Digital memory: Google now links the Wayback Machine
At the beginning of the year, Google discontinued the cache function, which displayed the old memory status of a website. There is now a replacement.
(Image: Google/Daniel AJ Sokolov)
The Google search engine now has a kind of memory again: users can go directly to an earlier version of a website in the results display. This is made possible by a cooperation between Google and the non-profit Internet Archive. A saved version can be called up directly via the Wayback Machine.
Google had previously abolished its cache function in February. This made it possible to call up the version of a page that the Google bot had called up during its last indexing by clicking on a link under the respective results. This function was useful, for example, if the results found could no longer be found in the online version due to a page update or if a page was disrupted, for example due to heavy traffic.
Not exactly easy to find
The Internet Archive goes far beyond Google's previous cache function: it generally has various storage points available. However, accessing it via Google is only slightly more convenient than accessing it directly via the Wayback Machine. Google has not stored the link directly in the search result. Instead, you first have to click on the three dots next to the URL and then select the "More about this page" button. At the bottom you will find information on when the website was first indexed by Google. There is also a link to the Internet Archive.
The Internet Archive is nevertheless in a celebratory mood: "Now it's just one click away from Google search results, opening a portal to a fuller, richer web – one that remembers what others have forgotten," explained Mark Graham, responsible for the Wayback Machine, in a blog post. The collaboration with Google underlines the importance of web archiving. However, archived websites are not available if operators do not want this or the content violates guidelines.
The cache was one of the oldest functions of the Google search engine. The reason given for dispensing with it was the significantly improved availability of websites. Google argued that the cache was a fallback option that was no longer needed.
(mki)
