I’m always honored when someone says they enjoy the work at Voices of the Past. So, in appreciation of the readers and listeners of this site, I’m offering a free (as in less than 300 left) limited edition Voices of the Past pen. All you have to do is make a thoughtful comment on some [...]
Is our digital lifestyle leading to a dark age for cultural heritage?
January 15, 2011 By 3 Comments
If you want to see the future of heritage, look no further than your computer screen. I’ll explain what I mean. Right now, when we think about material heritage culture, most folks think about things like old photographs, written documents, buildings and sculpture. These objects that have been handed down since antiquity are perishable but, [...]
Mike O’Laughlin of the Irish Roots Cafe talks about discovering shared family history through new media
January 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“Who are you?” A simple question, but one that could take someone on the adventure of a lifetime. For Mike O’Laughlin of Irish Roots Cafe, it took him on a trip to discover his Irish roots and began his journey to help others find theirs using his books, blog, podcast and personal tours of Ireland. [...]
Refocusing for the Future with Voices of the Past
January 6, 2011 By 2 Comments
It’s not exactly an industry secret that posts here on Voices of the Past have been few and far between. And while this site is one of the initiatives in my life I’m most proud of, I want everything to be just so. Part of it is my training as a journalist. The larger part [...]
What I’m about, through my daughter’s eyes
January 5, 2011 By 4 Comments
I visited Memory Lawn Cemetery in my hometown of Natchitoches, La., with my daughter this past week. And it brought hope to my world. I’ll admit, 2010 was a challenging year. It began with the unexpected passing of my father and seemed to roll downhill ever since. Not just for my family, but many others [...]
Picturing preservation tech online with Cultural Heritage Imaging
December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Today we’re talking to Carla Schroer of Cultural Heritage Imaging. CHI is a small company based in San Francisco–the social media capital of the world–that’s doing some interesting things through photography and photosharing through Flickr. They focus on rock art and technologies related to photography in heritage research. In this podcast, we’ll explore how CHI [...]
The Archaeological Box’s Matt Thompson on developing membership websites and refining the use of social media as a support mechanism
December 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Founded in 2009, The Archaeological Box is a media-rich website that incorporates features like Google Maps and podcasts in two languages. It also incorporates a store and professional accounts. In this interview with Matt Thompson, the site’s founder, we’re going to explore the concepts of content management systems, including Drupal, and what goes into supporting [...]
Marion Jensen on putting history into context with Twitter
November 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Marion Jensen is something of a social scientist because he experiments with social services like Twitter to help put history into context. He is the founder of TwHistory, a collaborative Twitter project in which participants retweet historical events using original source documents in real time as they happened in history. He also has an all-time [...]
A conversation with John Leeke, the “original heritage video blogger” (audio podcast)
November 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
John Leeke was videoblogging for nearly a decade before YouTube was even invented. And he was taking about heritage preservation. His “campfire chats” have created a community throughout the world and inspired countless folks to take up the preservation trades. In this interview, he talks about getting started in video blogging, the modern tools he [...]
Heritage Scrapbooking: Online resources to find materials that last a lifetime
November 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
There are two types of gifts I’m always thrilled to get: those that are handmade and those that incorporate family memories. Heritage scrapbooks embrace both of these concepts, resulting in a gift your family will always treasure. It takes just a little planning and mindfulness to make your family moments last a lifetime, and beyond. [...]
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