Digital History (and cats).

Case Study: Flickr and the Rapid Change of Digital Media

Flickr is used by many people to upload their pictures so that they can share them with people throughout the world. In addition, the site includes a part called “The Commons” where users can tag photographs from different collections like the Library of Congress and the National Media Museum. Another portion of the site is the “Creative Commons” where images are open to use to the public, although some limitations do apply to certain pictures. Flickr provides a good example of “born digital” material. Many of the images uploaded by users probably are never produced in a physical form, but directly moved from the digital camera memory card to the computer.

It seems that one issue with born digital materials and internet archives is longevity because nothing exists in a physical form. Why are some people more hesitant to embrace digital research and works while others view it as a way to improve and democratize scholarship? Are they afraid of change? Or, is it the quickness of the change that is so alarming to some? For example, in Digital History, Dan Cohen and Roy Rosenzweig provide different methods and advice for those interesting in undertaking digital research and scholarship. The book was published in 2006. Many of the examples they use of programs, like software editor or sites, such as Livejournal are out of date. Sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are extremely popular at the moment. Within four years, many of the authors examples are outdated. How does this rapid change influence people’s ideas and views towards digital research and scholarship?

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