While the US Library of Congress does not keep logs of public access chatrooms, they have actually come close to something similar by announcing that Twitter messages would be recorded and archived in the Library.
This interesting little twist may sound like a thankless job as there are bound to be hundreds and thousands of worthless tweets that hardly contain any sensible context. And while this may be true, it is also known that Twitter has a very solid grasp of our society’s opinions, feelings and reactions to the many events that evolve around us. The system’s default limitations in terms characters that can be said also makes it easier to save as the messages tend to be very short.
Of course, opinions from all walks of life are not aired on twitter as there will always be those who either refuse to make use of the technology and those who have no access to it. Still, many key events in human history has been documented and shaped using tools such as Twitter –such as the recent earthquakes where many volunteers and organizers turn to Twitter in order to make communication more efficient.
The sad part here is that all the content that has ever been put up online will also be stored in the Library (which means that if you have ever written anything embarrassing, it would be there too). So far, the announcement has announced that all content will be uploaded and that none of the tweets will be censored.
Still, despite this, Twitter users should not worry about a change in performance, as the archiving has long been in effect (Google returns plenty of tweets as search results too). No word has been given on the device’s final form when it will be presented to the public.
Read more about Tweets being recorded by the Library of Congress at Pocket Lint.
Tags: Library-of-Congress, Social-networking, Tweets, Twitter