In November we announced Archive-It’s partnership with Reed Tech, including our collaboration to market and expand the Archive-It partner community. We are excited to share that David Wilson of Reed Tech will be meeting with some of our prospective partners to help bring awareness to web archiving and showcase the Archive-It service. Learn more about David below! If you are interested in learning more about Archive-It, please consider attending a live informational webinar by contacting us here.
1. Before working with the Archive-It Team, what project are you most proud of?
Before working with Archive-It, I assisted many organizations in the legal, financial and healthcare industries as well as different school districts to archive their websites and social media. I am proud of having worked with each organization and providing them with a more efficient manner to archive websites and social media to achieve their various goals.
2. What kinds of web content would you choose to preserve from the web?
Any web content that is sports-related: league websites, team websites, blogs, and social media. With the rapid evolution of digital communication and social media, how can we know Twitter will exist 40 years from now? It would be really neat to be able to see what the NFL website from 2014 looked like in 2050 or what hashtags were trending during the Masters. Statistics and sporting events are preserved and archived; Hall of Fame museums archive memorabilia and milestones; therefore, archiving digitally-born information to ensure it is available forever will only enhance these other collections for future generations to come.
3. What is your favorite thing about working with Archive-It Partners?
Archive-It Partners understand the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of an organization. I come from a commercial background where the organizations were typically archiving websites or social media to comply with regulations or record retention policies. In many cases it was a “set it and forget it” scenario, as opposed to an organizational collaboration to create and manage an archive of websites and social media with the intention of having these collections made publicly available forever.
4. During these cold winter months, what do you do to keep yourself busy when you aren’t working?
Shovel snow! I’ve become a bit of an expert at this, a connoisseur if you will. I’ve even mastered the two shovel technique! I am very thankful that winter is almost over.
5. You have some Spanish roots, as well as the experience of studying abroad in Spain. What is your favorite Spanish delicacy?
I could spend hours listing my favorite Spanish cuisine. Over the years I have traveled extensively throughout Spain, visiting my mother’s family and while studying abroad. There are many different foods that I grew up eating regularly, paella, cochinillo asado, tortilla española, and gazpacho. There is one seasonal delicacy that stands out in my mind: Torrijas, a traditional treat during the Easter celebration. Torrijas are very similar to French toast, but sweeter and soaked in wine, and it is socially acceptable to eat them at any time of the day.
