So why is the button still there?


Pretty much the only time in the past two years that I've clicked over to my account at backflip.com was when I was going over my material for a lecture that refers to that tool, and I wanted to see if my account was still active (it was). That being the case, it's fair to ask whether there's any logic in keeping that button on the links bar. I tend to think that there is, and not only for the not fully specious reason of being a living archive. Strangely, the reason isn't really that different from why I don't succeed in fully cleaning up after installing a new hard drive. There are probably a few items in that account that I don't have listed anywhere else, and on the outside chance that I may someday look for one of those, why delete the link?

But nostaliga undoubtedly also plays a part in all this. Four and a half years ago I sang the praises of this tool, and then three years later more or less bemoaned the fact that its promise never really materialized. So having that link more or less in front of my eyes (and apparently not only in front of mine) is a bit of a reminder that the directions in which the web develops are far from predictable.



Go to: Some of my favorites, or
Go to: Putting the web to work, or
Go to: Saving a digital copy, or
Go to: Designing a work-oriented environment, or
Go to: Tools I've known and loved ... and often abandoned.