Copyright

For digital projects, such as our up and coming one, copyright rules can be tricky. It is commonly known that whenever you make reference to anything, whether it be online or hardcopy, the owner of the material needs to be credited. Most people know how to give credit to an author of text because their name usually sticks with their work. Images on the other hand, can be much more tricky to cite and avoid copyright issues. Simply googling an image and copying the link it was found on does not mean that that website is the true creator. In order to avoid copyright, one should try to reverse image search to locate the image's true origin. 

Typically, museums will let people borrow their images as long as you agree to their copyright terms. As I was looking at the different museum websites, the one that I found most intriguing was the Loudoun Museum's policy on their image reproduction and use. According to their website, you can use their images if you purchase them. No other details about their copyright policies were given which seemed odd. The other museum websites did not really feature copyright policies either but they all did have the copyright symbol with the "All rights reserved" statement. 

Project Ideas

I have been thinking about different project ideas for a while and a topic that has always intrigued me is Colonial America. A few topics from that time period that interest me are:

• The Revolutionary War 
• The Culper Spy Ring
• Women's Fashion
• Slavery and its Impact

I really enjoyed the Story Map of the First Battle of Bull Run by Patrick McKinney. It really inspired me and I think that I want my project to follow the same type of format used there. He used the website, Esri Story Maps, which is what I will likely do as well. I have created an account and will continue to explore and familiarize myself with the site.

Citation: 

DaFunOne. “Please Enjoy This Post to Usher You Some Knowledge About the 4th of July and Its Corresponding Events. Hope You Read It All!” Imgur, 4 July 2018, imgur.com/gallery/9d96iRc.

Historical Societies I Follow

I am currently following two historical societies on Facebook. The first is George Washington's Mount Vernon. I follow this site because this time period is the most intriguing time in our country's history in my opinion. The Revolutionary War is was got me interested in history and I always seem to learn something new about the house from their site. 

The second society I follow is the Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters. I am in the process of joining the DAR and following this page helps me stay connected and up to date with any new information.

Helpful and Interesting Blogs

After exploring the internet, I have discovered a couple of blogs I believe are worth checking out. The first two are the typical style of blog about unusual topics. The first is called Marie Antoinette' Gossip Guide to the 18th Century and discusses topics such as fashion, art, and women of the time. It even gives book and museum suggestions!

The second blog I found is Ancientfoods. This blog goes into great detail about the history of food and drink across the world. The site is easy to navigate and explore due to the categories located on the sidebar that are based on global location. 

The last blog is one I have followed for many years and has helped me study for school in the past. It is titled CrashCourse. Instead of it being the typical written blog, this blog is located on YouTube and is video based. While it does not go into great detail about individual topics, the host does a fantastic job on summarizing a large subject such as an individual era.

American Battlefield Trust

The website for the American Battlefield Trust is an excellent example of how far the digital presence has come. This site is easy to navigate and provides a ton of information on the battlefields they preserve and their history. They also have many interactive pages on the site such as the virtual tours and the many mobile battlefield apps. It even has a page where one can donate if they feel inspired to help the cause!

Feel free to check it our here: https://www.battlefields.org 

Rosenzweig Reading

The Rosenzweig introduction reading discusses how far the modern world has come in terms of technology in history. The most intriguing part of the introduction to me was when Rosenzweig stated, “More than a decade into the promised “digital revolution,” the cyber-enthusiasts and the techno-skeptics have both turned out to be poor prophets of the future. Universities and libraries still stand. Culture has not crumbled. Paradise has not arrived.” I connected with this statement because as I was reading this entire section, I was reading it on my laptop in a library. It was almost like I was displaying exactly what he was stating, a sort of harmony between digital and old ways. Making that connection in real life really helped me understand how the world functions today by using new technology but yet not forgetting to appreciate the past.

Currently I do not have any solid ideas on a final project yet so if anyone has any suggestions let me know!

I have also visited the Thomas Balch Library and the Virginia Room so it was cool to explore their websites. They were both easy to navigate and find what you need. Both of these websites also did well at being able to represent their in person sites. 

Cohen, Daniel J, and Roy Rosenzweig. “Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web.” Center for History and New Media, chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/introduction/.