Looking Ahead…

NPR: Will Future Historians Consider These Days The Digital Dark Ages?

Author Eric Weiner claims that the information revolution we are experiencing now may look very different in the future if we fail to take important steps to preserve data. In fact, one day we may look back to see a gap or void that is explained by Weiner as a Digital Dark Ages. In fact, a lack of insight and preparation now may lead to the loss of valuable cultural artifacts. Information may become inaccessible and uninterpretable because our machines and media will become obsolete.  This has already begun to happen. Yet, rather than this being identified as a technical problem, it might be viewed as an institutional problem. Therefore, the emphasis now must be on digital preservation.  By saving snapshots of our digital media now, we can create a time capsule with “slices of our quotidian lives” as well as important digital artifacts (See the Wayback Machine).