An Historian's Pleasure
It's difficult being an historian in the 21st century. Everyone is looking forward - no one really cares about looking back. That worries me, especially because history is especially relevant at this point in our history, what with all our cross-cultural squabbles. Knowing each other's histories goes a long way to understanding each other in the here and now.
I was especially upset about the Internet. I have done a few websites in my day and my concern was always that when they are updated, the original website is lost. As a packrat and as someone who know the value of a good archive, I felt an unease about this.
Well, someone else must have felt my malaise too. To my delight, I found a website called the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org). Although it sounds like a good Ray Bradbury short story, it's actually an Internet archive system. If you want to see the evolution of a website, just punch in the URL and you are literally transported back in time. Great for websites that are now defunct, or to track updates on popular (or not so popular) websites.
I'm just delighted that the Internet gurus at least have seen the worth in tracking its historical development.
Think of all the theses 50 years down the road that will be possible using this type of source. Having a Masters or PhD in Internet History may seem ludicrous now, but mark my words - one day it will seem just as normal as having a PhD in medieval Spanish women's history.
Um, er, never mind...
I was especially upset about the Internet. I have done a few websites in my day and my concern was always that when they are updated, the original website is lost. As a packrat and as someone who know the value of a good archive, I felt an unease about this.
Well, someone else must have felt my malaise too. To my delight, I found a website called the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org). Although it sounds like a good Ray Bradbury short story, it's actually an Internet archive system. If you want to see the evolution of a website, just punch in the URL and you are literally transported back in time. Great for websites that are now defunct, or to track updates on popular (or not so popular) websites.
I'm just delighted that the Internet gurus at least have seen the worth in tracking its historical development.
Think of all the theses 50 years down the road that will be possible using this type of source. Having a Masters or PhD in Internet History may seem ludicrous now, but mark my words - one day it will seem just as normal as having a PhD in medieval Spanish women's history.
Um, er, never mind...
Comments
;-)