Yahoo Announces Digital Time Capsule

October 10, 2006 By Geoff Duncan

Yahoo is soliciting digital submissions from around the world for what it's calling the world's largest time capsule.

Today Yahoo announced it has thrown open the doors to its Internet Time Capsule, and is soliciting digital materials from Yahoo users all over the world to be archived for revealed at Yahoo’s 25th anniversary in the year 2020.

But in the meantime, contributors might have their submissions projected onto the world-famous Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, from October 25 to 27, 2006, or beamed into space for the edification of…whoever—whatever!—might be out there to receive it.

"Wherever people use Yahoo—from Mexico, Germany or China to the U.S.—we want them to represent their culture and show us what’s important to them by participating in this historic Internet time capsule event," said Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. "It will be fascinating to see what people submit as their part of this 2006 snapshot, which will be shared with generations to come."

Yahoo invites users to contribute their photos, stories, art, poems, movies, and thoughts to the electronic time capsule project. The time capsule will be featured on 20 localized Yahoo home pages—as well as Yahoo’s primary web site—and users can visit the time capsule site to upload text, images, audio, video, or other material free of charge. Topics include love, fun, sorry, faith, beauty, the past, the present, hope, and "you." Contributions are woven into a single piece of online digital art using software designed by Internet artist Jonathan Harris, and contributors can select from seven global charities which will receive a donation from Yahoo at the end of the project.

At the end of the time capsule project, the content will be saved in digital format and sealed up until Yahoo’s 25th anniversary in the year 2020; in addition, copies will be presented to the Smithsonian and the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.

Showing 2 comments

Susan Racette at 8:30am 20th October 2006 I think the idea of the time capsule was in it's inception a very noble cause. But contributing to it seems to be a problem. Being told that an upgrade is required ,at optimal cost, seems to make it a commercial endeavor.
Susan Racette at 7:55am 20th October 2006 I (and others) have been trying for days to add content to the time capsule. We have been told that there is a "green" contribute button on the right corner of the screen. To date I have never seen this button. One solution offered was that "macromedia flash 8 or 9" might be required. If this is so then the cost of contributing to the capsule jumped from 0 to +$300.00, now this seems to not be such a humanitarian project and instead becomes purely commercial. I am disappointed and disillusioned as I was impressed by the scope of the project and it's goals.