01155nas a2200145   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653003500043653003000078100001700108245007000125856014600195300001000341520065800351       2007                            d10aDigital technology (ICH\_1438)10aSocial media (THE\_11828)1 aN. Silberman00aChasing the unicorn?: The quest for "essence" in digital heritage  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84917273368&doi=10.4324%2f9780203937884&partnerID=40&md5=6cb895fcd9c83bb532714106d66d2c7c  a81-913 aThis chapter examines one of the proclaimed goals of digital heritage development, namely the recording and preservation of the "essence" of both tangible and intangible heritage. It will argue that heritage is, by its nature, a social activity embedded in a changing contemporary context and that the challenge for digital heritage is to facilitate that activity, rather than establish a definitive simulacrum of the Past. New socioeconomic developments in the field of heritage will be described, with particular emphasis on the role of the digital technologies. The chapter will close with a cautionary example of problematic digital "authenticity.".