Quiver & Quill

One way social anthropologists study ancient civilizations is by examining their trash. What will future scholars say about us? Everything’s preserved and searchable. If they want to know when trends began, how they started or proliferated, they will have an immense ability to do so.

With the emergence of consumer generated media – podcasts, video sharing and blogging for example – we not only have a record of macro-trends, we also have millions of personal narratives. More than ever before, we can understand how personal voices shape history. The new tagging and searching technologies use to sort new content, are equally valuable resources for understanding our shared culture and history. I wonder if Google will make money by monetizing the past the same way the do with present online content?

If you haven’t already visited, check out: the way back machine. You’ll have access to over 40MM web pages; it’s the history of the internet online.

Photo by Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaun_morrison/23664600/

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