Upon reading “History in the Age of Abundance?: How the Web is Transforming Historical Research” by Ian Milligan, it has crossed my mind that maybe I should begin to preserve, and essentially “file,” my own life’s documentation. Not necessarily for the same reasons presented by Milligan, but for the pure reason that I have the availability of compiling essentially everything in my life into some form of digital documentation. Which I know is something that I would readily enjoy looking back on through the years.
I haven’t always been one to post much of my personal life on social media platforms; I don’t even take pictures of the memorable moments to begin with, nor do I actively keep a journal of any form. The closest I would come to obtaining documentation of my life, and it’s events, would be through pictures other people have taken and my text conversations.
Now, I’m considering taking the time to document what I can remember throughout my life and create a sort of digital life album. Adding as I go along, remembering, placing them loosely where I believe the pieces: photos, memories, and miscellaneous artifacts of my life, fit into one master location that exists digitally.
I believe a system that aids in not only inspiring people to want to document their lives, but to also archive it, could help to revolutionize how users interact with their digital environment. Hopefully reaching a point where archiving our lives is part of our curriculum and we’re taught how to have folders of documentation; the things we are comfortable sharing in the current moment and the things that are kept for review at a later date. I break it down into two folders because I know personally, when looking back, there are things that I wouldn’t have been comfortable publicly sharing but looking back, I would be comfortable with that information being known in present day. I believe that could be an interesting route that would leave individuals to be curious about the concept of archiving their own lives.
Scrapbooking had been a concept I was raised watching my mother enjoy and put time into. Growing up in a digital environment made it difficult for me to find ways to merge the physical and digital; so I just flat out didn’t. However, if someone had handed me a disposable camera and said “take as many pictures and documentation of events as you like, and I will hold them until you’re ready to decide,” I honestly would have documented far more of my life. As of 2021, everyone has the option to document as much of their lives as they choose.
The digital documentation system would be similar to the concept of iCloud, however, it would be more geared towards something that is purely meant to look back on; not something that you would need to interact with or have daily access to.
