On 11/28/06, Johnson, Chris J. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Are blog discussions considered records?  We
> don't have any blogs yet so want to be forearmed with information when
> they occur.

that is putting the cart before the horse. First of all your
organization needs to produce a policy concerning blogs and their role
in the organization. Since you are a government agency I believe your
state's open records act is going to govern if a blog is a record or
not.

This same question arose when organizations first started putting up
webpages. Is a webpage a record? It all depends upon the information
being imparted on the page. For example I believe several Las Vegas
casinos were sued by customers based upon offers made on their
websites. IIRC the courts ruled that the webpage could be considered a
record.

So what steps need to be taken

First your organization needs to determine what purpose(s) will the
blog(s) play in your organization.
Second will the blogs be internal only for the use of employees? or
will they be exposed to the public?
Third who will own the blog(s)?

answer these questions (and there are probably others that should be
asked) and then you can start to craft your organization's policy.

here are some links

http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?id=idgml-d5c8098f-6ea0-44d1-b1c4-286c713ed2de&view=Preview

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227939,00.html
-- 
Peter Kurilecz CRM CA
Richmond, Va

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