"Dear journal ..." – the continuation of a 1500 year old legend

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"Dear journal ..." – the continuation of a 1500 year old legend

By annoknips GmbH

Berlin, October 19, 2008. One of the greatest bearers of human secrets is celebrating its 1500th birthday: the journal. From the Assyrian clay calendars of the 6th century the journal has developed to become an interactive online meeting point: today, instead of pen and paper, journal writers use the internet journal portal annoknips.com and write contemporary history online from their personal perspective.

The history of the journal is probably as old as the history of writing – but Assyrian clay calendars from the 6th century are the first proof that people recorded daily events in characters: market prices, water levels, weather conditions and the activities of the Babylonian rulers were documented in this way. Such records were emotionless chronicles until the late Middle Ages. It was not until the Renaissance that society developed a feeling for its individuality and the first personal impressions, feelings and opinions were cautiously recorded in memorial books and travel accounts. Nevertheless, even in such accounts factual observations took precedence over personal feelings right up to the late 17th century.

The Englishman Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) triggered a journal revolution; not only did he record contemporary history in ten volumes, he also noted his own feelings and critical observations of other people's behavior and his own conduct. He built a bridge between the objective journal of the Renaissance and the subjective journal of the present.

The absolutism of the 18th century pushed citizens back into their private lives. Religion became more person-centered, and these two factors encouraged the keeping of personal journals as a means of soul-searching and as individual accounts. Journals from this time can seem glorified and romantic. It was not until the mid 19th century that the journal became a balanced mixture of a factual report and a way of storing feelings, and in the 20th century the journal finally gained acceptance as a personal companion in Western cultures. According to estimates, more than half of the population now keeps a journal at some time in their lives - partly to preserve the past and partly to process experiences.

This was reason enough for the Berlin entrepreneur Thomas Böttcher to take up this subject, which is still underrepresented on the internet, and to create a website that not only takes the journal to the 21st century, but also fulfils a far-reaching autobiographical function for every writer. The website annoknips.com allows anyone to record their experiences in words, pictures and videos. Memories can be stored privately, protected from curious eyes, or alternatively they can be made accessible to others. Everyone can decide what they wish to reveal about themselves and what not.

From its beginnings around 1500 years ago the journal has developed to become an international social platform that links people. This is because the medium for the electronic journal - the annoknips.com website – is multilingual and is also used in other countries. Over many centuries the antique clay calendars have developed to become a global information network that can document contemporary history from the perspective of the "ordinary joe" - providing unlimited room for individuality and representing the entirety of humanity. The development of the journal in future remains exciting!

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