Flipnote 2009 is a non-profit online archive dedicated to a hugely important but sparsely documented era of internet history: Flipnote Hatena.
On December 24th, during the final moments of the year 2008, Nintendo launched Flipnote Studio in Japan. Flipnote Studio is a flipbook-style animation program created for the Nintendo DSi, which offers a basic suite of features for people of all ages to dip their toes into animation. Flipnote utilized the unique features of the DSi such as having a touchscreen and internet capabilities, and included an online platform called Flipnote Hatena. Hatena would slowly grow a cult following over the years, amassing tens of thousands of users who posted millions of flipnotes. Hatena went offline on May 31, 2013, to the dismay of many. Several archival projects have sprung up in response, but many of these are either inactive, very old, or not publicly accessible. Flipnote 2009 is my attempt to make these animations easily accessible for all.