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The Unintended Consequences of Digitization
The web is many things-a shopping platform, a gaming network, a research tool, a communication and information nexus, a social media megaphone, a driver of innovation, a data generator, and much more. One thing it's not is permanent. The web is always in beta; nothing stays the same for very long. Content on the web is not static, not fixed; it is ephemeral and unstable. In fact, content posted to the web decays quite rapidly and is lost.
The average life span of a webpage is about 100 days, according to Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, as quoted by Rick Weiss in a 2003 Washington Post story. In the article, Kahle notes, "This is no way to run a culture" ("On the Web, Research Work Proves Ephemeral"; washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/11/24/on-theweb-research-work-proves-ephemeral/959c882f-9ad0-4b 36-88cd-fb7411db118d/?utm_term=.ec062fa96f94). Vint Cerf, chief innovation officer for Google, tells Jill Lepore, in a Jan. 26, 2015, article published in The New Yorker. "I worry that the twenty-first century will become an informational black hole" ("Can the Internet Be Archived?"; newyorker.com/magazine/ 2015/01/26/cobweb). The myth is that content posted to the internet remains on the internet forever. Not true.
RISE OF DIGITIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY
Digitization made the web possible. The benefits of digitization have been many and significant. We now have new types of content available-video, audio, images, spreadsheets, film, datasets, databases, recordings-that enrich our understanding of the communities of yesterday and the important, messy, thrilling, tragic events of today. Digitization allows us to capture today's moments and share them with communities around the world in the blink of an eye.
A second benefit: We have instant or almost instantaneous access to content scattered around the world that was previously hidden away from public accessibility. No need to travel to an archive, a museum, library, or records office-you can now access this material from your office, favorite coffee shop, or even the beach. Third, everyone is a publisher. Posting content-blog or Facebook posts, tweets, newsletters, podcasts, movies and music, photos, reviews, fan fiction, journal articles, websites-has never been easier. We have a wide range of tools and platforms that enable the creation of this new content via blogging, music, and video software. Publishing platforms include YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,...
