Thoughts on preservation

It was an interesting discussion that we had last class on digital preservation and aspects of permanence and privacy. It brought an interesting thought to mind: how do we begin to train people, especially younger ones, how to use the internet and its preservatory powers responsibly and carefully? I actually had an interesting dicussion with a co-worker on this issue, as her 14 year old daughter was posting some somewhat questionable photos on the internet and she came across them. It was a tough discussion that ensued for she and her daughter, but interesting nevertheless. We don’t all have ambitions to run for political office, but it is important to understand that what is online is preserved for a certain amount of time and is relatively retrievable. More and more, employers are using the internet to find information about potential and already employed job prospects that they might not be able to ask you in an interview. The accesability of the digital age makes some thoughts less private than had they been written on paper and passed to another person. It is important that we educate ourselves and others in being responsible for what you publish online.

More thoughts on my site

I’m still trying to wrestle with how I want the site to look and who it’s to be aimed at, but I think I’m narrowing it down. I’m probably going to be using the omeka technology as what I essentially want to have is an online gallery. I thank everyone for their comments on the aesthetic ideas that I’ve had, and everyone seems to agree that the font could reflect modernism to a degree, as long as the rest of the site was rather minimalist. I am following through on the original idea that I would like the site to be feature a neutral color pallete, as the colors of the buildings themselves are quite bold, and I would like a strong contrast.

As for audience, I want it to be geared mostly to architecture and modernist enthusiasts or students. I want the site to provide lots of information regarding the particular buildings and the architects, and I am thinking that I will in fact limit the scope to the most prominent and interesting buildings and architects, trying to keep the number of arch. to atound 5 or 6, and buildings around 50. I also do want to provide a map function, so someone interested could potentially map out a route or find a particular building that they were looking for. Google maps features might be useful for this (thanks Mike). Professor Cohen noted that a more casual visitor would be more likely to use a book or something other than the web site, and that makes sense. So, I would like to gear it more towards the historically interested audience by providing as much information as I possibly can about the history of the movement, the buildings, and the architects as well.