm still excited about this digital essay form: "I am guilty of an association of
ideas" http://t.co/Yml2Jta1 via @thespacearts
@billt paradigmatic, proto-form or particularist? how much of a model for future digital
essays is @wself Kafka's Wound? @lrbshop@thespacearts
@hannah_gregory W. Self, usually tech-luddite, authors digital essay set amongst spiralling
contextual material http://t.co/IH0fc9sw#thespacearts @LRB [!]
@JoshAJHall This is interesting. Will Self 'digital essay' with cleverly embedded
media: http://t.co/TircXKhd
@weareneon lovely project - Kafka’s Wound http://t.co/djHs5BGt via @thespacearts
@literacyadviser This is really quite amazing. RT @alancoady: A truly multi-media
experience: http://t.co/gXxlUTrj http://t.co/FBFDba0I
@dansumption Nice way of navigating London Review of Books - reminds me of
Netscape plugins from 1996: http://t.co/5iKE85hX /via @digitalmaverick
@brigetmck Really impressive multimodal literature experiment http://t.co/VURmUnpr
@kmcg2375 A 'digital essay'. Like, wow! #ozengchat http://t.co/YGR8htSG #genre
#text_type #multimodal #digital #essay
@shomeshome: London literary circles abuzz about this 'digital essay' authored by Will Self
(on Kafka): http://t.co/OXHMu61U
@Garyhomewood: "Kafka's Wound" a digital essay by Will Self http://t.co/8FEZa1HD with
on-trend force-directed graph
@billt: @imhelenj It worked a lot better than I thought it would… seen too many failed
attempts to de-linearise a text that lose all engagement too!
@RMSYL: Will Self's Digital Essay "Kafka's Wound" is what the Internet was made for. End
of. Switch off. Buy atypewriter.http://t.co/Q9TbwKcZ
@A_Filter: LRB and Will Self begin exploration of the potential of the literary essay in digital
form: ‘Kafka’s Wound’http://t.co/AX1bWOIX
@Panglossnotes: Will Self, over at Brunel for a time, LRB & 70 others make a digital
literary essay: Kafka’s Wound. Coolhttp://t.co/KIAOHDjU

8. - 7 -
@ernestopriego: Kafka’s Wound, a digital essay by Will Self http://t.co/EAvNzaIp via
@thespacearts #digitalhumanities
@psychemedia: Interesting graph navigation and inline annotation scheme for new Will Self
essay http://t.co/rw9utRHg /via @imhelenj
@NazlinBhimani: Envisage #research output with #data etc as a digital document - see
coll. Brunel & @lrb in Will Self's Kafka’s Wound http://t.co/5aIxXpvs
@graham_hitchen: This essay by Will Self, courtesy of @lrb and others, is beautifully
presented- reading on-line won't be the same again http://t.co/PCER5wXq
@santanuvasant: Will Self's Digital literacy essay - great idea and website! Check it out!
#elearning #edtech #digitalage #bbchttp://t.co/e4s4Re1P
@alastairdunning: The digital essay Kafka's Wound illustrates how archival content can be
channelled into creative thinking.http://t.co/dl3waJKk
@Chi_Humanities: We're not sure we understand Will Self's digital essay "Kafka's Wound"
- but we are very intrigued! -http://t.co/aogmTJVp
@WellcomeLibrary: We really do encourage you to take a look at "Kafka's Wound" : A
digital essay by @wself via @LRBhttp://t.co/wOqeQF7N
@penguinpress: The @LRB asked Will Self to break & enhance the digital essay. He
responds with "Kafka's Wound":http://t.co/CWqEXR96
@nightowlspress: This essay by Will Self is a multimedia project. Like the concept and
digital presentation. http://t.co/UIH7E87Yhttp://t.co/LnghIgzH
@kumquatpoetry: Kafka’s Wound http://t.co/CAxugMVW via @thespaceartsomfg. the
essay. reborn. SO. EXCITING. We just shivered with pleasure & amazement. Wow.
@ParagrapheBooks: Novelist and essayist Will Self and the @LRB have put together a
sensational online multimedia essay "Kafka's Wound" | http://t.co/IumSCWMD
@CirculolecRoma: Kafka’s Wound: A Multimedia Treat: The London Review of Books
sought out Will Self to help create “a digital lit...http://t.co/9iHfIqgO
@Butterflew12: Is this the new standard format for academic writing? Will Self's digital
essay http://thespace.lrb.co.uk/ #digitalhumanities
Will this be the new standard format for academic writing? “@LRB: Now live: 'Kafka's
Wound', Will Self's digital essay http://t.co/dOoeaXMb”
@WelshIrvineFairplay. Nicely said. Just reading a fantastic essay here on Kafka, by Will
Self, if you're interested - http://t.co/k15b7zLi
@stepquietly this is brilliant. digital essay on kafka http://t.co/xWMgMPRz
Anyone care to feel inadequate? Will Self's digital Kafka essay should
help: http://t.co/gy76mWEL
@MsAMR25 Already been reading it since @wself posted about it yesterday! I agree, it's
brilliant! #kafka
An absolutely brilliant use of the web. http://t.co/AHElXspg
http://t.co/dhIGWogG Three days after discovering it can I now say I have finished Will
Self's Digital Essay? No! Endless exploration...
@The_Millions 'The indispensable literary site' - @nytimes | 'Lots of reasons to love The
Millions' - @GuardianBooks | 'A fantastic website' - @UtneReader Can't recommend this

9. - 8 -
enough: Will Self's multimedia essay for @LRB and @ace_national, "Kafka's Wound." Go
explore!http://t.co/78ZSuRRj
Dan Franklin (Digital Publisher at Random House) When did KAFKA'S WOUND go up on
@thespacearts? It's extraordinary. A digital essay done right on the
web: http://t.co/BHNxdEmW
@trvoridge: Digital ideas person for Somethin’Else. Produced @RichardDawkins book app
Magic of Reality for iPad. Cool thing of the day comes from @LRB, Will Self and The Space:
annotated digital essay with lots of STUFF in it http://t.co/wovg2a2f
@Jderbyshire culture editor at the New Satesman Marvellous stuff: @wself's "digital essay"
on Kafka http://t.co/DSobhWeF
@elizabethminkel Usually working at the @newyorker. Often writing about books. THIS is
what I'm talking about: http://t.co/Cz31HyKu (All essays need to become digital multimedia
essays. Now.) (via @The_Millions )
Brilliant digital essay Kafka's Wound by @willself includes research images, film, archives
inside the text http://t.co/NvSAB9JZ
Swish #digital #essay from @wself with a nice #UI. The text stands on its own for any
academics: Kafka’s Wound http://t.co/DKqSoUPivia @LRB
Beautifully-annotated piece on The Space from Will Self, discussing
Kafka: http://t.co/hL3Da10Z
Wow. @wself's digital essay on Kafka http://t.co/mJdKjSCB Kafka essay by
@wself's footnotes text with digital mediahttp://t.co/mJdKjSCB > Question is, how to
footnote video in the same way?
The future is here? Will Self's 'digital essay' http://t.co/mt0zMjhW
This interactive essay on Kafta, by Will Self @wself is clearly
groundbreaking. http://t.co/aVWWb5g2 Games and machinima have their part.
Nerds: crack open a beer and spend an hour or two exploring Will Self's 'digital essay' on
Kafka. Bloody brilliant. http://t.co/6VRQYwTP
All about @wself this month! Crazy digital essay on Kafka's Wound! http://t.co/oYAhLdop
Kafka’s Wound http://t.co/Se6HyIvJ via @LRB life unwound!!
Damn you @wself - had my friday morning planned out til I lost an hour in your magnificent
digital Kafka - brilliant thanks.
Aaron Meek this is great, one of the best realised 'digital' essays i've seen. would love to
see more like this in the future.
Now this is how you publish an essay on the Internet. 'Kafka’s
Wound' http://t.co/Z4DQ60NN (via @LRB)
@LRB gets very tech fancy pants "Kafka’s Wound: A Digital Literary Essay" by Will
Self http://t.co/DqcFrT2S #helpme
Simply brilliant - and a model for the future scholarly edition, as well as essay RT @LRB Will
Self's 'Kafka's Wound':http://t.co/BCGDqEd4”
How do you make digital essays look amazing? Like this: Kafka’s Wound by Will
Self. http://t.co/WOC0K5TQ via @LRB
nice & neat experience RT @LRB Now live: 'Kafka's Wound', Will Self's
digital essay:http://t.co/0d8kkVG3 @thespacearts

10. - 9 -
Maybe I'm hopelessly behind, but I've not seen this presentation before in a "digital essay."
Very interesting. http://t.co/S0GGuISE
worth a look - kafka's wound - an experimental "digital essay" by @wself on
@lrbhttp://t.co/7vvib2ZJ
"A different kind of literary essay" Will Self's amazing @LRB essay project, ‘Kafka’s Wound’
is now online http://t.co/6yiunRMv
VERY cool 'digital essay' from @LRB http://t.co/VvL3h0jo
Negative:
I love Will Self, but this has to be the most pretentious thing ever http://t.co/K24ku6XA
Will Self's digital essay from the LRB. Interesting or slightly confused
folly? http://t.co/RdqNXC3X
I'd like to see a non-linear digital essay made of text blocks and additions that re-arrange
themselves when being read. @exislemoll @wself
A true digital essay would take into consideration the way people read online. @wself 's
linear text was written to be printed, not explored

11. - 10 -
Appendix B
Google Analytics reports for the ‘Writer’s Blog’
from 1st
May 2012 to 8th
August 2012

12. - 11 -

13. - 12 -
Appendix C
Google Analytics reports for ‘Kafka’s Wound’
from 9th
August 2012 to 8th
August 2013

14. - 13 -

15. - 14 -

16. - 15 -