Abstract

MOSWEU, Tshepho  and  NGOEPE, Mpho. 'Here one moment, gone the next': A framework for liquid communication generated through social media platforms in the Botswana public sector. SAJIM (Online) [online]. 2019, vol.21, n.1, pp.1-11. ISSN 1560-683X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v21i1.1080.

BACKGROUND: In Botswana, the public sector has been fully active in utilising social media platforms as part of the e-government programme, thereby generating liquid communication in the process. The content in social media platforms, which is referred to as liquid communication, is so fluid that its management becomes a challenge. This is so because one moment a post is available on a social media platform and the next moment it disappears. The unstable nature of liquid communication calls for its governance according to established national and international records management principles. OBJECTIVES: This study utilised the principles of information governance of the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) as a theoretical framework to examine how liquid communication generated through social media platforms is governed by the Botswana government. METHOD: Qualitative data were collected through document analysis and interviews with officials from government departments concerned with the management of information. RESULTS: The study revealed that despite the active presence on social media by the Government of Botswana in communicating with the public, there is a lack of a framework to govern liquid communication. This resulted in weak accountability, protection, compliance, transparency and integrity, as well as retention and disposition for governance of liquid communication. CONCLUSION: The study concludes by arguing that failure to manage and preserve liquid communication would result in a loss of digital heritage for the country. A framework for liquid communication governance in the Botswana public sector is suggested.

Keywords : Liquid communication; social media; information governance; public sector; botswana.

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