Future Proof – Protecting our digital future

Top 10 posts of 2012

As 2013 heats up, Emma and I have been looking over the 2012 Future Proof blog statistics to identify what topics were of particular interest to our Future Proof community.

The Top 10 of Future Proof in 2012 is an interesting list and it is providing us with really useful input into our workplanning for the coming year. So thanks for continuing to support Future Proof, and here, according to the stats, are your favourite posts from 2012!

Number 1

More digitisation case studies now available

The number one post in 2012 was this one about digitisation.

With the transition to digital business, people are very aware of the complexities of integrating all forms of business information. State Records’ very comprehensive Digitisation guidelines explore all the ins and outs of digitisation and work through the really important strategic and practical issues you need to consider as part of an effective digitisation program.

All the case studies developed as part of the digitisation guidelines were really popular, as were all the other digitisation posts on Future Proof, but for some reason, this post resonated more than all the others!

Number 2

Mythbusting: That storage is cheap

This post explores some of the costs associated with moving all information to cloud storage.

The popularity of this post, and the range of other enquiries we have had about cloud computing recently mean that further advice about information management in the cloud will be very high on our agenda in 2013.

Number 3

Podcasts

I love how popular the podcasts are! There are 27 of them now and I love the idea that some of the people travelling next to you on the train are not actually sitting there listening to music, they are absorbing the latest records management advice instead!

Number 4

State Records social media and recordkeeping survey

Social media was another incredibly hot topic in 2012 and if our January stats are any measure, it will continue to be a very significant issue throughout 2013.

Based on an informal State Records survey, this post looked at how social media is being used in NSW government and about how the business information generated through social media is being managed.

Increasingly social media applications are being used in conjunction with traditional channels to transmit government information and conduct a range of business processes. The management of information through this transition is a really significant issue.

State Records will be issuing more extensive advice on social media recordkeeping for consultation on the Future Proof blog in February.

Number 5

Guidance on the recordkeeping capability of SharePoint 2010 – exposure draft now available!

Our SharePoint guidance is now finalised, but this post continues to be popular.

The many enquiries we continue to get about SharePoint mean that this will be another topic to watch in 2013. We will continue to add to our SharePoint case studies throughout the year – our recent case study about the innovative SharePoint pilot project at Bankstown City Council is the latest in this series.

Number 6

Our top 5 – why recordkeeping is awesome!

Did people need to be convinced? Did people just agree? Did people want to see a picture of Mary Poppins? Whatever the reason, this post was really popular!

In all seriousness, I think its popularity shows that in this time of transition, when business and professional boundaries are shifting and when we are really having to explain and justify what we do, clear and simple statements about the role and value of recordkeeping are very powerful. Which is a nice segue into post number 7…

Number 7

Mythbusting: Records Management

This post, which discussed some of the prevalent myths about records management (all we do is monitor compliance, we have nothing to do with active business, the only business systems we are interested in are EDRMS) and discussed how, as as profession, we really need to counter these and demonstrate our role and corporate value in digital business environments, also really seemed to resonate. Hopefully there is lots of mythbusting going on out there!

Number 8

Our manifesto for good recordkeeping and key ways to achieve it

Popular post number 8 also looked at reinventing recordkeeping for the digital age. It argued that, as recordkeepers, we need to: be strategic, collaborate, find champions, be pragmatic, educate, support information integrity, be aware of new technologies, destroy information, help build better systems and realise that it’s not all about recordkeeping – it’s about better business.

Number 9

Top 7 moments you should think, ‘Is my digital information OK??’

This post flagged some of the key moments when you should stop and make sure that your organisation’s digital business information is OK. Based on lots of conversations we have had with staff in government organisations, the moments it provides advice on are: system migration, when systems that are integrated are upgraded or changed, when configuring systems, when you are using unusual or complex formats, when you are considering the use of cloud systems, when your information needs to be kept for a long time, and when lots of people start using mobile devices.

Number 10

Digital State archives

People are really interested in keeping up to date with all the developments at State Records’ digital archive project.

Lots of updates are added to Future Proof about all the excellent work the Digital Archive team is doing and with all the tools and resources the team is developing, further information will be posted to the blog again soon.

So that’s our top 10!

So that’s it – the top 10 posts of 2012 which are, I think, still a signpost for where we are headed in 2013.

The cloud, social media and SharePoint will continue to have a very major impact on business information and its management through the year. We will continue to use the blog to post our latest ideas and case study-based observations on these issues.

Continuing to advocate for the vital role of records and information management in the digital environment will be critical too through 2013. Our enquiries stats show us that digitisation remains as popular as ever and all the amazing work that our Digital Archive team is doing mean that their blog updates will continue to trend highly throughout 2013.

If you have any thoughts on hot topics for 2013, or ideas you would like to suggest we examine on the blog this year, or issues you think we missed out on last year, please do send us a comment.

Throughout the year, our monthly digital enquiries posts will help you to keep up to date with key questions that records and information managers in the NSW public sector are asking through 2013, and next year we will do another Top 10 post to help keep track of the trending issues that are of interest to our profession.