Introduction
Personal digital archiving refers to the process of managing and preserving digital materials, such as documents, photos, videos, and audio recordings, for long-term use and access. The digital dark age refers to the risk of losing digital information due to technological obsolescence, decay, and other factors. Personal digital archiving can help individuals prevent data loss and preserve their personal digital heritage for future generations. This includes creating backups, organizing files, using appropriate file formats, and migrating content to newer technologies. By managing their own digital archives, individuals can help ensure that their digital materials remain accessible and usable over time, even as technology and software evolve.
The loss of personal data, such as photos of loved ones and other important information, can have a significant emotional impact on individuals. These types of data are often irreplaceable and represent significant memories and moments in a person's life. Losing this data can feel like losing a part of oneself, and it can cause feelings of sadness, frustration, and even anger. In some cases, it can also lead to a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability, as people may feel that their personal information has been taken from them without their consent. The emotional impact of data loss can be particularly acute in the context of the digital dark age, where there is a sense of uncertainty about the future of digital data and how it will be preserved for future generations.
Jason Scott Video
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We have never met Jason Scott in person, however we find his uploads on the Internet Archive to be the most interesting. Jason's black hat is his trade mark and wears it with pride. Jason Scott talks about the need for protecting your personal data from data loss and avoiding your own digital dark ages.
I'm going to talk about Digital Heritage. My cat has 1.5 million followers on twitter. But maybe Jason is best well known for supporting the Internet Archive. It is the Internet Archive that is hosting the Personal Digital Archiving Conference.
Jason is a collector. And he was a collector before he knew he was a collector. But it isn't enough to collect print outs and floppies. There is the need to share everything that has been collected. Share with everybody. Jason started textfiles.com
Jason receives old stuff "in danger" of data loss. Usually home computers. I'm not really pretty about it but I will save it. The danger of deletion, the danger of losing data. What has happened in the last decade or so is that a lot of data is in danger of being lost. A lot of data has been deleted in epidemic proportions. People assume that the loss of data is the price of using computers. Data loss has become no big thing except for the occasional headline received by a shrug.
Jason's ah-ha moment came with the shutdown of a site called AOL hometown. It was in operation for ten years and then with 2 months' notice it was shut down and gone forever. Gone, real gone, as in gone gone. This was incredible data loss. This is how archive team started. Much of this data has been preserved on the Internet Archive.
This seemed to going well until it was announced that Geocities was going down.
Geocities, wow! But what was lost was a personal data gem that started around 1995. For hundreds of thousands of people it was their first experience with owning a full color, bells and whistles, web page.
All this information can fit on basically a pack of cards to save, but there was no desire to save.
A year went by since Geocities went down. Jason actually put geocities on pirate bay using Bit Torrent. It turns out to be 640GB. Amazing for something pre-2000. This is to be one of the top-3 seedings on the Pirate Bay. Attitudes change. However, this is just one example of personal data that is being lost to the digital dark ages. Another example of many more includes Shoebox shutting down, holding personal data, pictures, videos. And do not forget the user generated metadata that goes with it.
How much data do we create?
Every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. That’s something like five exabytes of data.
Quote by Eric Schmidt (2010), from The Tech Crunch (wayback).
Is everything available on the Internet?
Is all data available on the internet? No, not all data is available on the internet. While the internet is vast and contains an immense amount of information, there are still many gaps and limitations to what is accessible. Some information may be behind paywalls or only accessible through specialized databases, while other data may simply not have been digitized or made available online. Additionally, some data may have been lost due to technical errors or deliberate attempts at censorship or removal.
Personal data loss
If you have every experienced embrace, extend, extinguish; Our current process is disenfranchise, demean, delete. If your Twitter goes down, who do you call? Demean, if a site falls out of favor then act like it is a getto - like it is not worth consideration. The you give a random amount of warning. Sometimes one gets 48 hours to download all of their podcasts. Boom data loss and the preventable fall into the digital dark ages.
And to think that Jason is archiving every URL shortener, because he believes that URL shorteners are a bad idea. These are probably the worst idea "we" have had in the last decade. And the Internet Archive is looking to preserve as much data as possible to avoid the period falling into the digital dark ages.
The loss of personal data can be emotionally devastating for many people. Personal data often includes photos of loved ones, cherished memories, and important documents that are difficult or impossible to replace. Losing this data can feel like losing a part of oneself, and the emotional impact can be significant. People may experience a sense of grief, anger, frustration, or even helplessness when they lose their personal data. It is important for individuals and organizations to take steps to protect their personal data through regular backups, secure storage, and digital preservation efforts. Otherwise, valuable personal and cultural heritage could be lost forever, contributing to the digital dark ages.
Managing your risks
Personal digital archiving is a critical process for anyone who wants to protect their digital data and avoid falling into the digital dark age. Personal digital archiving can help mitigate several key risks, including:
- Data loss: Personal digital archiving can help prevent the loss of important digital data, such as photos, documents, and other personal information. By making regular backups and storing them in secure locations, individuals can ensure that their data is protected in case of device failure or other issues.
- Technological obsolescence: As technology advances and formats change, older digital files can become inaccessible or difficult to open. Personal digital archiving can help mitigate this risk by converting older file formats to newer ones or by keeping older hardware and software on hand to access older files.
- Cybersecurity threats: Personal digital archiving can also help protect against cybersecurity threats, such as hacking and identity theft. By using strong passwords, keeping software and antivirus programs up-to-date, and being cautious when clicking on links or downloading files, individuals can help safeguard their digital data.
