How are the new documents of social networks shaping our cultural memory

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how keeping the records of social networking sites (SNS) communication for secondary analysis institutes a new type of memory practice, one that seeks both to capture shared public memories and form new cultural understandings. Design/methodology/approach - Using a framework of documentary and memory practices the study conducts a qualitative content analysis of SNS communications collected from Facebook, GooglePlus and Twitter during a national event. It combines a content analysis of the communications with the analysis of their materiality and form to investigate potential contributions of SNS to social and cultural memory including their subsequent custodianship. Findings - The study finds that the message architecture and metadata of different social networks is comparable and collectively evidences differing aspects of social events to document their unique discourse. Findings demonstrate the contribution SNS is making to social memory and a framework for understanding how SNS in being incorporated into cultural memory practice is presented. Originality/value - This is one of the few studies that analyses a range of messages from differing SNS in order to understand their impact on cultural memory and the documentary practices of memory institutions.