New interactive website keeps history alive in the age of social media

The concept is simple, but developers of Historypin are hopeful their impact will be huge. The new website launching this week seeks to spark intergenerational conversation and interest in history using old photographs and Google Maps.

Users of Historypin will able to take old photographs and “pin” them to locations using Google Maps. Anyone with an account will be able to submit pictures along with a brief caption of each one. History enthusiasts will then be able to search for photographs by location and date. By setting the search parameters, you can pull up old pictures, overlaid on top of a present-day Google street views and maps

Several museums and libraries have already hopped on the project as they view this as an opportunity to preserve history in the age of social media.

Already honored with the 2011 Webby for Best Charitable Organization/Non-Profit, the website plans to expand to audio and video clips in the future.

To learn more about Historypin, click here.