Archive for October, 2011
Not all pictures are worth a thousand words
Posted by actiancefederal in Compliance, Social Networking on October 25, 2011
Charley Barth of the Department of the Navy would certainly agree with this subject line, contrary to the popular maxim of “a picture’s worth a thousand words.” That’s because since October 2010, the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) has maintained that social media records should be archived, if the platform in question adds value, e.g., inviting public comment or other collaboration opportunities. Just taking a “snapshot” is not enough. In Barth’s mind, a snapshot is “just a picture of a page.”
Furthermore, being able to capture context of communications is critical too. The Federal Records Council’s social media subgroup found that public-generated content in a government forum was just as important as government-created content. So, capturing comments and entire conversation threads becomes ever more critical in the eyes of Barth.
Fortunately, there are technology solutions available today that can capture exactly that. Actiance Socialite can record content posted to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as well as comments, in context. Transcripts are presented in a conversational format such that, if you’re a reviewer or compliance officer, it’s very easy to grasp the nature of a conversation taking place over social media channels. No need to sift through a voluminous content management system or archiving platform to piece together a given conversation. Everything is presented logically and contextually, simplifying the separation of the wheat from the chaff.
There’s a whole lot of chatter and noise on social media – it gives us all a mouthpiece. Sometimes, finding that nugget of information, say, that thread on the benefits of stem cell research, can be challenging. But, with the appropriate solution, finding and presenting information seamlessly can make folks like Barth sleep easy at night. Governments worldwide have a reputation for inefficiency and a plodding nature, but with the right tools and policies, this one of ours might well become the poster child for how to properly and effectively record social media content without stifling government transparency and public engagement with its agencies.
Certainly, George, Thomas, and the rest of the Founding Fathers would be proud of that.
Wanna get away? A Google engineer does.
Posted by nleong in Privacy, Social Networking on October 21, 2011
This is not a Southwest Airlines promotion, but rather, a blog entry on how easy is it to mess up on social media. None other than a Google engineer (as it’s a social world, you’ll likely know his name already – Steve Yegge) is the latest victim to be ensnarled in the social media web. As most of you have probably heard by now, Stevie Boy ripped on his own employer in a Google+ post-cum-rant on the shortcomings of that very platform. Of course, he meant the post to be visible only to his Google colleagues and not to the outside world. Oooops.
There are oodles of smart folks at Google, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to the occasional epic screw-up. Just goes to show how easy it is to forget about who you’re connected to and what your privacy settings are. Like many social networking platforms today, users have the option of selecting who their audience will be for particular posts and messages. If you’re not careful (or perhaps too inebriated), it’s quite easy to let 800 million of your closest Facebook “friends” know that you were at the local pub to check out the Rugby World Cup, instead of lying in bed at home since you called in “sick” for the day.
It reads like a broken record throughout the copious blogs, articles, and conferences surrounding social media these days: be careful what you put out there because you’re never gonna get it back. Just the other day, I read an article, saying that only 26% of those who use Facebook daily were concerned about privacy on that site. Pretty scary. I guess we’re living in a fishbowl world and no one seems to mind.
That’s not true, of course. Privacy and security will always be an issue for those persons or organizations where data confidentiality is crucial. From patient health records to financial data to credit card numbers, the types of data that require the utmost security controls would be a long list indeed. Companies like Actiance strive to bring peace of mind to those organizations in need of granular security and compliance controls.
Content comes in many shapes and sizes these days. It’s not just social media. There’s also instant messaging, BlackBerry, Skype, texting, collaboration software, and good ol’ fashioned email that people can use to communicate with one another. And that’s not an exhaustive list. As technological innovation chugs along, new communication channels will undoubtedly continue to emerge.
So, if you’re looking to avoid pulling a “Steve Yegge,” pay attention to the details: know who you’re connected to, check your privacy settings, and try not to get too sloppy before Facebooking or Google+’ing at the end of the evening.
