Best Practices for the Capture of Social Media Records

By National Archives and Records Administration

Federal agencies are increasingly using social media platforms to engage with their employees and the public. Such activity may result in the creation of Federal records that must be captured and managed in compliance with Federal records management laws, regulations, and policies. GAO Audit 11-605,"Social Media: Federal Agencies Need Policies and Procedures for Managing and Protecting Information They Access and Disseminate," concluded that social media "can pose challenges in managing and identifying records, protecting personal information, and ensuring the security of Federal information and systems." The audit specifically addressed security and records management issues concerning agency social media activity. In response, the Archivist of the United States committed NARA to developing "guidance on effectively capturing records from social media sites and ... best practices." Additionally, through forums Federal agencies have frequently expressed the desire for additional guidance. This white paper is part of NARA's effort to provide guidance and best practices for capturing social media records. It is not feasible for NARA to provide platform-specific guidance because it is difficult to predict which tools will be available and preferred in the future. NARA's Report on Federal Web 2.0 Use and Record Value concluded that agencies anticipate a great deal of change in the social media landscape in part due to increasing technological convergence. Altogether these changes will provide more challenges to records management staff and their ability to capture and preserve content.This paper reports on the current state of social media use in the Federal government. These examples offer building blocks for the creation of best practices for the successful capture of social media records. This white paper also provides an overview of available capture tools as of May 2013.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1508834164
• ISBN13: 9781508834168
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 26 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"