Cohen and Rosenzweig are right- the Web is not going anywhere. However, I think the benefits (particularly those of capacity and accessibility) far outweigh the potential for abuse. Like anything involving new technology we need to develop standards for usage. Cohen and Rosenzweig do a good job of identifying the issues involved. My question is will we be able to develop the standards before the technology changes again?
History and New Media:
This idea of "keeping up" is the first thought in Tim Grove article New Media and the Challenges for Public History but then he goes on to ask a really important question: how do museums with ever dwindling resources keep up with the technology? Think about it. The Wagner is currently struggling to keep the heating system working but pretty soon they're going to have to hire someone to be in charge of Facebook and Flickr updates. The Seefeldt and Thomas article What is Digital History? A look at some Exemplar Projects showed examples of how Digital History is particularly useful; the Texas Slavery Project breaks down data by county and year and shows primary documents and the The Valley of the Shadow site gives a lot raw data as well. Particularly when it comes to statistical raw data, digital history is incredibly useful. However, The Sheets article on Wiki in the Classroom shows how digital history is still a two-edged sword.
Haunted Mouses and Hyperlinking Reality:
Haunted Mouses is just disturbing. What happens when the people posting to these sites start presenting themselves authoritatively and visitors to the sites assume that they are as trained historians? Or worse if they start using the technology detailed in Hyperlinking Reality.
Museums and Society 2034: Trends and Potential Futures:
If anything, the trends listed in the Museums and Society article show that the Museums will need to become more digital in order to keep up with the changing needs and demographics of their audiences.
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