Move over, Declaration of Independence. The Internet and mainstream media are buzzing about a very special digital collection heading to a prestigious American institution.
The U.S. Library of Congress will be archiving web messages from the popular social networking service, Twitter. On April 14, 2010, the Library announced the news via a tweet message! Short web messages of up to 140 characters, called tweets, will be cataloged since Twitter began on March 21, 2006. Twitter is donating its digital archive to the Library for preservation and research purposes. Public tweets will be used only for non-commercial use after a six-month delay.
Twitter Tweets
Since its inception, Twitter has become an important communication tool. With over 100 million registered users and growing, the social networking site processes about 55 million tweets every day. Now, that’s a lot of tweets!
While some may think this particular collection is frivolous or is an invasion of privacy, others believe the cataloging of short web messages actually provides a glimpse into modern-day life, various social trends and technological advances over the years. Newsworthy, global, historical and catastrophic events have been tweeted about since the social networking service began.
First-hand accounts of earthquakes, floods and volcanoes as well as historical events like elections and revolutions, will now be cataloged. Even Barack Obama’s tweet about winning the U.S. Presidential election will now be part of history.
Google's Tweet Archive
Google is also tapping into the digital age of tweets too. The search engine giant is offering a feature that helps users search the public archive of tweets. To begin, enter a search word or phrase. On the search engine’s search results page, select the “Show options” link at the top of the page. On the left side of the page, click the “Updates” link.
Search results in the familiar short-form results will be displayed. A new timeline chart, located at the top of the results page, allows users to select a specific time period, from a year to a minute, to read the tweets. The chart also shows Twitter activity about the particular topic. A “replay” feature will be launched in the coming days.
U.S. Library of Congress
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and the oldest federal cultural institution in America. Besides newspapers, documents, maps, photographs, books, the Gutenberg Bible and the draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Library also has been collecting web-based information including congressional and presidential campaign websites since 2000.
The digital archive provides an opportunity to take a peek into today’s society, modern-day commentary, momentous and every-day events that will one day be part of history. For more information on the Twitter phenomenon, please visit Twitter 101 - Top Tweet Tips for Beginners and Texting and Twitter Campaigns Help Haiti.
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway - +JaceShoemaker-Galloway is more than passionate about online safety awareness. She has devoted and dedicated over five years to Internet ...
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