Yahoo Announces Digital Time Capsule

By Geoff Duncan October 10, 2006

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.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Web

YouTube star Justine Ezarik on anchoring CES 2021’s digital experience

ces 2021 justine ezarik is 4c21r

With more than a billion views across her YouTube channels since 2006, Justine Ezarik is not a newcomer to reviewing the tech world. Her YouTube channel iJustine has almost 7 million subscribers, and she continues to expand her media empire through her podcast "Same Brain," which she hosts with her sister Jenna. Recently, Andre Stone and Ariana Escalante , who are hosting Digital Trends’ digital coverage of the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), were able catch up with Ezarik to get her thoughts and predictions about this year’s tech extravaganza.

Ezarik is one of the digital anchors for this year's show. “CES is such a huge part of everyone’s year,” Ezarik says, “and [an all-virtual show] is a first for us. This whole past year has led up to everyone getting the hang of these digital spaces.” For this year’s show, audience attendees can completely customize their experiences by building profiles, getting notifications for the speakers and content they’re excited to see, and completely tailoring their own personal experience.

Web

The time we almost nuked the moon

nuke the moon project a119 200921

The year was 1958. The Cold War was in full swing, Dwight Eisenhower was halfway into his second term as president, and the United States was in locked in a tense competition with the Soviet Union to get ahead in what we now call the space race -- and it was losing.

A year earlier, the Soviets had flexed their muscle by launching Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite the world had ever seen. The U.S. then responded in kind by launching its own satellite, Explorer 1, a few months later. But coming in second wasn't good enough.

Web

The office is a relic of pre-internet times. We don’t need it anymore

google nix the nik collection 43294422 designed modern workspace with white desktop computer

The ritual of having workers gather in a centralized physical office has been largely unnecessary for at least the last five years -- and arguably longer than that. A holdover from a more disconnected time, the office is a relic that employers have been reluctant to give up, despite the fact that modern broadband internet makes it possible for most of us to be connected to our co-workers without having to physically sit next to them.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, working from home was often cast as a threat to productivity, and only justifiable in the presence of extenuating circumstances. But now that we've been forced out of our shared workspaces and productivity hasn't plummeted, there is no longer a reason to keep up the charade.