My History Corner

1. Blog – A journal entry that is documented online. Blogs are often publicly available for view after the user publishes them. They may be used for personal or professional purposes.
2. Content – Typically refers to any media that is published online, such as videos, blogs, or social media posts. People who make a living off of their social media content are often referred to as “content creators.” Content can include information that is useful or helpful (such as background knowledge on Reconstruction), or information that is made to be entertaining (such as videos of cats).
3. Cookie – Files that are collected by a computer through a website. They store data that pertains to the user, such as the user’s purchase history or preferred language. Cookies exist to help the computer “remember” a user’s preferences on a given website.
4. Database – A digital space that contains a large collection of data, similar to how a library contains collections of information. Libraries often have databases on their own websites that allow users to find what is on the shelves, without being physically present. Databases in computers contain coding that allows for the computer to function.
5. Domain – An address that is used for a given website. All websites have a domain, which hosts the server for that site. An example of a domain is http://www.facebook.com, which is the domain name for the popular social networking site Facebook.
6. Encryption – A security measure to protect data. Most websites use passwords or passkeys as a form of encryption, or they may use captchas to identify users. As the Internet is so widely used, a lot of sensitive and valuable data is put online, hence the need for encryption.
7. Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) – A feature that has gained significant usage in the 2020s, generative AI is a tool used to make content with the use of a computer or other device. Generative AI can create photos, videos, and even music, based on what the user wishes for it to do. This feature uses data that is originally collected from human users, and it is notable for how realistic it has become over time.
8. Launch – When a website or application has been made available by its owner. Launching a site allows for other users to interact with it. It is often a way for the owner to begin generating revenue for their work.
9. Phishing – A deceptive strategy used by scammers to trick users into sharing their personal information. As social media and networking has become a part of everyday life, it has become easy for scammers to trick people out of their money or valuable data. Phishing often comes in the form of fraudulent emails, pop-ups, or text messages.
10. Query – When words are typed into a search engine for it to generate results. Queries are the first step in searching for information on a search engine, and they can yield millions of results in seconds. It is important to narrow down the query as much as possible, so that the given results are more likely to be relevant as to what the user is looking for.
11. Search engine – The system that is fed queries by a user to look up information. Popular search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. Results vary a lot between search engines, and the location of the user may also affect results due to information laws in the country of that person.
12. Spam – Information that is not considered to be helpful or useful to the user. Spam is often unsolicited, and it includes fraudulent messages that are used in phishing attempts. However, not all spam is inherently harmful. For example, email blasts may accidentally end up in the spam folder of the user’s account, either due to the number of recipients or the sender being unfamiliar to the account.
13. Traffic – The number of users at any given time on a website, or the number of times a specific query has been made on a search engine. Internet traffic increases when a specific term has gone viral, such as the name of a celebrity or an event that has occurred in real life. If a large amount of traffic has accumulated on a single website, it has the potential to crash the site.
14. VPN (Virtual Private Network) – A network that is voluntarily installed on a computer to hide any data that can be collected from a user. VPNs are often used to bypass filters that are put in place by the government of a nation. VPNs are also put into place by some users to view NSFW (not safe for work) content, without leaving behind a visible digital footprint.
15. Web browser – An application that contains search engines for making queries. Popular web browsers include Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Brave. Any of these browsers can run any search engine, so that users can generate different results if they choose to. Web browsers can work on both computers and handheld devices, and they are the gateway to the Internet’s wealth of information.

The purpose of this blog is to provide historical research and analysis of various digital projects. More specifically, it is my history project at George Mason University, for my class about the digital past. I hope that this site is helpful to those who have an interest in digital history, museums, and research.

This digital archive exists to give users a sense of what happened on the morning of September 11, 2001, where 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airplanes: two in New York, one in Virginia, and one in Pennsylvania. The two planes in New York crashed into the World Trade Center, while the one in Virginia hit the Pentagon. The passengers on the fourth plane fought back against the hijackers, causing it to crash outside the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In total, the 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 innocent people, most of them in New York. The attacks had devastating affects, not just for the victims’ families, but also the world. It was a rare moment where people around the world came together to grieve.

The September 11 digital archive contains thousands of images and other electronic media including emails, communications, and interviews. It serves as a database for people who are interested in learning more about 9/11 without having to travel to a physical museum. Items in the digital archive come from victims of the attacks, and many of the interviews include personal testimonies of the survivors, taken at least one year after the world changed forever.

The archive was funded with the help of a major grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is organized by the American Social History Project at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Notes:

1. “Home – September 11 Digital Archive,” The September 11 Digital Archive, accessed September 22, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/.