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The Affair of the Vanishing Content

http://www.archive.org/ "Digitized information, especially on the Internet, has such rapid turnover these days that total loss is the norm. Civilization is developing severe amnesia as a result; indeed it may have become too amnesiac already to notice the problem properly."

(Stewart Brand, President, The Long Now Foundation )

Thousands of articles and essays posted by hundreds of authors were lost forever when themestream.com surprisingly shut its virtual gates. A sizable portion of the 1960 census, recorded on UNIVAC II-A tapes, is now inaccessible. Web hosts crash daily, erasing in the process valuable content. Access to web sites is often suspended - or blocked altogether - because of a real (or imagined) violation by the webmaster of the host's Terms of Service (TOS). Millions of other web sites - the results of collective, multi-annual, transcontinental efforts - contain unique stores of information in the form of databases, articles, discussion threads, and links to other web sites. Consider "Central Europe Review". Its archives comprise more than 2500 articles and essays about every conceivable aspect of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkan. It is one of countless such collections.

Similar and much larger treasures have perished since the dawn of the digital age in the 1920's. Very few early radio and TV programs have survived, for instance. The current "digital dark age" can be compared only to the one which followed the torching of the Library of Alexandria. The more accessible and abundant the information available to us - the more devalued and common it becomes and the less institutional and cultural memory we seem to possess. In the battle between paper and screen, the former has won formidably. Newspaper archives, dating back to the 1700's are now being digitized - testifying to the endurance, resilience, and longevity of paper.

Enter the "Internet Libraries", or Digital Archival Repositories (DAR). These are libraries that provide free access to digital materials replicated across multiple servers ("safety in redundancy"). They contain Web pages, television programming, films, e-books, archives of discussion lists, etc. Such materials can help linguists trace the development of language, journalists conduct research, scholars compare notes, students learn, and teachers teach. The Internet's evolution mirrors closely the social and cultural history of North America at the end of the 20th century. If not preserved, our understanding of who we are and where we are going will be severely hampered. The clues to our future lie ensconced in our past. It is the only guarantee against repeating the mistakes of our predecessors. Long gone Web pages cached by the likes of Google and Alexa constitute the first tier of such archival undertaking.

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The Stanford Archival Vault (SAV) in Stanford University assigns a numerical handle to every digital "object" (record) in a repository. The handle is the clever numerical result of a mathematical formula whose input is the number of information bits in the original object being deposited. This allows to track and uniquely identify records across multiple repositories. It also prevents tampering. SAV also offers application layers. These allow programmers to develop digital archive software and permit users to change the "view" (the interface) of an archive and thus to mine data. Its "reliability layer" verifies the completeness and accuracy of digital repositories.

The Internet Archive, a leading digital depository, in its own words:

"...is working to prevent the Internet -- a new medium with major historical significance -- and other "born-digital" materials from disappearing into the past. Collaborating with institutions including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, we are working to permanently preserve a record of public material."

Data storage is the first phase. It is not as simple as it sounds. The proliferation of formats of digital content has made it necessary to develop a standard for archiving Internet objects. The size of the digitized collections must pose a serious challenge as far as timely retrieval is concerned. Interoperability issues (numerous formats and readers) probably requires software and hardware plug-ins to render a smooth and transparent user interface.

Moreover, as time passes, digital data, stored on magnetic media, tend to deteriorate. It must be copied to newer media every 10 years or so ("migration"). Advances in hardware and software applications render many of the digital records indecipherable (try reading your word processing files from 1981, stored on 5.25" floppies!). Special emulators of older hardware and software must be used to decode ancient data files. And, to ameliorate the impact of inevitable natural disasters, accidents, bankruptcies of publishers, and politically motivated destruction of data - multiple copies and redundant systems and archives must be maintained. As time passes, data formatting "dictionaries" will be needed. Data preservation is hardly useful if the data cannot be searched, retrieved, extracted, and researched. And, as "The Economist" put it ("The Economist Technology Quarterly, September 22nd, 2001), without a "Rosetta Stone" of data formats, future deciphering of stored the data might prove to be an insurmountable obstacle.

Last, but by no means least, Internet libraries are Internet based. They themselves are as ephemeral as the historical record they aim to preserve. This tenuous cyber existence goes a long way towards explaining why our paperless offices consume much more paper than ever before.

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Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, United Press International (UPI) and eBookWeb and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com.

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

The Entail Of Web Content Writing Services From India

Nowadays, all business ventures and publications have web sites. This is due to the immense popularity of the internet when it comes to generating new business. However, it's not just enough to have a web site. These web sites need to be constantly updated and should have appropriate and interesting content. There is a lot of competition and good content can go a long way in outdoing the competition. A web site that has superior quality content will definitely stand out and as a result draw a lot more attention and consequently, more business. And, this is where web content writing services come in.

There're many web content writing services all over the world. But, studies have shown that most businesses in the United States and Europe prefer to use the web content writing services in India. This is because, outsource web writing services to India offer web content writing services that are unmatched any where else in the world. Many businesses have found out that And,the web content writing services in India do a magnificent job into increasing the search engine rankings and to generatinge business.

If you want your web site to be ranked high by the search engines, then you need the help of good web content writing services. Search engines use algorithms to rank web sites and so, high quality web content is essential for a high ranking.

Outstanding writing ability and search engine optimization contribute to the web content writing services offered by India. And when you outsource web content writing companies from India, you get some of the best web content writers, well trained in English, to write the contents of your web page. There are many advantages to outsourcing web content writing in India. These web content writing companies offer a wide range of services besides web content writing. The most tedious part to web content writing is the research. And most Indian web content writing companies have a set of people to do the research part, making it more cost effective. They have the manpower required for this, which means that the task will be completed much more quickly than otherwise.

They use only well qualified and talented web content writers who're well informed. Most of the web content writers employed by these Indian web content writing companies come with high academic qualifications, usually MBAs, MDs or PhDs. They also only use those web content writers with superior English writing skills. They also have quality checks at various levels to ensure that their output is up to the required mark. So, you can be confident of good quality writing as well as exemplary work ethics and strict non-disclosure policies.

And there are web content writing companies in India to suit you requirements and budget, whatever they may be. So, what're you waiting for? Get on the outsourcing web content writing in India wagon before it's too late.

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RNCOS, a leading name in web content writing, publishes a wide range of articles on various topics: finance, business, travel, dating, and many more. To order any of these, or to get such articles written by us, please Click Here.

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Things To Know: Before Hiring Any Web Content Writing services

Hiring a content writing company for help with a brochure, web site or even a marketing project is a smart move. But, the question that plagues most first timers when it comes to hiring the content writing services of a company, especially in a country other than your own, like India, is how do I protect my interests and make sure that I'm not taken for a ride. The first step is to make a list of content writing companies that you think are good. And the best way to do this is to visit their web sites and scrutinize them for their expertise in the field and styles of writing that they're capable of. And once you've found a content writing service that you like, then it's time for the next move.

A lot depends on the kind of questions that you ask the web content writing services. One of the best ways to protect yourself when hiring any content writing services in India is to ask a lot of intelligent questions. They can give you valuable insight into the area of expertise and policies of the web content writing companies. You can either ask these questions over the telephone or e-mail them to the company.

This process of interviewing the web content writing service is very important because it can clarify a lot of your doubts a swell as provide you with information about the content writer and his or her level of expertise. Also, you can get a preview of how it will be like to work with the content writing company. Also, it will help you decide whether the content writing service that you wish to hire has a direct marketing mindset, i.e. if their policies include principles of direct marketing.

Some of the questions that you should ask are:

What kind of experience do they have in writing, in your field?

What kind of assignments have they been handling so far?

How long will they take to write the web content?

What are their policies and attitude to any revisions of the written web content that you might ask for?

Who will do the actual writing for the web sites?

Will your web content be kept confidential and your privacy maintained?

Also, check for the level of expertise and the kind of writing that they have done so far. It would be helpful if you can get some samples from them so that you can compare and make your decision. You can talk to their earlier clients to get a better idea of what the content writing company is like. Also, remember that a content writing company that has written different kinds of web content (white papers, e-books, DIY's, technical documentation, etc.), for a variety of industries will be a better choice than an inexperienced one. Once you've decided on which the content writing service to hire, then draw up a written agreement that specifies the terms and conditions of the contract. If the content writing service refuses to do so, then find a new one.

And last but not the least, it's a smart idea to visit the office of the writing service company in person and go through your project ideas with them. This is helpful for you as well as them since it gives them a clearer idea of what you expect from them. However, if you feel that the meeting is unsatisfactory, you can then back out. So, though this might seem like a lot of work, following these steps will ensure that the web content writing service that you'll eventually hire will deliver. Anyway, when you're spending so much money, it's only just that you get your money's worth, even if it seems like a lot of work.

RNCOS, a leading name in web content writing, publishes a wide range of articles on various topics: finance, business, travel, dating, and many more. To order any of these, or to get such articles written by us, please Click Here. http://www.rncos.com/contactus.htm

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