Regarding holograms -- think back to the days of Star Trek (movies and series), look at how they used records in the stories.  They had The actors on the show who walked around with tablets and used a tricorder for sensor scanning, data analysis and recording data. They also used holograms to view the records and send messages. The Enterprise also knew where everyone was at a given time (tracking)! 

There was also a movie a few years ago, that tried to prevent crime before it happened (Minority Report: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/plotsummary ). The movie had 3 people who could read minds and they would tell the "authorities" who was going to commit the crime. The person would be arrested and convicted before the crime happened.
 
Today we have "Google Glasses" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass that is essentially a wearable computer. If computers are becoming or are ubiquitous, are the records we create going to be identified, stored, and managed in a proper way.
 
Now fast-forward to today, where are all these records & information? How are we using them? My point is that even though the organization and information changes often. As they change, we need to keep in mind the possibilities of the future. Records managers need to be involved at the beginning when new technology is being developed--before it is implemented. It is far easier to embed records management principles at the beginning of a project rather than the end. This does not mean that we know how to do this, but if we know the purpose of the technology (for instance, communications with clients or providing information on sites etc.) then we can determine if the information will be used as a record and then how that record should be handled.

If our entertainment is showing how records will potentially be used in the future, then we need to be involved in the future as well.  For instance, many of the gadgets in the Star Trek TV series became something that is used today.  The communicators were early flip phones, their tablets became iPads, and the tricorder became our PDA devices. This is what makes records a fascinating subject.

The medium of the record--physical, electronic, metaphysical etc. should only matter to how it is stored not to what is stored on it.

~Meg 

Meg Duncan, CRM, CIM
Fidelity Investments | Franklin MA
[log in to unmask]

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]