Social media presents unique issues for federal records managers trying to figure out how to collect, manage, and preserve these digitally complex records.
As far back as 2011, the government has been assessing how to best handle social media records. A 2011 study conducted by the Social Media Subgroup of the Federal Records Council evaluated the feasibility of five distinct capture methods:
- Copy/paste into a Microsoft Word and/or PDF document and then save into a Records Management Application (RMA)
- Same as #1 but save into a non-RMA application or storage medium
- Use a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) aggregator
- Use an RSS feed in tandem with email and save into an RMA
- Use commercial options other than an RMA
They found that some approaches simply fell short.
Screenshots pasted into a document, for example, were not helpful because they failed to preserve all metadata and aspects of the content – like links, audio, and video components – which meant they did not comply with NARA’s guidance for transferring permanent web content records.
That was a decade ago, and the government is still trying to address these questions. Laurence Brewer, NARA’s Chief Records Officer, said at a conference hosted by the Digital Government Institute earlier this year that NARA will be issuing new guidance focused on preserving social media posts and other web records.
In part, this is because social media platforms have evolved tremendously over that time, and the strategies for collecting social media content for preservation have expanded. Dedicated backup tools, direct requests to social media platforms, custom Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and third-party services can also help agencies to capture and store social media records for internal use and transfer to NARA.
And what does NARA want? Pending future guidance, agencies need to be aware of three critical pieces of pre-existing guidance from NARA:
1: Yes, you must capture social media records.
Agencies themselves are responsible for defining and identifying what kind of social media output they must capture for disposition and preservation, but social media content created in the course of government business unambiguously counts as a federal record.
2: You must update records schedules appropriately.
Agencies must ensure that social media records have been incorporated into existing records schedules; if not, an appropriate schedule must be developed. Click for more information about creating a records schedules.
3: You may want to create a “Social Media Working Group.”
NARA also recommends (as a “should have” rather than a “must have”) that agencies establish a “Social Media Working Group” to handle any special issues or questions that arise from managing federal social media records.
About PSL
PSL is a global outsource provider whose mission is to provide solutions that facilitate the movement of business-critical information between and among government agencies, business enterprises, and their partners. For more information, please visit or email info@penielsolutions.com.