AIT Forum on the Histories of the Internet: Call for Papers Archives of IT (AIT) is organising a one-day academic-practitioner forum on the Histories of the Internet in January 2024. The forum is designed to: foster more critical, multidisciplinary perspectives on the history of computers, telecommunications, the internet, and related digital media; illuminate how people, … Continue reading A London Forum on Histories of the Internet
History
Oral Histories of your Family
Oral Histories of your Family: Questions I Failed to Ask With age, I’ve become more aware of the questions I should have asked my parents and grandparents. Like many others, I was interested in my family’s history. For example, I have long treasured my “Aunt Ann’s” family bible with key dates and events recorded in … Continue reading Oral Histories of your Family
New Histories of Information and Media Technologies
New Historical Perspectives on Media and Information Technologies? For decades, students of media, communication, and internet studies have been so focused on the future that the past is too often ignored. Is there a rising interest in the history of media and information technologies and policies? Might more attention to the past hold promise for … Continue reading New Histories of Information and Media Technologies
History Lessons: 250 Years of the IT Industry in Britain
Question Time Panel at 'Learning from History', BCS, 17 February 2022 The Archives of IT (AIT) held a two-hour seminar on 17 February 2022 in collaboration with the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Computer Conservation Society (CCS). It was entitled ‘Learning from History: Reflections on the past and future of the British IT Industry’. … Continue reading History Lessons: 250 Years of the IT Industry in Britain
Could History be the New, New Thing? Archiving
Could History be the New, New Thing: Archiving Could it be that the digerati are beginning to wonder about the origins of such ‘innovations’ as video communication, AI, remote work, and more? Are they discovering that all these innovations have a long history in the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs)? These questions arose … Continue reading Could History be the New, New Thing? Archiving
Self-Preservation of Your Work
Self-Preservation of Your Work For decades I have been concerned over the fragility of information and whether ephemerality or the transitory nature of information and communication is just an inevitable feature of the digital age. I therefore frequently look back at a talk I gave on the Internet to a conference of historians held in … Continue reading Self-Preservation of Your Work
Who Named MSU Spartans? Stephen George Scofes
Mystery Solved: The Spartan Who Named Michigan State University’s Spartans: Stephen George Scofes After the second world war, Stephen George Scofes ran a restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, called ‘The Famous Grill’, where he became friends with coaches and athletes at Michigan State University. He came up with the nickname for MSU – the Spartans. Here is … Continue reading Who Named MSU Spartans? Stephen George Scofes
Joining Editorial Board of Internet Histories
Delighted to be joining the editorial board of an exciting new journal, Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture & Society. You may have seen a special issue of Information & Culture that I helped edit and contributed to: Guest Editor: Haigh, T., Russell, A. and Dutton, W. H. (2015) (eds), ‘Histories of the Internet’, special issue for the … Continue reading Joining Editorial Board of Internet Histories