My name is Rebecca Stoks and I am a Masters of Information Studies student at Victoria University of Wellington.
Earlier in the year I conducted a survey into how government agencies in Australia are capturing records created on social media websites that was promoted via this forum.
63 valid responses were received, the results from which have now been analysed. As promised, here are the key findings:
- 41 out of 63 respondents had been using social media for 1 year or more
- 49 out of 63 respondents either had a social media policy in place or were developing one
- 26 respondents had a social media policy in place; 13 of these policies mentioned the recordkeeping implications of using social media
- 32 out of 63 respondents had been approached internally for advice on social media recordkeeping, 11 had created a procedure on social media recordkeeping, and 19 were in the process of developing a procedure
- Of the 54 who were using social media, 18 were capturing records
- When it came to deciding what to capture, respondents were divided, with some capturing everything and others capturing selected records
- Of those capturing records, most captured records created and received by their agency, few were also capturing social media interactions such as ratings, tags and re-postings and most were only capturing basic metadata associated with social media records
- Most respondents were using more than one method to capture social media records; the most popular methods were taking screenshots, subscribing to syndication feeds and using a third party archiving service
- Of the respondents using social media, most did not feel confident they were meeting their legal obligations to keep records
- Only half of those capturing records thought their methods were sustainable, these respondents tended to come from organisations using more automated capture methods, such as archiving services and syndication feeds
- Most respondents had consulted their local Public Records Office on social media recordkeeping and found their advice useful. However, when asked what gaps existed in the current guidance on social media records, several respondents expressed a desire for practical and sustainable solutions for what to capture and how to capture.
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the study. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like a copy of the full report.
Regards,
Rebecca
Rebecca Stoks | stoksrebe@myvuw.ac.nz
Masters of Information Studies Student, Victoria University of Wellington
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