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The internet is an amazing tool, but it has fostered a false sense of safety when it comes to the permanence and availability of information. So even though we have the most access to knowledge than at any point in human history, the practice of archiving and documenting the 21st century outside of social media and other digital spaces is practically non-existent. Pair this with constant technological advancements + an ever-growing collection of obsolete hardware and software from over the past 30-50 years and we've got a digital dark age in our hands.
Don't get me wrong, the comfort provided by being able to instantly back things up to the cloud or access any movie/song you want via streaming services is an immense privilege. At the end of the day, however, that very comfort still comes with future costs.
When everything is always "available" online, the inherent need to preserve has been all but rendered useless.
That is, until it isn't.
A simple server crash at a place like Instagram/Meta or even Google could lead to huge data losses, not just for the companies themselves, but for the very people who rely on their services to preserve personal memories and artworks they've created. This isn't a hypothetical, it already happened with MySpace in 2019.
Look, this rec isn't here to shame you into becoming a luddite or bully you into unsubscribing from all your streaming service subscriptions, it's here to serve as a reminder of the importance of documenting your life and the world around you without a dependency on the very digital platforms that have communicated reliability to its customers by building a mirage of permanence with their services. Nothing is permanent. Not even the internet.
We are all mini historians with the stories and experiences we collect and share about our lives. More importantly, you are your own unique personal library. So buy physical media, photograph your memories/commit them to paper, then digitize and make copies of them and save them in multiple hard drives. A subscription or data breach should not limit you from being able to document and look back on precious moments of your life.
Like the people before us, we are part of a larger tapestry that also merits to be acknowledged and understood, but none of that will be possible if we don't make efforts to document it (yes, I'm also talking about all the weird memes and layered internet lore that would likely give someone from the 1800s an aneurism– that shit's important too).
All in all, you don't have to be Einstein, Mozart or even Shakespeare for your history to matter. You are human and deserve to be remembered. Leave your mark.
Sincerely,
verygoodvalentina
Nov 1, 2024
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been thinking a bit about the impermanence of the internet a bit lately. about how saddened i felt when i found out wear your voice’s website shut down and i couldn’t access a really foundational piece for me anymore, and how happy i was when i found out there was an archive. digital media’s always hanging on a ledge, and i’ve gotten so used to feeling like it’s not.
i would’ve thought going as far as to print out a piece that you like would be “too much,” but i mean if you really love it... what’s wrong with expressing that somehow?
Feb 24, 2024
I wrote this piece last year comprised of different texts that I found at various points and have been sitting on for I don’t know how long. 5-10 years, maybe. I’m really happy with it so I wanted to share it here with the recommendation to always keep this special mysterious stuff you find stored somewhere. Rip it from YouTube and dump it into G Drive, copy paste it into Notes, create a desktop folder of loose miscellaneous material, record a voice memo, or at very least WhatsApp a link to a friend so there’s a record of it. I know that if I react to something then I will invariably at some point be struck by the memory of reacting to it and will be furious at myself if I can’t find it again. It is always satisfying when you eventually figure out a purpose for whatever it is, otherwise you will enjoy the enigmatic frustration of it until you die. Win win.
Feb 22, 2024
Top Recs from @verygoodvalentina
I adore finding a random video from like 2005 and reading through the comments the way a historian would examine an old manuscript from the 1700s. Are these people still active YouTube users? Or are they forgotten accounts? What did @jjlwis mean by "awww im gonna miss rob too!!!" ? Who even is Rob?? Anthropology in the digital age... so many questions... it's fascinating.
The important thing for me is not to add new comments. I feel like I'm disturbing an old archeological dig site and my sticky modern commentary will make the video crumble away into oblivion. More importantly, I don't want the algorithm to suggest the video to a bunch of people who will spam the comments section– major yuck 🤢
Jan 25, 2024
early 80s to early 2000s truck models are the perfect sizes imo. current trucks are transformer-sized behemoths that could easily crush normal vehicles into smithereens upon impact and i legit don’t know how those things are even street-legal. also, idk if it’s their design, reliability or the nostalgia factor per-se, but there’s a certain sazón those older trucks have that newer ones don’t.
2024 Ford F-150? 🤮🤢
1980 Ford F-150? 🫦🫦
Feb 9, 2025
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with social media being this pervasive entity that has weeded its way into our daily routines for the past 20ish years (plus a global pandemic that really solidified those habits), many young adults today have spent a large amount of their lives living online. it has become the new norm and i’m not gonna pretend i’m above any of this because it’s so easy to fall into it (i am literally writing this rec on my phone whilst it’s a perfectly sunny day that i should probably go out to enjoy).
with that being said, in the larger scheme of life, being in your 20s is still in a weird way the beginning stages of your life. it’s a period to try new things, make mistakes, learn from them and develop an identity that’s independent from the environment and people who raised you. though you can learn to do some of those things online, they don’t hold a candle to actually experiencing those things for yourself in real life.
all in all, the best way to not sleep thru your 20s is to prioritize in-person experiences that allow you to get a better understanding of yourself and your values. whether that be getting your first tattoo, moving to a new city or country, exploring your personal style or taking up hobbies you couldn’t or would‘ve never done as a kid, this is an important formative time to venture out and get a sense of who you truly are.
Sep 30, 2024