Growing up, I was told that "the internet never forgets". You've probably heard this saying, too. It's good practice to think twice about what you're putting online - what if something it's something too embarrassing, or too personal, that could be used against you...? But, despite these sorts of fears, the truth is: the internet actually does forget.

The internet only remembers if someone out there is making the effort to preserve it. We imagine the internet to be this grand, powerful thing (and it is, for the most part!) but it's actually a constantly shifting, liminal entity. Think back for a second:

Can you remember what the first website you ever visited was...? What was your favorite forum as a teenager? The first Youtube video you ever watched?

Now, are all of those things still online today...? If you're as old as me, the answer is probably not. Sites lose popularity and get replaced with the next best thing, domains expire, and videos get taken down by copyright strikes...The list of what can change the internet is endless.

The lesson here is to understand that nothing you find on the internet is permanent, and if you truly want to keep the memory of a digital experience alive, you have to preserve it somehow.

This is where the concept of
Digital Archiving
comes in!

Digital Archiving is the act of saving content in a digital format for future use and/or preservation. This can come in many different forms, as there are many different kinds of media out there! This shrine will explore the concept of archiving and preserving the internet, how to go about beginning your own archive, and my own personal experiences with data "hoarding".

PLEASE NOTE: I'm a complete novice when it comes to data hoarding and archiving, and there's still much for me to learn about storage drives and all that...so please don't take my words as gospel! I'm just here to inspire!