October 16th 2024 - Can Blockchain Rescue History?

The preservation of our digital history faces unprecedented challenges, particularly as the landscape of the internet evolves. One of the pressing issues is the reliability of blogging platforms. Many individuals, including myself, have found that posting old content on more stable systems, such as the Hive Blockchain, is essential. This is not merely a matter of nostalgia; it is a necessity driven by the frequent occurrence of “404” errors on various platforms where content once thrived for over two decades. The loss of accessible material hampers research and reference efforts, highlighting the fragility of digital content in an era where permanence was once assumed.

The situation has worsened significantly in recent years. A study analysing links in New York Times articles from 1996 onwards revealed that approximately 50% of those links are now dead. This statistic starkly contrasts the earlier belief that anything posted online would endure indefinitely. The reality is that we are losing vast swathes of our digital heritage at an alarming rate, with recent research indicating that 25% of web pages created between 2013 and 2023 have already vanished. This trend underscores an urgent need for reliable archiving solutions.

At the forefront of these efforts is the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organisation founded in 1996 with the mission to provide universal access to knowledge by preserving digital content. However, this vital institution has recently come under threat from a series of copyright lawsuits and a DDoS attack purportedly linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. These developments have rendered the Internet Archive intermittently inaccessible, raising concerns about its ability to fulfil its mission at a time when it is needed most.

The current crisis echoes historical patterns of information loss throughout human history. The destruction of the Library of Alexandria serves as a poignant reminder of how cultural knowledge can be obliterated through disasters or neglect. Furthermore, it is estimated that 90% of silent films and around 50% of sound films produced in the early decades of cinema have been lost forever. Even iconic television broadcasts have succumbed to loss due to practices like “wiping,” where valuable tapes were reused for new recordings.

Despite these challenges, there is hope on the horizon due to advancements in blockchain technology. This technology offers a potential solution to preserve digital content in a manner resistant to centralisation and censorship. By leveraging blockchain’s inherent properties, we might establish a more reliable method for safeguarding our digital heritage, akin to how medieval monasteries preserved ancient manuscripts. This could ensure that both the positive and negative aspects of our online culture are documented for future generations.

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