How Facebook changed the world...

I was listening to CBC Radio's Here and Now yesterday afternoon when I was struck by a story concerning the new computer fad, Facebook. Apparently, Microsoft bought a piece (1.6% to be exact) of the the social networking mogul for $240 million. Along with with this not-so-large chunk of the Facebook pie (the website is worth around $15 billion and its creator, Mark Zuckerburg is worth almost $5 billion), Microsoft now has a role in Facebook's advertising and future claims to more of the company as it continues to grow and gain popularity - and it will, said Here and Now's technology-minded Jesse Hirsh.

What is even more interesting was the discussion that followed. Hirsh and the Here and Now host, Matt Galloway, talked about this Facebook-Microsoft pairing as the way of the future in terms of operating systems. Indeed, both Google and Microsoft are tending toward programs and applications that allow the user to connect to people, hotels, restaurants, and other services throughout the world (I am thinking here of the ideas expressed in the clever video clip Epic 2015). Hirsh mentioned that Facebook, with its ever growing application options, is used more and more instead of email and as a form of entertainment with games and other interesting features. Why not, Hirsh mused, create spreadsheets and word documents on Facebook too?

Why not indeed! Part of Facebook's allure to major computer companies like Microsoft, is its seemingly indefinite access to marketing information. Users of Facebook can post their activities, interests, favourite books and television shows, and even products they prefer; and now, Microsoft is right there, watching, making note that one of Sarah's (and many others, to be sure) favourite television shows is The Hills. The next time I sign in I might be prodded with ads offering me deals on Hills memorabilia or cautioned not to miss the next episode or informed of Hills related events in my area.

In addition to operating systems and marketing, Facebook is also a massive archive and digital repository. Everytime users add to their profile it is recorded and whoever has access to this added information, particularly photos, can copy it (read: archive it). If the Facebook fad lasts long enough and profiles are accessible 100 years from now, historians, archivists, and researchers of the future will have interesting, detailed, and almost complete accounts of the lives of millions of people (the Toronto, ON network itself contains 900 000 people!). What this speaks of in terms of privacy is probably the subject for another blog.

Today's society, it seems, is very concerned with this idea of documenting and recording everything, especially our daily lives. There's Gordon Bell who undertook a project to digitally archive every photo, piece of paper, and action of his life. Even weirder is Johnny Lechner, a guy who has been in college since 1994 and who is recording every minute of his final (one can only hope) college year and broadcasting it online (you should definitely watch it for a bit).

Obviously people are interested in this kind of archiving - we are posting information on Facebook and other social networking sites, newspapers and magazines are writing about people like Gordon Bell, we are watching (voyeurism?) Johnny go to school, and we are blogging! In 100 years historians are going to use this information to build a framework of and learn about our society. Some people, pessimists, I'm sure, believe that all of this archiving and information collecting will cast a negative light on our time. But they way I see it is that these sorts of websites, Facebook and even Johnny Lechner, connect all of us. If we have the ability to document our daily lives so that others in different countries and cultures can read about it and maybe learn something they otherwise wouldn't have, then why not?

Web Review: Going for Gold

Klondike - The Rush for the Gold!
<http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Klondike/English/main.html>.
Created and maintained by the Dawson City Museum for the Virtual Museum of Canada, 2006. Reviewed October 2007.

Taking a trip to the Klondike is next to impossible for most elementary and high school classrooms in Canada; not to mention the fact the late nineteenth century gold fever, or Klondicitus, that once typified the Yukon and its bonanza cities has since been silenced. Imagine, however, a website that takes students and other interested viewers on a historical “journey to the harsh north country” in the search for gold.

Klondike - The Rush for the Gold! does just that. The website was created by Dawson City Museum in association with the Department of Canadian Heritage for the Virtual Museum of Canada. It is separated into six different sections which include an interactive part, maps, Klondike genealogy resources, information for teachers, and acknowledgments. These pages replicate a Klondike newspaper from the late nineteenth century. Icons on the left side of the page direct users to appropriate sections within the website.

The heart of the website can be reached by clicking “Start” which redirects the user to a “Start Your Adventure” section that is presented in HTML or Flash versions. Offering an HTML version ensures that those viewers who do not have the necessary Flash software are able to view and access the website. The Flash version, however, offers audio, movies, fading graphics, games, and other effects; an overall better experience.

The adventure begins in 1897 Seattle where news spread of the gold discovered in Canada’s north by Skookum Jim and George Carmack. Viewers hear the sounds of people rushing about, sea gulls, and ocean steamers. Ideally, students and users select the links from the “Read More About” section which includes ‘nuggets’ of information pertaining to the Klondike, women’s roles in gold rush, Klondicitus, and syndicates/business opportunities. The four nuggets provide a basic, superficial knowledge of Klondike history.

There is a ‘choose your own adventure’ web game that links from the main page. Here students are prompted to “Go to the Klondike!” by selecting their own steamship ticket, buying an outfit, choosing the right horse and guide, and many other options like which speculator to trust and which dance hall to enter. If students make the wrong decision - they decide to join a local gang or buy a bicycle for navigating the northern terrain - they are told “Your Adventure is Over” and asked to start again. The most interesting part of the web game is choosing those options that ‘end’ your adventure; joining Soapy Smith’s gang, playing the local games, or starting a business provide a glimpse at everyday life in a gold rush town.

Throughout the game there are information prompts which encourage students and users to learn more about the cities of the Klondike, the steamships that brought gold hunters to the Yukon and Alaska, and the treacherous mountain passes that reached the Klondike. The website makes use of many primary sources too. Movies show original footage of ship boarding and gold discoveries and processing. There are many opportunities to read the diary of one prospector, Otto Steiner, who kept notes of his Klondike experiences. The “Seattle Photo Album”, although it focuses on the city of Seattle, offers a first hand look at the necessary preparation before embarking to the Klondike.

The web game, while an interactive way of learning, is very time consuming and somewhat confusing. The game seems to continue for longer than necessary and it was often difficult to return to the start or homepage. The result is largely unsatisfying and leaves students and viewers without a solid grasp of gold rush knowledge.

The section devoted to teachers outlines the application of the website to grades three and five of the British Columbia elementary school curriculum. It offers suggestions on how teachers can incorporate the website into classroom learning; the fragmented presentation and amount of information on the website, however, would be overwhelming for third and fifth graders. Contradictions arise with the Dawson City Museum’s suggestion that student users be at an eighth grade reading level due to the heavy text-based presentation of information on the website. Along with these inconsistencies, some of the historical content - prostitution, gangs, violence - is perhaps too advanced for younger students.

Overall the website delivers what is promised: a fun, interactive way to learn about the Klondike. The graphics, design, visuals, and sound are great additions to the website but they are relied on too heavily and distract from the information, especially in the web game. Similarly, the website would benefit from more age appropriate facts and fewer links to more information. While the website does not present any new, groundbreaking facts relating to the Klondike, it is a good way to involve younger children in their own education and it brings to life one of the most interesting and forgotten events in Canadian history.

The Secret Lives Of....

I love historical fiction novels. I think the genre is great. I also think they are a form of public history. A great historical fiction novel can transport the reader to the time and place created by the author - giving readers a glimpse at what life may have been like for the Tudors, Helen of Troy, or Mary Magdalene. The wonderful thing about historical fiction is that it appeals to many different interests: students/lovers of history are drawn to the historical basis of the novels while other readers are interested in plot and the imaginative/fantastical aspects of the genre. Historical fiction is also pure entertainment.

Authors of historical fiction provide readers with a disclaimer that acknowledges that the storylines and facts may not be completely true, that they are the author's interpretation of certain factual events, people, and eras. Isn't this idea of interpreting the facts similar to the job of an academic historian? I think certainly Keith Jenkins would agree with me. He says that the past is gone and there is "no fundamentally correct 'text' of which other interpretations are just variations; variations are all there are."1 Couldn't historical fiction be another one of Jenkins's variations?

I think so. Books like Philippa Gregory's The Constant Princess and Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII and Carolly Erickson's The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette beautifully describe their respective periods with details of clothing, landscape, leisure time, housing, social conditions and much more. Gregory's Katherine of Aragon often describes her home in Grenada, the Alhambra, with such detail that the reader cannot help but imagine the palace in all its glory with painted murals and beautifully dressed women and men. In George's novel she writes of a banquet for Henry VII and family that consisted of "venison, crayfish, prawns, oysters, mutton, braw, conger-eel, carp, lamprey, swan, crane, quail, dove, partridge, goose, duck, rabbit, fruit custard, lamb, manchet, and so on...."2

These authors have inspired me to learn more about the actual historical events that surround the places and people described in the books. After reading about the Alhambra I took steps to learn of its Muslim origins and eventual transfer to Spanish control. George's description of a banquet feast provided me with insight as to Tudor eating habits and festivities. Countless other works of historical fiction have had the same effect.

Historical fiction affects its readers in another way: it teaches them to read with a critical mind. It is important to remember that this genre is indeed fiction. But I would argue that you need to read academic articles and historical non-fiction in the same way. Students and readers must be aware of author bias, contradictory evidence, and fact manipulation.

As a new student of public history it only recently occurred to me that historical fiction novels are a great way to promote history to the public. They are written in such a way that encourages the reader to learn more about the subject at hand. The only thing more that I could ask for is for someone to write Canadian historical fiction. Perhaps a novel based on a band of brave rebels fighting in Lower Canada during the rebellion of 1837 or one that tells of a wild romance between a beautiful native and her coureur des bois on the snowy, cold Canadian frontier.

Either way, any book of historical fiction will continue to be my genre of choice and I can't wait until February 28 when Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl will premier as a major motion picture! YES!



1 Keith Jenkins, Re-thinking History (London: Routledge, 2003), 14.
2 Margaret George, The Autobiography of Henry VIII (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1987), 32-33.

The View from Here

I was born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario. I'm sure some of you have heard of it, sometimes it's referred to as "the dirty shwa" or "the armpit of Ontario". Anyway, if you have heard of my lovely, relatively safe, blue collared hometown it's probably because of General Motors. The national headquarters is located there, not to mention two car plants, a truck plant, a paint shop, the Canadian Regional Engineering Centre (where most of the designing is done) and countless other affiliated automotive industries. You also may have read/heard about GM's latest announcement to cut 1200 jobs by eliminating the third shift at the truck plant. Not surprisingly, this decision is going to effect many people who live in Oshawa and the surrounding area as well as the economy of the region.

While GM boardroom decisions can have a negative effect on Oshawa, there are also many reasons to praise the big business. Oshawa's OHL team, the Oshawa Generals, is well known for kick-starting the careers of hockey legends like Bobby Orr and Eric Lindros. General Motors Centre, built just last year and partly funded by GM, has brought new life to the downtown. But what is more interesting to me, and more to the point of public history, is that Oshawa would not be the city it is today without Colonel R. S. McLaughlin.

In 1867 the McLaughlin Carriage Company was the largest in the British Empire. It moved its factory to Oshawa in 1876 from a small town north of the city. Toward the turn of the century, R.S. McLaughlin (affectionately known as Sam) encouraged his father (then owner) to switch to the manufacturing of automobiles. The McLaughlin Motor Car Company was created in 1907. A year later, the McLaughlins teamed with Buick and in 1915 with Chevrolet. McLaughlin cars were known for their reliabilty and quality but in 1918 Sam realized the best way to ensure success was to join forces with the booming company, General Motors. Sam became president of General Motors Canada and the headquarters remained in Oshawa. The McLaughlins were known throughout Oshawa and the surrounding areas.

I was fortunate enough to work at Parkwood, the R.S. McLaughlin Estate, National Historic Site for four summers. The estate dates to 1917 and was the home of Sam, his wife, and their five daughters. It now serves as a community museum which displays the original furnishings and anything else you can think of that belonged to the family. While I worked there I gained a lot of experience in archiving, tours, and museum management - something I don't think I would have gotten at a provincial or national museum. For one summer, I was responsible for cataloging, conserving, and preserving family archives.

Every summer, visitors come from around the world and are amazed at Parkwood and its grounds. But for the most part, Parkwood is still very unknown; citizens of Oshawa will often come in for a tour admitting they've lived in Oshawa their entire lives and not known about Parkwood (they know about Sam though). What's even more interesting, to me anyway, is that Parkwood has been the site for the filming of many movies: Billy Madison, Hollywoodland, X-Men, Chicago, The State Within (a wicked BBC production, by the way), to name a few. It was even featured on the TV show Rich Bride, Poor Bride (it's a wedding hotspot ladies!!!!). A lot of the times, visitors come just to see the staircase where Adam Sandler walked down, or the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

My point is this: there are a lot of museums just like Parkwood all throughout Canada and sometimes they are the best ones. A tour of Parkwood is filled with anecdotes and family stories; tours are limited to 15 people so visitors and tour guides form a rapport that, I think, leads to a better museum experience. I know for certain that the reason I am in public history is because of Parkwood. The community size of the museum meant that I could be responsible for things like grants, archiving, and sometimes security (not to mention the lack of funding...errr).

So go out and explore the lesser known museums in Canada (like Nana's beloved Spadina House or London's Eldon House). While an internship at the Canadian War Museum or History Television or the ROM might look better on a resume, I think you'll get more experience and have more fun at a smaller community museum. Next time you meet anyone from Oshawa you can think of more than GM. Heck, you might even surprise them with your knowledge of the McLaughlins and the history behind the city.

P.S. If anyone is ever in the Oshawa area and wants a tour of Parkwood, let me know! :D Ghost stories included.
P.P.S. I have to mention that Adam and I had a similar conversation in the Grad Club last night. ; )