Is This Being Recorded?

SxySingleSeattleTimes: the monorail crash is, like, so dum. can we just stop talking about it already??

SeattleTimesEditorHOT4ONE: 4 sur, but it's funny b cuz every1 just totally voted 'NO' on the new 1. write something about how holiday shoppers can't get to see santa at pacific science center

SxySingleSeattleTimes: isn't santa at westlake?

SeattleTimesEditorHOT4ONE: whatevs! you know what i mean!

SxySingleSeattleTimes: k, maybe we can do a series?!?

SeattleTimesEditorHOT4ONE: i am goign to get so totally wasted at this year's holiday party

Expect Seattle Times page counts to rocket skyward in the coming weeks as the millions of man hours previously lost to instant messaging friends, relatives, collegues and probably a source or two start dwindling to a trickle and the staff awakens to the fact that all instant messages going in and out of the Seattle Times are now being recorded. For posterity, no doubt.

From the press release:

The Seattle Times, the Pacific Northwest region's most widely read newspaper, is deploying IMlogic IM Manager(TM) to gain visibility into staff instant messaging (IM) use, ensure compliance with internal and external use policies and prevent cyber threats from entering its network. With IMlogic IM Manager, the daily newspaper will securely manage reporters' confidential IM interviews with sources and the new media group's conversations about managing and supporting content online in real-time.

The Seattle Times Company found itself at a crossroads earlier this year as IM use continued to grow. IT managers worried about infrastructure exposure to cyber threats and whether staff was complying with the same usage policies already established for e-mail. "We had no visibility and no way to monitor, control or track IM use. We didn't know if files were being sent out without our knowledge," said Kyle Getz, director of IT at the Seattle Times Company. "Rather than shut down all IM use, we opted to manage it. Our tech folks did a thorough evaluation, talking to our peers and researching different solutions. IMlogic IM Manager and its Real-Time Threat Protection System turned out to be technically superior."