June 18, 2008

The Promise of Footnote

When the idea of Footnote was first conceived there were several things that we wanted to do, or do differently, but the main motivation was to provide a place where everyone can interact with original source information about history. The idea was that together we can tell a richer story about the people, places and events of the past.

Each of us has information in a shoebox of old photos, a journal, in our memories or in research we've done that sheds new light and clarity on the lives of individuals and on the major events that shape history.

Here's a good example of the kind of thing that we hoped would happen:
This birth certificate included an error when it was created, but SBuntyn discovered the problem and posted a comment on the image and now, anyone who searches Footnote for Josiah Franklin Buntyn can find this certificate.

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