History Blogs
Norse and Viking Ramblings is a traditionally styled blog, about the Norse and Vikings, it covers history, archaeology,
mythology, literature, and more pertaining to Norse and Viking peoples.
Digital MedievalistThis
is one-part blog one-part website, it is mostly just packed full of Celtic
resources, but it also has a tab for a Celtic blog. I really enjoy this because
the blog posts are pretty short and it’s a great way to find other resources or
to find a jump-off point to do research into something just for the Fun of it.
The use of non-blog social media in digital history
Facebook tends to
be kind of wild, but it is easy to make it so that you are only seeing at least
somewhat reliable information. Pages and
groups are the two primary places to find information about history. It also
helps that many Facebook groups are private and most have active moderators who
will kick out trolls and trouble makers, as well as remove posts made/shared by
people who are genuinely confused and unintentionally post incorrect
information. The most interesting thing to me about history on Facebook is sets
of unintentional local history groups, where people are sharing photos of
people, places, and things, in addition to sharing archived newspapers and
articles, and their own stories. These tend to have names like Rocky Mount … Way Back When (Rocky Mount, NC) and The original Woodbridge Kids from 60's,70's (Woodbridge,
VA)
I was allowed to join the aforementioned Woodbridge group
after explaining that while I was not alive in the 1960s-1970s, I am
interested in looking at their group because I think it has value in relation to
historic preservation. The group is interesting, in large part, because It is
easy to find photos of now demolished places, class photos, stories about
people and places; like its own sort of modern oral storytelling, and much
more.
Instagram is in
my opinion one of the guiltiest social media sites when it comes to perpetuation
of false information about history (and science); it is full of “fact” and
conspiracy accounts. The worst things about these accounts is that they A) tend
to target children; and B) often mix in bits of real information along with the
false; so they may post three false posts and then one true post, which
unfortunately tricks a lot of people in to thinking everything that the account
posts is true. I also notice that there
tend to be fewer people on Instagram calling out these falsehoods than there
are on twitter, that or the comments get buried more easily. With that said, I follow the accounts of
several organizations, museums, historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists
that are reputable/reliable accounts.
Twitter also
contains these “fact” accounts but these tend to A) have more people calling
them out and posting accurate information in the comments, and B) seem to
target slightly older audiences who (hopefully) can separate fact from fiction.
It is also much easier to find and follow (real) professionals, museums, and
organizations on Twitter than Instagram. I have made a Twitter account now
specifically for this blog and have been following these types of accounts,
especially ones linked to digital history projects. I intend to go follow the
historians, anthropologists, linguists, archaeologists, and related museums and
organizations, that I currently follow on my personal account on this new
one. The most interesting history
account I follow on twitter is @medievalist , it is Lisa L.
Spangenberg’s twitter for her blog Digital Medievalist, a blog full of resources and information
about the Celts.
Pinterest is a
pretty mixed bag; however, it is easier to find falsehoods than accurate
information. I find that their humor section tends to be mostly pins from
Instagram “fact” accounts. With that said if you type in the correct search
terms loads of articles, photos, and blog posts, about history, archaeology,
and anthropology tend to come up, from reliable people and sources.