Pew Research: When Online Content Disappears

I run into this problem regularly.  I search for something that I know exists - because I've used it before - and it is not there. Sometimes I can find it on the Wayback Machine, but often times I can't.  It is gone for good.  This Pew Research report (full report) is about just that - the disappearance of online content. There is a lot to digest here. For starters:

• A quarter of all webpages that existed at one point between 2013 and 2023 are no longer accessible.
• 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link, as do 21% of webpages from government sites. 
  

Pew does not provide a solution. We know that archiving the enter Internet is not possible, especially since some content is deleted quickly (even within the same day).  Is this a problem that is out of our control and that will just get worse? Is there some way that we can ensure that critical content - however defined - is preserved?

If you have ideas or resources, please drop a comment below.

The Library Pros interview with Lee Rainie

The Library Pros podcast interviewed Lee Rainie at the Long Island Library Resource Council conference.  Their description of the 40-minute episode is:

Part 2 features Lee Rainie, the Director of Internet and Technology at Pew Research. If you live in Libraryland, then you know how important Pew’s statistical analysis is to the future of libraries. Lee Rainie, a proud Long Island native, took some time to talk about what libraries are doing well and what the future holds for libraries based on the historical statistical analysis. Speaking with Lee was a pleasure and we thank LILRC for making him available to us!

I have been fortunate to hear Lee Rainie speak many times and I always learn something new. What is new in this interview, for me, are his thoughts about the future focus of libraries.  That begins around minute 16 in the podcast.

Thanks to Chris and Bob - the Library Pros - for their continued podcasting efforts!

Net Neutrality and HOV Highway Lanes

On Dec. 14, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to restore Internet freedom.  This is seen as an attempt to alter what is referred to as Net Neutrality. According to Wikipedia:

Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. For instance, under these principles, internet service providers are unable to intentionally block, slow down or charge money for specific websites and online content.

When we talk about eliminating net neutrality, we talk about some web sites or services (e.g., streaming movies) being treated differently than other sites.  This means that my web site might be given a lower priority and a person might find that it loads more slowly than another site which has been given a higher priority.  However, it is hard for any of us to imagine what this might actually mean, which brings me to two analogies (which are likely not original).

There is one place where some of us have experience being in the fast lane and that is on a highway.  Around major cities or on heavily traveled interstates, there are high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.  In some place, like near Washington DC, the driver pays to be in those lanes which are moving much faster.  As a person in the slow lane, I am being negatively affected by the traffic around me.  In addition, the highway system is not compelled to do anything that might speed-up my trip.  And while I can see the HOV lanes, I cannot get into them because I have not complied with the requirements for using those lanes.  If you understand that, then you can understand what will happen if net neutrality is eliminated.

If you have not experienced HOV lanes, it is likely you may have experienced the Fast Pass at Disney World, or heard friends talk about them.  The Fast Pass allows you to skip ahead in the line at the rides of your choosing.  If net neutrality is eliminated, some Internet sites will have Fast Passes, while the rest of us will be stuck in line.

Now...I have heard good arguments for allowing some services to have faster access or more priority.  For example, should we give emergency services faster or higher access to the Internet?  And if we did that, would that lead to?  Could that lead to giving faster access to the military or government?  For me, that would be a slippery slope and something we (Internet users) should think seriously about.  However, that discussion should happen after we have moved beyond this current net neutrality vote (and hopefully with net neutrality intact).

If you want to contact the FCC on this issue, you can do so through the FCC web site and through other sites like Battle for the Net.