WTF?

[unixronin]

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard:  The Library of Congress has just added a digital archive of the entirety of public traffic on Twitter since its founding four years ago.

WTF FOR?!?

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I agree with otherbill that it is probably not terribly space-intensive. Additionally, it will document a potentially culture-changing shift in communications, which will be fodder for countless dissertations in a few decades.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

It's a shift in communications, sure. I strongly question whether it's a good one. I think Twitter would only have been possible in this age of ADD and sound-bites.

At least with all the traffic there in the archive, with any luck there is some kind of vague semblance of context.

[databeast.livejournal.com]

a good percentage of the ancient writings we value for their insight into history, are hardly what would be considered 'valuable' at the time.

hell, a great percentage of our knowledge of ancient cultures, comes from linguistic remnants 5000 year old street graffiti.

Understanding a culture is rarely something achieved through the narrow lens of academic record and official records, sometimes you must go to the people.

Today? worthless

Ten centuries from today? (yeah, I know, I know) future academics would probably be clawing each other's eyes out to get their hands on this.