This is a few days old, but if you haven’t seen it you really should spend a few minutes with it. The Guardian has created a “People’s History of the Internet,” and it’s a very cool project. Some of the fun facts: the first bulletin board system was developed during a Chicago blizzard in 1978; Usenet started in 1979 (and retains its homegrown charm); the first Webcam was set up to monitor a coffee pot at Cambridge University; etc.
What’s more interesting, however, is how the newspaper sourced its project. They asked ordinary readers to tell them what they found important about the Internet, and then supplemented it with interviews and video features with key people. So while an ordinary Guardian reader might think that Dave Hughes is important, the Guardian itself has the resources to track him down and interview him.
It’s something cool to think about when we consider the confluence of crowdsourced media, such as wikis, and contrast it with our desire to be accurate. This is a nice compromise — we let people tell us what’s important and then we flesh it out.
Anyhow, take a glance at the finished project. It’s worth the time.
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