This week we have a great website to share if you love computer entertainment and digital culture history! This is a relatively new field in history, but one that will become more and more important as time goes on. Early historical and cultural aspects of the digital age are easily lost, often by accident. While The Wayback Machine and the Internet Archive are important parts of preserving this information, cultural context is easily lost.
That’s where Jimmy Maher’s website and blog, The Digital Antiquarian, come in. He provides the cultural and historical background needed to truly understand the early digital age. And by early digital age, I don’t just mean when the internet began. Maher’s posts will often reach back into the 1800s to explain the very beginnings of the digital era. Personally, I really enjoy his attention to detail and his ability to weave a good story out of what would otherwise be dry facts. He definitely isn’t afraid to dig deep into detail. Maher’s absolute joy in his writing is apparent right in the first few sentences in any of his posts. He’s apparently going to start up a new blog soon, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Need the full link? Here it is! https://www.filfre.net/
I totally recommend checking out Jimmy Maher’s website, even if you don’t have a passion for the early digital age. He touches on many topics in order to explain the why and hows in each post, so there is something for everyone in each of his posts! Maher has also collected his many posts into an ebook collection for people who prefer to read the posts in chronological order and in an ebook format. He also has a collection of other historical books that he’s written. I can’t (yet!) attest to these, but considering how much I enjoy his writing I will definitely be picking up a few of his other history books as well.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy The Digital Antiquarian as much as I did!