Discussing the temporary nature of the internet, one journalist described the platform as “more like an Etch-a-Sketch than a stone engraving.”
I know from personal experience in my journalism career how online articles can disappear into the void. But the same goes for other online media. That includes people’s personal photos, music lists and blog posts.
I haven’t checked Tech-media-tainment lately for dead weblinks, but I’m sure there are a lot of articles I’ve cited that are no longer available.
Twitter created the “ultimate case of link rot” when it banned President Donald Trump from its platform in January. Regardless of how you feel about Trump, that’s erasing history.
What follows are some good articles about the ephemeral nature of the internet. Most are downbeat, but the Internet Archive provides some sunshine.
The Internet Is Rotting (The Atlantic; June 30, 2021)
The Old Internet Died And We Watched And Did Nothing (BuzzFeed; Dec. 28, 2019)
Preserving work in a time of vanishing archives (Columbia Journalism Review; Nov. 5, 2019)
Trump’s ban from Twitter creates the ultimate case of link rot in posts across the internet (The Verge; Jan. 9, 2021)
A Conversation About Video Game Preservation In The Gaming Industry Is Long, Long Overdue (Techdirt; June 2, 2021)
Torching the Modern-Day Library of Alexandria (The Atlantic; April 20, 2017)
Thanks to the Internet Archive, the history of American newspapers is more searchable than ever (NiemanLab; Feb. 2, 2021)
Photo: “Internet” by HD of St. Gallen, Switzerland via Creative Commons.
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