Digital history : some worries

Reading the post by Remi on digital history, the nature of it and the oppositions it creates, I wanted to add a few things on the matter.

Rémi puts to the question the notion of digital history. Is it only the good old craft of historians considerably quickened and broadened by the use of new technologies ? Or is Digital History a completely new thing, that changes beyond recognition the nature of history?

It seems to me that the documents mention very serious arguments that cast doubts on the benefits of the imperium of the web over the practise and the diffusion of history.

Only three remarks:
- The article by Carr, Is Google making us stupid? underlines the fact that reading habits of web surfing historians have shifted to the point where they cannot read a whole article or a whole book at once. They feel the need to jump to other places. In my case I cannot rest if I cannot locate the book, article or source mentioned in the footnote and therefore when I am online, I must click on the hyperlink. But what about focus? Is this reading habit good for reasearch? Does historical research need more focus or more creativity?
- To follow on that remark, I downloaded recently a podcast by Jennifer Burns, from the University of West Virginia, on American Intellectual History (I know it is a bit far from my area of interest but she is an amazing teacher). I suppose this is a course for undergraduates and therefore she stressed the importance of learning how to read in a world where images, videos and soundtracks steal all the energy we would have to read. Great readers become scarce but reading skills are essential to get a reasonably good grasp of the complexity that surrounds us.
- Finally I just finished the chapter by Cohen and Rosenzweig on the History Web. At one point, they mention Jim Zwick and his website on anti-imperialism. To them he is an example of the wonders an individual historian can realize with one website by digitizing materials relevant to his subject. My only problem is that Jim Zwick died recently and his websites disappeared. While it has more than one favourable review, it passed away with its author. What a waste? (but let's be hopeful: maybe an institution of the deep web, a database has taken over, maybe... but where?)