Versionista.com - Track Web Edits

Information is easily scrubbed, sanitized and edited on the internet. One minor compromising detail can be wiped out within a matter of hours, or minutes even, hiding the real truth from prying eyes. Versionista is a new tool developed by PhD’s, which can track each edit and delete made on a website that you specify. With Versionista, all the web’s content becomes set in stone. It maps precisely all edits that have been made, giving journalists, activists and corporations a competitive edge. Versionista has already been employed by McCain’s political team to unearth interesting edits made on Obama’s website. What you see is a side by side comparison that allows you to see before and afters of each monitored page. Text that has been added, deleted or moved is highlighted; you can rollback in time to see older versions. Creating an account only requires a valid email address and it’s free (for up to two pages, more than that and you’ll have to pay anywhere from $16 to $500 a month).

“Versionista monitors Web sites that you specify for edits. Our Web-based service records every change, clearly highlighting added or deleted words and sentences.
You can view multiple generations of edit histories for every page on a site. At the same time, filtering eliminates information overload by tracking only content that matters.”

This is an extremely powerful tool especially given today’s political climate. You can actually see who has waffled the most, or who has lied outright. Journalists will be able to unearth inconsistencies and compromising information. Beyond politics, there are some more mundane uses, such as monitoring price changes, and news updates.

Versionista can be very useful, but it can also backfire as well. Does it work for all sites? Do certain members of the press get discounted prices?