Preserve Culture: Donate to the Internet Archive

05-16-2008 | 11:54 AM EST

A few weeks ago I mentioned the rise of audio re-mixing websites, and today I want to up the ante by suggesting that you not only contribute your re-mixes but your actual source work as well. Movies, music, text, even web pages, they're all being permanently archived as cultural artifacts, and if you're a digital content creator, you might want to consider making a donation.

The Internet Archive (found at http://www.archive.org), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit on a mission to provide "permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format." Texts, audio, moving images, and web pages can all be donated and cataloged for current and future consumption. From helping to establish a collective memory to tracking the digital evolution of humanity, I think there are many fantastic reasons for content creators to donate their work. But, probably my favorite is best summed up by the Internet Archive itself: "Without cultural artifacts, civilization has no memory and no mechanism to learn from its successes and failures."

On a final note, if you find yourself thinking, "That's great, but my work really isn't worth preserving." I'd ask you to think again. I recently donated a collection of songs to the Archive that I had previously created and made available on my personal website. Am I a famous musician whose work has influenced modern music? Of course not. But, part of the point of recording culture for historical purposes means also collecting the efforts and creations of the average members of society. In a broader sense, that's exactly what this larger debate is about — the ability for everyone to create and consume culture, not just a few voices backed by a lot of money, political influence, or intimidating legal practices.

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