Being a somewhat cautious tech nerd, I didn't want to dive in and mess up anything within the program, so I thought I'd be intelligent and ask some questions and get some advice before I did anything. After a conversation with one of the developers, I walked away with some very valuable insight: "Just get in there and mess around a bit. Have fun." So I did. I created a short and sweet site with a few items, but I was still a little confused by it all. As my archives class continued, so did my knowledge and understanding of how archives work - and how Omeka complemented that structure (or lackthereof).
THATCamp Prime |
The same developer suggested that I look into attending a THATCamp, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Last weekend, I followed my flock of digital archivists to CHNM for THATCamp Prime. The best way to describe THATCamp is a sort of tech retreat for nerds. Space camp, but with code and concept-heavy discussions rather than gravity walks or any sort of physical exertion.
Look! We went outside! |
The entire weekend was full of a strange balance of technobabble and abstract discussions on the future of the digital world. It was incredible. Rather than try to explain in detail about what I learned or did, I'm just going to share some links and hopefully you'll see the fruits of my labor some time in the future. :)
- Participad, an awesome WordPress plugin developed by CHNM
- The Knotted Line, and interactive laboratory which shows the tenuous relationship between freedom and law in US history
- Crowdsourcing Image Metadata from Digitized Books, self-explanatory
- The Maker Challenge, a collection of all projects created by THATCamp Prime participants (black hole warning - you'll get lost if you're not careful!)
- DigitalHistorians.Org, a web site for digital historians to share their projects and work.