fame at last?

Probably not, if I'm honest. However, I was interviewed recently for a forthcoming edition of the Scottish Council on Archives' Broadsheet newsletter. One of the questions they asked me was the usual icebreaker of 'describe x in no more than three words', x in this case being records management.

I don't want to deny you the pleasure of reading all three of my words in print when the newsletter comes out (as a pleasure it will surely be!), but I will let slip that one of my words was 'worthwhile'. Both in this interview and in something else I've been working on recently, I've been thinking about the value of what recordkeepers do. The importance of recordkeeping to governance, accountability, cultural equality and the maintenance of rights isn't something that recordkeepers need to be reminded of; such issues are the enduring context for all of our actions and decisions. However, that context can fade into the background a little when faced with day to day deadlines and pressures. It's been nice to be involved for a while in some things that place it front and centre.

happy holidays!

I hope everyone looking at this is warm, safe and with friends or family (or, indeed, perfectly content in their own company!). Have a brilliant holiday season and 'all the best' for 2012.

festive fifteen 2011 (or why I like Andy Ihnatko)

One of my favourite technology writers is a chap called Andy Ihnatko. As well as writing for the Chicago Sun Times and having a regular column in Macworld magazine, he has, over the past five or six years, become one of my favourite technology broadcasters too, largely due to his appearances on the TWiT podcast network.

The launch of Andy's own podcast, the Ihnatko Almanac on the 5by5 network, was clearly something to be celebrated (at least by me). Listening to Andy break out of his 'normal' subject matter and range across various cultural topics alongside his co-host Dan Benjamin has been, and remains, a really enjoyable way to pass some of the time on my commute this past dozen or so weeks. That's not to say that they don't address technological issues; they just do so in a different (and arguably more interesting) context than a simple discussion of tech for its own sake.

As a recordkeeper it was episode 10 that caught my attention. Andy and Dan used Michael Palin's published diaries as a jumping off point to discuss journaling and, without using the terms that an archivist or records manager would have used, ranged across issues of memory, community, digital preservation/obsolescence, appraisal, value, narrative and so on. If you do work in recordkeeping it's well worth a listen as it's one of those times where you think 'we haven't got all the answers, but we're trying to get there…' (or put another way, it reminds you that looking after record memory and keeping it accessible matters).

All of the above is by way of a very long-winded introduction to the fact that Andy is in the process of unveiling his annual musical Advent Calendar on his blog, and so am I (sort of)! With a doff of my cap to Andy and the late, incomparable, John Peel, I'm in the process of listing my 'Festive Fifteen' on twitter. This is a bit of annual self-indulgence where I flatter myself that someone out there might be at all bothered to find out the names of 15 songs that I've enjoyed listening to this year (not necessarily released this year either). Follow me @Al30 if you're in any way curious. Follow Andy at @Ihnatko.

optical illusion

As a quick follow-up to my post yesterday, this line from an article on Ars Technica by Chris Foresman caught my eye:

Apple has drawn the line in the sand: optical discs are out, and digital distribution is the future