tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194531320234584086.post2762183872056916100..comments2016-09-30T05:46:03.699-07:00Comments on The Splendid Vagabond: TwitterFlynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03913278710329312282noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194531320234584086.post-21515930022905408262010-06-15T21:50:53.106-07:002010-06-15T21:50:53.106-07:00I hadn't heard about the twitter archive, but ...I hadn't heard about the twitter archive, but it makes sense.<br /><br /> I guess I started getting interested in media as a history student. You read that Beowulf came down to us through a single unique codex, and you start wondering about things like the shelf life of a DVD, or what we'll leave behind (besides lots and lots of plastic bags). <br /><br />There's a tremendous drop-off in primary sources that comes with the adoption of the telephone, though McLuhan notes that there was a great rise in memoranda, since the boss could call anyone up and demand that they "write me a memo on that." <br /><br />In Ian Kershaw's book on Hitler, he talks about the dysfunctional organizational structure in Nazi Germany; apparently thanks to the telephone, Hitler could completely bypass the normal flow of instructions down the chain of command, and issue instructions that were impossible to complete, but also (since they came from der Fuhrer) impossible to disobey.Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03913278710329312282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194531320234584086.post-30161377529927192052010-06-15T12:35:25.519-07:002010-06-15T12:35:25.519-07:00These are interesting thoughts. As you know, I had...These are interesting thoughts. As you know, I had to get Twitter due to my work; Since using it, I have become convinced of its utility in certain areas. <br /><br />Also, you might be interested to know (or perhaps you already knew) that the Library of Congress is seeking to preserve the entire Twitter archive. <br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050505309_pf.html<br /><br />The thing that I find the most interesting is the amazing utility of Twitter to future historians --particularly to make more accessible the lives of "ordinary people during ordinary times" (in the words of historian H.W. Brands).B. Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12538106709446592179noreply@blogger.com