Digital ghost towns
As I was searching for podcasts this week, I kept running into blogs and podcasts that haven’t received updates in quite a while and in some cases nearly a decade. So I was wondering, what can be done with all those digital ghost towns and the dead-end dried up data buried there. What kinds of digital detour signs exist to guide information seekers away from all the abandoned bulletin boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, social pages, and all the haunted shadow links that lead us there in the first place? Granted some off the information may be a bit timeless and relevant, like a good song perhaps but most contain information that has been superseded many times over.
For a potential solution, consider a graveyard and the tombstone. What if our digital data contained a date of birth and expiration? While searching, I noticed a few results that included a last post date but the majority of didn’t include this helpful information. I think it would be a very simple process to include these dates or other types of metadata into the process of creating and organizing content on the Internet. Then when the information is set to expire, the content creator could choose to extend the data life or categorize and archive the information. In each case, search and connected links could be updated to reflect the changes.
Interesting ideas. I know that there have been websites like Ourmedia.org that were originally set up to capture all kinds of media so that it wouldn't disappear off of the net. I don't think that there is just one answer. Interesting observations.
ReplyDeleteHi Billy-
ReplyDeleteI love your idea. I think it is especially important for our students so they can know if the information they find is current. On the flip side of course, is good, solid information that doesn't need to be updated. I certainly have never thought of this before and I think you're correct!
Robin