What is your first memory involving a computer?
Patron responses on display in Hohbach Hall.
Prompt
What is your first memory involving a computer?
24%
mentioned family as part of their memory.
From May to August 2023, patrons entering Hohbach Hall were greeted with the question, "What is your first memory involving a computer?" As the weeks went by, the interactive wall started to fill up with a variety of experiences that represented the breadth of the Stanford community's living memory of computing.
Some patrons recalled learning to use specific technologies, like calculators, punch card machines, and computers that spanned entire rooms. Others wrote about the advent of personal computing–setting up family computer rooms; watching parents send emails; or negotiating with siblings for more time to play video games. Colored pencil drawings, interspersed between the written responses, documented iconic images of computing culture, including the ubiquitous Microsoft Bucolic Green Hills default wallpaper and the Apple, Inc. logo.
Overall, we received a total of 443 responses written in four languages (English, Spanish, Chinese and German). Jon Cousins of KZSU, Stanford's FM radio station, even took the interactive outside of Green Library's walls and invited his listeners to text in their own memories while he was on air (Cousins later added these responses to the display).
Video games ended up being the most discussed across all of the memories (46%), with responses falling into one of three categories:
| Video Games Category | Percent of Responses |
|---|---|
| Console/PC games (software) | 27% |
| Online gaming (web-browser or software) | 20% |
| General comment or unknown game | 4% |
Over 100 unique video games were mentioned. The most mentioned games, Minecraft (11) and Oregon Trail (10), were considered both "console/PC games" and "online gaming" for simplicity.
All of the responses were transcribed and will be preserved as part of Stanford Libraries' holdings.
