Heritage, Records & Trust: Understanding societyʼs past through social media?

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1 University of British Columbia From the SelectedWorks of Elizabeth M. Shaffer May, 2012 Heritage, Records & Trust: Understanding societyʼs past through social media? Elizabeth M. Shaffer, University of British Columbia Lisa P. Nathan, University of British Columbia Available at:

2 Heritage, Records & Trust: Understanding societyʼs past through social media? Elizabeth Shaffer University of British Columbia Suite 470, IKBLC 1961 East Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T1Z1 Lisa P. Nathan University of British Columbia Suite 470, IKBLC 1961 East Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T1Z1 Abstract The relationship between the archival concept of the record requires examination and analysis in a social media context. If there is a desire to systematically collect and preserve accounts of daily life, archival theory must account for changing information systems, both the tools and the practices through which we engage them. At the same time system designers need to draw upon contemporary archival theory. The field of human computer interaction is uniquely positioned to work with archivists to both inform archival theory and to be informed by archival theory in recognition of the longer-term, multi-lifespan functions information systems play in the creation of the world s documentary heritage. Author Keywords Archival theory: records; societal heritage; memory; trust; social media; information practice ACM Classification Keywords K. Computing Milieux: K.4.2 Social Issues Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). CHI 12, May 5 10, 2012, Austin, Texas, USA. ACM /12/05. Introduction Of all national assets archives are the most precious; they are the gift of one generation to another and the

3 extent of our care of them marks the extent of our civilization. Arthur G. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, 1924 Since ancient Roman times archives have existed for the purpose of ensuring the long-term preservation of and access to a society s heritage in the form of its records [3]. Contemporary archives carry on this responsibility, safeguarding and preserving records of citizens, institutions and governments for future generations. Yet, within the contemporary web 2.0 environment the forms of information that have the potential to serve as a society s records (in the archival sense) present challenges in terms of material, content and the context in which they are created. The relationship between the archival concept of the record and the information tools and information practices that a society uses to document daily life requires examination and analysis in a social media context. If there is a desire to systematically collect and preserve accounts of daily life, archival theory must account for changing information systems, both the tools and the practices through which we engage them. At the same time system designers need to draw upon contemporary archival theory. The field of human computer interaction is uniquely positioned to work with archivists to both inform archival theory and to be informed by archival theory - recognizing the longerterm, multi-lifespan functions information systems play in the creation of the world s documentary heritage [5]. It is through archival materials that future generations engage and challenge societal memory. This submission describes traditional approaches to archival theory and identifies contemporary challenges to this venerable practice. How can/should archival theory and practice adapt to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and evolving information practices in social media environments? How can archival theory and practice inform the design of information systems and the information policies that mediate and regulate information practice? The piece concludes by suggesting ways for information system designers, archivists, and policy makers to collaborate in investigating this burgeoning area of research and practice. We place this work within the area of Archival Informatics, which we define as the study and practice of the design and use of information systems to scaffold the centuries old goal of archives, enabling citizens to better understand society s past, while acknowledging present-day contexts and information practices. Is It a Record? Social media technologies offer the potential for greater connection, collaboration and knowledge creation through interactions amongst citizens, organizations, and governments. The adoption of these tools in many cases has fundamentally altered how organizations, governments and citizens create, (re)use, manage and eventually preserve information as records. In a social media environment, the information practices that create these documentary objects are often collaborative in nature, adaptive and evolving, and the content is easily perceived as ephemeral. Consider an exchange between a government minister and an Aboriginal leader conducted via or paper and ink. The entire correspondence could be classified as records in a traditional recordkeeping system affording for the application of predetermined retention

4 and disposition, facilitating their use, access and preservation over time making possible the adherence to applicable laws of privacy, access, and retention that govern such records. These traditional recordkeeping actions ensure the availability of such records in order for them to act in an evidentiary capacity for future uses such as supporting residential school survivor testimony in Canada s ongoing Truth and Reconciliation Commission [16]. Alternately, such an exchange conducted via a social networking site such as Facebook, while potentially generating similar content and a potential record worthy of long-term preservation, the medium used to generate and house such a record (Facebook) raises concerns in the areas of intellectual property, access, privacy, and long-term preservation. Although the Facebook documentary objects are potential records with long-term value can they be managed and preserved in the same manner as traditional records? Do the theoretical underpinnings of a record in traditional archival theory hold up in the social media milieu? Record Attributes in the Social Media Milieu Social media, as defined by Kaplan and Haenlein [9], are a group of Internet-based applications [and services] that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content (UGC) [9]. Web 2.0 is generally linked to ideas such as: individual production and user generated content; harnessing the power of the crowd; data on an epic scale; architecture of participation; network effects; and openness [1]. Social media practices build on the foundations of Web 2.0, enabling users to develop, contribute, collaborate and share user-generated content on the Web and enterprise platforms. In archival theory, a record is a document made or received in the course of a practical activity as its instrument or by-product, and set aside for action or reference [7]. A record has distinct attributes that support the presumption of its authenticity and ensure its reliability and accuracy through creation, use, maintenance, and ultimately, preservation. Reliability implies the record is capable of standing for the facts to which it attests (tested by an examination of the completeness of its intellectual form and the degree of control exercised over its creation); authenticity means that the record is what it claims to be; and accuracy assumes the records are precise, correct, truthful and free of error or distortion [10]. In a traditional information environment these factors are often easy to identify and assess. Not so in a social media environment [15]. Record trustworthiness is also an issue in the use of social media by citizens, organizations and governments. When a record is said to be trustworthy it means that it is an accurate statement of, and genuine manifestation of those facts. The qualitative dimensions of a trustworthy record are also related to the attributes of reliability, authenticity and accuracy [10]. Records can stand as evidence. Evidence here is a relative term; it is the relation between two facts. The first fact is theoretical and necessitates proof (factum probandum) and the second is (factum probas) the material that proves the theory. Evidence is the relation between the fact to be proven and the fact that proves evidence is not evidence simply because the

5 rules say so evidence is a word of relation and as such has no complete signification of itself [11]. A record must be trustworthy (reliable, authentic, accurate) in order to have evidentiary capacity (to be the factum probas that proves the factum probandum). How does one ensure trustworthiness of potential records created and maintained through social media applications? When a government institution uses an external, private organization (e.g., Facebook) to communicate with citizens, the content derived from this external source may lack sufficient information to establish authenticity, reliability and/or accuracy [13]. Protecting the integrity of information residing in social media environments can be difficult, as outside organizations have to carefully negotiate levels of control over who has access to systems if information is hosted on third-party servers. Shifting Information Landscapes The use of social media is causing a paradigm shift by transforming the information landscape from predominantly hierarchical to increasingly collaborative or horizontal practices. Business processes traditionally conducted in closed systems can now take place on open networks with the potential of decentralizing decision-making and records creation. Systems that were once static are now dynamic, facilitating the creation of ephemeral information that challenges traditional concepts of a record [6]. Additionally, social media tools are consistently evolving with an ever-increasing ability to combine tools and data to create new forms of information and documents. This poses challenges to traditional legal, archival and management paradigms, specifically issues of intellectual property and copyright, ownership, privacy, security, access and long-term preservation. Experts agree that existing records policies, principles and practices cannot be applied to this new interactive digital landscape due to its dynamic, ephemeral and interactive nature [6,8]. Furthermore, many social networking applications (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) do not share the same standards and are constantly adding new features, changing terms of use and privacy settings in ways that are in direct contrast with existing standards for both analogue and digital records, such as the standards for , which are fixed over time [4]. The changing features of social media raise the question of what to capture as a record and when to capture interactions as part of one or more records [13]. Additionally, as social media often reside on outside servers in third-party environments, capturing the information generated within them as records after having identified their functions is labour intensive and inefficient [4]. Ensuring the long-term authenticity and availability of potential records and cultural heritage materials such as the exemplary Facebook communication between a government official and an Aboriginal leader mentioned earlier, depends on the ability of archivists, human computer interaction designers and policymakers to effectively recognize and address the existence and unique characteristics of these documentary objects and cooperatively work towards understanding their key attributes. Relevance to HCI Current practices in the field of interaction design focus on ways to support interaction in the shorter-term

6 rather than issues of long-term preservation and societal heritage. In the past, thinking about how to preserve records post hoc worked pretty well. The difference between preserving records post-hoc in the pre-digital environment and the complexity of trying to do the same in the current social media environment is practically inconceivable. Pre-digital it was possible to gather documents in a box at semi regular intervals, knowing that at a later date it would be possible to effectively preserve the documents deemed records when resources permitted. In a paper environment, there was sufficient information recorded on the documents themselves and within the recordkeeping system, information practices were understood well enough to reconstruct context, and the medium was stable as long as environmental controls were monitored. In the contemporary social media environment, there is no analogous digital box that Facebook transactions are being tossed into. There is not standardized information encoded in these transactions, the information practices are not well understood, there is limited or no control over the creation of these documents, and the medium is less stable than invisible ink. As research into long-term digital preservation has shown, preservation in the digital environment must begin at creation [7]. In the born digital environment archival input needs to be part of the initial information system design, if you call in the archival professional at the end of the day, all she can do is provide a professional opinion of what has been lost. The ability of future citizens to hold governments and organizations accountable is dependent on the ability to access, understand and trust the records left behind. How can the design of information systems and the policies that govern them better scaffold long-term preservation of records and their context? The field of HCI can both inform archival theory in developing the necessary record attributes for the social media context, and be informed by archival theory in the design of future information systems. With a deep knowledge of human computer engagement, current information practice, human cognition, information systems, and the importance of cultural contexts, HCI scholars are particularly well positioned to buttress archival goals in the social media mileux. Conclusion Archivists abilities to manage and preserve the heritage materials in their charge is fundamentally challenged by the ubiquitous use of social media technologies and the resulting information resources they produce. Governments and organizations are moving beyond just dabbling with social media; they are actively incorporating social media into how they carry out their functions, often replacing existing business processes [12]. Thus, more interactions and decisions are documented, either purposefully or accidentally, creating more potential records [12,13]. If long-term access to the world s cultural heritage is to be ensured, if governments and organizations are to be held accountable for their actions, human computer interaction researchers and practitioners must work with archivists and policy makers to identify and support the necessary attributes for social media records to ensure their long-term preservation, accessibility and trustworthiness. The mutability of information is what makes technologies such as wikis and social networking sites

7 so compelling. As society s information and in turn its heritage increasingly turns to a digital means of production, the world s heritage will increasingly have shifting characteristics, urging a re-examination of archival theoretical foundations of the record and its References [1] Anderson, P. What is web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education, JISC Technology and Standards Watch (2007) w0701b.pdf. [2] Duranti, L. Reliability and authenticity: The concepts and their implications. Archivaria 39, Spring (1995), [3] Duranti, L. Archival science. In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science 59 New York: Miriam Dekker, (1996), [4] Franks, P. How federal agencies can effectively manage records created using new social media tools IBM Center for The Business of Government, [5] Friedman, B., & Nathan, L. P. Multi-lifespan information system design : A research initiative for the HCI community. Human Factors in Computing, CHI 2010, (2010), [6] Henhoeffer, S. Web 2.0 and recordkeeping: Context and principles. Library and Archives Canada, (2010). [7] International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES). [8] Jaeger, P.T., Lin, J., and J. Grimes. Cloud computing and information policy: Computing in a policy cloud? Journal of Information Technology & Politics 5, 3 (2008), fixed form and stable content, necessitating a reexamination of the static concept of heritage in an increasingly digital world where heritage materials are in flux and mutable. [9] Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons 53 (2010), [10] MacNeil, H. Trusting Records: Legal, Historical and Diplomatic Perspectives. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, [11] Meehan, J. Toward an archival concept of evidence. Archivaria 61, Spring (2006), [12] National Archives and Records Administration. A report on federal web 2.0 use and record value (2010). [13] National Archives and Records Administration. Implications of recent web technologies for NARA web guidance (2010). [14] Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Participative web and usercreated content: web 2.0, wikis and social networking. Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (2007) 61_ _ _1_1_1_1,00.html [15] Shaffer, E. & Duranti L. Records governance in enterprise 2.0: Toward an archival understanding of social media and its potential for record creation. In Proc. 7 th ECMLG 2011, Academic Publishing (2011), [16] Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 3