Are We At Risk Of A Digital Dark Age?

Does the fast pace of our technological progress always equate to digital revolution? Or could it in fact lead to a digital dark age whereby more data is actually lost than is liberated?  In this article, Chris Carr examines how data is highly vulnerable to rapid format succession and how digital asset management could play a vital role in its long-term retention.

“A prominent computer scientist once quipped, “digital media lasts forever or five years – whichever comes sooner.”  This was the late 1990s and a handful of stories about lost or nearly irretrievable data raised alarm in some circles. The twin-issues of preserving data and being able to make sense of it five, ten, or 100 years later was starting to be understood.  Alarm was raised, justifiably, that we were in the midst of a “digital dark age” where much of our record as a civilization was in threat of being lost in an unprecedentedly short time. And there was plenty of anecdotal evidence to stoke these fears.” [Read More]

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