Technola : Public Interest Law & Technology Updates & Commentary : Matthew Burnett & Kate Bladow : Tech Advice for the Non-Profit Legal Sector

On Tuesday, Illinois Legal Aid Online's Multimedia Content Coordinator, Susan Muirhead, talked about how ILAO uses video on its websites in the "Showcase of Statewide Website Innovations" webinar hosted by LSNTAP and Pro Bono Net. A talented videographer, she has created several videos for ILAO, including "LiveHelp Expands Access to Justice" and "Legal Aid 2.0: Legal Help Is Just a Click Away."

As Susan described the videos and her process, she shared several tips. Four that stuck with me:

• Create a script first.
• Don't cram too much in. (ILAO's videos are usually 2 to 4 minutes in length.)
• Vary your clips. People don't like to watch talking heads for long.
• Use your videos to support other website content instead of using them as standalone resources.

The webinar was recorded, so you can go back and listen to Susan's entire presentation when it's posted. But if you can't wait until then to hear all of her tips or you need more background information to put your video together, I found a few other resources.

• The Bay Area Video Coalition has a YouthLink Curriculum that outlines basic filmmaking concepts, pre-production, production, post-production, and advanced production skills.
• Nancy Schwartz reflects on creating her first video and, based on her experience, gives nine suggestions for others who are new to creating videos.
• See3, an "interactive media and marketing firm for nonprofits," has created a Guide to Online Video, an introductory series. You should also check out their Frequently Asked Questions About Video page, their blog post on 5 Questions to Evaluate Your Nonprofit Video ROI, and their session hosted by the Case Foundation, Case Soup Video Recap: How to make award worthy nonprofit videos.

If you've already created a video or two, what resources have helped you and have made the process easier? Are there any tips that you'd like to share? - K

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Are you using social technologies to change the world? Or are you interested in learning more about how your organization should be using technology? If so, stop by the next NetSquared Local or NTEN 501 Tech Club event in your area, where you can meet other people in your community doing the same.

If your community doesn't already have a group set up, start your own. Both NetSquared and NTEN are happy to help and have information posted online (NetSquared, NTEN 501 Tech Club). Right now in Baltimore, Andrea Snyder, the Grants Specialist at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and I are doing just that. If you are in Baltimore or the surrounding area, let us know if you want to join our NetSquared meetups, when is best for you, and what type of meeting we should have. And recently, in Northern Colorado, Joyce Raby started an NTEN 501 Tech Club. News about the upcoming meetings is available on her site. - K

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Given my interest in helping people create strong passwords and my adoration of Common Craft's simple videos that explain technical topics, I would be remiss if I didn't point out Common Craft's newest video: Secure Passwords. In three and a half minutes, this video explains why passwords need to be secure, how to create strong passwords, and why you shouldn't give anyone else your password. - K

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The National Center for State Courts publishes a yearly journal called “Future Trends in State Courts.” Among the topics explored in the 2010 issue is the role of social media/networking in the courts, including “The New Media Project of the Conference of Court Public Information Officers,” by Chris Davey ; “The Role of Social-Networking Tools in Judicial Systems,” by Travis Olson and Christine O’Clock; and “The Changing Media and Its Impact on the Courts,” by Hon. Tom Hodson. Also included in the 2010 issue is an article by Richard Zorza, “Public Libraries and Access to Justice,” and an article by Justice O’Connor that highlights www.ourcourts.org, an educational project that incorporates online games and other interactive media to teach young people about the rule of law. -M  [Thanks, Claudia!]

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The Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project recently released the report, “Listening to Ontarians,” which examines the barriers that Ontarians face in accessing the civil justice system. A collaboration between the Law Society of Upper Canada, Legal Aid Ontario and Pro Bono Law Ontario, the report does a nice job of identifying and exploring both the promise and challenges of using technology to increase access to justice for low and moderate-income Ontarians (see, in particular, page 58 of the report). The survey also found that “84 per cent of low and middle-income Ontarians are connected to the Internet.” The full report is available for download here (PDF). -M

Update: Only after publishing this post did I come across this great post on the Clicklaw Blog, which covers technology and access to justice issues in this report as well as another recent report, Moving Forward on Legal Aid: Research on Needs and Innovative Approaches.

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Brian Lawlor of Legal Services of Northern California sent Matthew and me an interesting blog post, Tweets Per Capita, about where Twitter is and isn't being used.

Not surprisingly, the countries where people are tweeting most are also typically countries where a majority of the population has access to the Internet.

But, more interestingly, the slides point to several cases where Twitter use increased rapidly after a difficult situation or catastrophic event in countries where most people don't have access to the Internet. For example:

• Iranian Presidential Election, where Twitter was used to protest the results
• Haiti Earthquake, where Twitter was used distribute information and fundraise
• Chile Earthquake, where Twitter was again used to distribute information

Dom Sagolla, who created the post and slides, says that in these situations, Twitter fostered communities and then provided them with a voice. To me, this seems like what social media and social networks are especially good at. They provide a voice to communities, especially when few other communication avenues are available. - K

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In April, the Legal Services of Northern California's Findability Project was featured on a Computerworld webinar. (See "Google Sponsors Webinar About LSNC's Findability Project" for the announcement.) If you missed the live session, a recording of that webinar is now available online. - K

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Lex Mundi recently launched LawForChange.org, an online legal resource for social entrepreneurs, innovators, charities, community organizations, philanthropies, faith-based organizations and other nonprofits. It includes a section with legal resources, including a start-up kit, audit checklist, and substantive materials that are searchable by topic and jurisdiction (state). The site also hosts an interactive discussion forum and a blog. -M

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Security is a frequent topic on the LSTech e-mail list, and although everyone agrees that security is important, the community has differing opinions on the level of risk faced by legal aid organizations. So, when catching up on reading over the weekend, a quote from the article "A San Francisco Technology Charity Gets a Lesson in Online Security" caught my eye:

"Especially in the last two years, the threat has gone up exponentially as hackers have gotten more sophisticated and have a greater understanding of the value of the kinds of data they can steal," says Richard Collins, who is in charge of cyber security at TechSoup. "The other main threat is that hackers are targeting smaller organizations and organizations with fewer resources now because many of the bigger ones have already made their systems more secure."

A simple analogy? Your house gets hit by thieves, not because you have the best stuff, but because you forgot to lock the door and it was easy to get in.

But fixing this problem doesn't have to be expensive. The article above even gives you the first step-train your staff. Three areas to cover:

Use secure passwords.
Not every password needs to be a long string of gibberish that only a savant could remember, but every password should contain a combination of at least 7 letters, numbers, or symbols.

Resources on creating secure passwords:

• How Strong Are Your Passwords? - Technola
• Passwords Are Broken. Now What? - Technola
• Simple tips for better web password security - Sophos Labs

Watch what you click.
You need to watch what you click every time that you click, and if you click a malicious link and know it, say something to your tech person immediately.

Resources on identifying what not to click:

• How to handle suspicious email - Microsoft
• The Phishing Flow Chart Highlights Red Flags in Dangerous Emails - Lifehacker
• The Web's Most Dangerous Search Terms - Lifehacker

Connect carefully.
If you take a laptop home, use USB keys to transfer information, or view files over public WiFi networks, you need to be very careful not to lose your data or give someone access to your network inadvertently.

Resources on protecting your data and network:

• How to stay safe on public WiFi - TechWorld
• Laptop Security, Part Two: Protecting Information on a Stolen Laptop - TechWorld
• USB Safeguard Encrypts Portable Flash Drives, Securely Deletes Files - Lifehacker

Are you reviewing basic computer security practices with your staff? If so, what else do you review and how often? If not, what's keeping you from getting started? Tell us in the comments below. - K

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