UCLA

Born-digital social communities are evolving into rich places of cultural interaction. A lack of broad awareness of these communities is leading to an unfortunate situation in which we increasingly lose the chance to document this developing area of contemporary culture, resulting in a regrettable gap in future knowledge. The archival situation is in need of change.

This study attempts to discern the contemporary situation and propose strategies for improvement. Attitudes toward archiving among professional and public communities are explored. A pervasive sense of confusion mingles with issues of privacy, preservation, and purpose among internet-savvy community members. Aided by community collaboration, potential solutions are reached. The dramatic need for dissemination of information to the public, to empower personal archiving actions and prevent loss of cultural data, is made clear. Conclusions provide material from which to extrapolate practical and beneficial archival actions in the future preservation and documentation of digital communities.