I was intrigued by the possibilities that opened up in my mind as a result of reading this story: Captains’ logs yield climate clues: Records kept by Nelson and Cook are shedding light on climate change.
Diaries and journals, both amateur as well as professional, have always been a rich source of historical information.
As we move further into the digital age, the information in such diaries and journals is slowly becoming richer and richer. Meta-information is becoming easier to collect and to embed. Dates and times, places and people, environmental factors of every type.
Thirty years ago, when film was primarily analogue, all we had was frame numberings. Then we had auto date and time, followed by some crude tagging ability. Now, in the digital film world, everything is auto dated and timed and geolocated; everything is easily tagged, and in community as well, with folksonomy.
The same is happening with voice. With sound.
The same is happening with text.
And as a result, the social objects that connect us in conversation are themselves getting enriched and embedded in similar ways: commentaries and reviews, photographs and videos, sights and sounds.
Just musing. Something I’ve been working on for a few years now, yet something where I received a fresh insight by reading that story. So I thought I’d share it. And await comments.