The Impermanence of Digital Files: A Lesson for Content Creators

Well over a decade ago, in the early 2010s, I had the pleasure of guest-hosting on a couple of different technology-focused podcasts on the same network. It was over a several-month period, involving a few different episodes for each show, and I really enjoyed the conversations I had with the other hosts. These discussions, being in the technology sector, were inherently time-sensitive. They applied directly to what was going on in the space at that very moment and were therefore not evergreen content.

Photo credit: https://morguefile.com/creative/Grafixar

At the time, I just took it for granted that the shows would always be around. I figured if I ever wanted to re-listen or reference them, they’d be right there. But, as you probably know if you've been in the digital space for a while, projects can disappear. Both shows, and the entire network, have since shut down. They are completely gone from the World Wide Web.

Last year, I was going through some deep file folders on my hard drive and reorganizing some things after recovering files from a hard drive failure. It was during this process that I discovered something that I'd forgotten about. I had started an archive of my work years before, with projects I’d been a part of and podcasts I’d guest-hosted on over the years.

In that moment, I realized how much it mattered to me to keep a record of this work. Even though it might not be important to the rest of the world to ever hear some of these pieces of content again, it is a part of my story, my life, and my journey as a content creator. I want to preserve that record.

I decided to intentionally fill out that archive, specifically focusing on my podcast guest appearances. So, I reached out to the host and the network of those two shows from the early 2010s. Sadly, I learned the unfortunate news that neither of them had kept any copies of one of those podcasts. Those episodes are gone forever. And this is not the only example of this happening. There are at least two other podcasts that I can recall appearing on in my early days of podcasting that I never saved a copy of.

A webcam snap from my early podcasting days

So, why should you care? This is the core lesson I want to share. This post is really just a bit of a nudge or a heads-up to all the content creators out there. If you are involved in any project—if you appear on a podcast, an audio drama, or anything else you might ever want to reference again in the future, or just have for your own personal archive:

• Always download a copy as soon as it is released and save it.
• If the content is released in a private or restricted form, reach out to the creator/producer of that project and ask for a copy.

You just never know how long a project will be around. It could go away at any time, without any notice whatsoever. We often think that what goes on the internet stays on the internet forever (and that is true in many cases), but it is not true for every piece of content. For creatives like me who work on podcasts and other kinds of niche content, those projects can disappear forever, never to be recovered.

So, if you think that the content you're involved in is important and maybe something you’ll want to look at again in the future, grab copies while you can.