Skip to main content

Your tweets will no longer be archived by the Library of Congress

If you’ve often passed the time perusing the Twitter archives of the Library of Congress, you’re going to need to find a new hobby. Not because the said archive is at all uninteresting (it does, after all, contain literally every single tweet to every be sent), but rather because it won’t exist in quite the same capacity after Monday, December 31. Alas, the research library will no longer keep a detailed social media record. Rather than collecting each and every 140-character (or now, 280-character) thought that pops into the Twitterverse’s collective head, the Library will now “acquire tweets on a selective basis.” That means that your Twitter complaint about how long the lunch line was today probably won’t live in perpetuity, at least, not within the Library of Congress.

The expansive archive was a project first announced in 2010. In an impressive project with Twitter, the library gathered a repository of all the tweets sent between 2006 and 2010, and continued to collect all public tweet text from 2010 until, well, now. “The Library took this step for the same reason it collects other materials — to acquire and preserve a record of knowledge and creativity for Congress and the American people,” the institution wrote in an announcement.

Recommended Videos

But since then, times have changed, and so, too, have social media platforms. Not only are there now more services available but as the Library noted, there are also more privacy concerns and shifting service terms. As such, 2017 will be the last full year in which all public tweet is saved by the Library of Congress.

It’s unclear exactly how tweets will be selected, though the Library is said to be working together with Twitter once again to establish these parameters. In a white paper, however, the Library notes, “Generally, the tweets collected and archived will be thematic and event-based, including events such as elections, or themes of ongoing national interest, e.g. public policy.”

To be fair, this change likely won’t affect all that many people. After all, it is mainly researchers who are interested in looking back at tweets from a decade ago — the rest of us, on the other hand, probably are more interested in our Instagram feeds. All the same, if you have a project that depends upon the Library of Congress Twitter archive, be aware that the database will be temporarily inaccessible while the Library deals with a few technical issues. No word yet on when it will reopen.

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more