Internet Archive Websites
Are you familiar with Internet Archive Websites? They are one of the most useful – and free – online resources, that many people have never heard of. My introduction to archive sites was in college, in 1998-ish, while I was learning to write code and build websites. Back then, there was not much of an Internet history, but the archive site was still a cool new tool to use.
Internet archive websites, also known as web archive sites, are digital archives of web content, designed to preserve online content for future reference. These sites use special software called web crawlers, which automatically collect and save copies of web pages as they appear at different points in time. Web archives are helpful for a variety of reasons…
Preservation
Web archive sites preserve online content that might otherwise be lost forever due to website updates, deletions, or shutdowns. I’ve helped more than a few clients recover websites they accidentally deleted years ago.
Research
Internet archive websites are a valuable resource for researchers who want to study the evolution of websites, online content, and social trends over time. They provide a valuable historical record of the development of the internet and society’s use of it.
Legal Purposes
Web archive sites can be used as evidence in legal proceedings, such as intellectual property disputes or defamation cases.
Personal Interest
Internet archive sites allow individuals to revisit websites and content they used to enjoy or to access content that is no longer available online.
Education
Web archive sites can be used by educators to provide students with a historical perspective on the development of the internet and to explore different types of online content.
Ready to Start Searching the Archives?
Some examples of popular web archive sites include the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (my go-to archive site), which has archived billions of web pages since 1996, and Archive.is, which allows users to create and save their own archives of web content.
Do you remember when Amazon looked like this? Seriously… There was a time when most websites were teeny-tiny, used bright blue underlined links and were not meant to be viewed on cell phones – mostly because Internet ready smart phones were not widely available.
Whether you want to take a stroll down memory lane or search for lost content, Internet Archive websites are there for you to utilize. 🙂
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Theresa Kibler began studying programming in 1999, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology specializing in Web Application Development and an Associate in Science degree in Computer Programming & Analysis.
