Why Archiving Tweets for Posterity Is a Wise Move

Historians might love to know what you ate for breakfast
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2010 12:42 PM CDT
Why Archiving Tweets for Posterity Is a Wise Move
Prolific tweeter Ashton Kutcher will be part of the Library of Congress soon.   (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Lots of people are snickering over the Library of Congress' decision to archive everything tweeted on Twitter, but Christopher Beam doesn't think it's "especially crazy." It will provide historians with a treasure trove of the mundane, giving them insights into how ordinary people lived and thought that would be unavailable otherwise. Roll your eyes all you want at your buddy's tweet about breakfast, but a food researcher will think it utterly fascinating.

Or look at the study of adolescents, Beam writes at Slate. "There's little real-world data about how kids interact with each other. Blogs, tweets, and Facebook updates offer glimpses into the lives of children on a scale that no randomized study could re-create." The volume will be a pain to sift through, but that's what historians do. (More Library of Congress stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X