Glossary
Terms used on PoliticalWeb.Info and in our research projects
are defined below.
Archival URL:
The URL corresponding to the archival impression of
a Web page, which includes capture date and time.
Bit: A
contraction of “binary digit”, the smallest unit of information
that a computer can hold. Eight bits is a byte.
Born digital:
Objects, such as Web pages, of digital origin for use
on the Web. Digital material created for the Web has an
average existence of 100 days, after which it is lost forever
if it is not archived.
Brochure-ware:
The product of transferring printed materials into online
digital formats without adapting the material to the special
character of the Web or making use of the online media’s
interactive capacities (see Web-ware).
Capture Date:
The date and time stamp of an archival URL that identifies
when an impression of a Web page was captured.
Impression:
The product created by archiving a Web object (a site,
a page, or a page element) at a particular point in time
by a particular browser.
Outlink: A
link within a Web site that leads to an external site.
URL: The
abbreviation of “Uniform Resource Locator”, an addressing
system for the Web that provides an access path to the unique
address of any Web document, material or object.
Web Archive:
A collection of preserved, cataloged impressions of
Web materials.
Web Archive
Interface: Enabling software that allows searching a
Web archive. Some user-friendly interfaces, like http://politicalweb.info,
allow users to conduct a flexible and detailed analysis
of a Web archive without requiring previous URL knowledge.
In place of a URL, users conduct queries using single or
multiple criteria.
Web Sphere:
A collection of Web sites related to a specific event
or subject, created over a specific time period. Examples
of Web spheres include Web sites related to a college basketball
season, or sites around a current event.
Web Storm:
A subset of a Web Sphere, it is born digital content
produced in response to an unanticipated event that has
significant impact reflected on the Internet. An example
of a Web Storm is Web material surrounding September 11,
2001, or the death of Princess Diana.
Web-ware:
Material presented through Web-exclusive features that
move beyond “brochure-ware”, leveraging the Web’s interactive
capacities. Examples include interactive polling, online
events and interactive calendars.
