Thoughts on Reddit as a Historical Source

 I am not saying that reddit is by any means always a credible or accurate source for historical information, but I will say that if I am looking for some general context of information about a specific historical event or time period, it is helpful to search it up on reddit and just see what people have to say.

Again, as there is no way to even identify the true identity of the author of reddit posts or comments, much less verify their credibility and the accuracy of the information they are providing, the information is not something I would reference as fact. At the same time, it is helpful to sift through various points of view on a topic, which often times allows you to gain some insight and knowledge on the topic, and probably learn some new things which may (or may not) be true.

Thoughts on User Participation Projects

 User participation projects and crowdsourcing are amazing ways to compile diversified pieces of historical information for display. The information that the various users have to offer often help to paint a fuller picture of the subject of the project.

In looking through the user participation projects specific to Virginia history, one of the most notable was Making History, by the Library of Virginia. This project enables participants to add context to historical pieces in the library's collection, which includes artifacts, court records, and letters for hundreds of years of Virginia history. Projects like this are important because they allow the community to elaborate on their own history, adding points of view that may not have previously been heard, and sharing their knowledge so that our understanding of the past grows stronger.

Another interesting user participation project related to Virginia history is the effort by the UVA school of law to encourage citizens to help transcribe the multitude of historical legal manuscripts in their possession. This project is another which is important for historical development, as the more transcripts which become available and accessible to the general public and to the average historian, the more historical knowledge and context is available to allow them to build on history effectively.

Thoughts on Data Sets

There is an abundance of data in the world today which can be analyzed to illustrate trends and explore relationships using data visualization tools.

A couple data sets that I found which could have insights gained from subjecting them to a data visualization project include a data set on historical Virginia suicide rates by sex, race/ethnicity and age kept by the United Health Foundation. This data can be used to derive trends in activity to identify at-risk groups and help those in need. Another interesting data set pertained to the state SOL Test Results data published by the VA Department of Education. Using this data in a visualization would illustrate the progress of the state's education system.

Some of my favorite visualizations on the web are published by FiveThirtyEight, a statistical analysis site that used data to predict and analyze anything from sports to politics. I keep up to date with their NFL, NBA, and soccer predication visualizations, where they utilize 100,000 simulations of each season to predict the season-end results.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-nfl-predictions/?ex_cid=rrpromo