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

For the past few days, I've been at Gov 2.0 Expo, learning about how governments are using technology to engage with the public and be more transparent. A few tidbits from the Tuesday morning sessions:

Get Your Online Content in Control: Content Strategy for the Public Sector - Meghan Casey

• Audit parts of your website on a rolling basis. (For example, family law in January, February, and March. Then do consumer law in April, May, and June.) Figure out what is there, when it was last updated, and who should be responsible for it.
• Content tasks fall into three categories: maintenance, planned changes, and unexpected changes. Most of your time should be spent on planned changes, then unexpected changes, and the remainder on maintenance. Make certain your strategy reflects this time allocation.
• Fix the low-hanging fruit first. Update links and tweak content. Then re-evaluate and see if you need to entirely revamp the site.

Meghan Casey's company, Brain Traffic, has what looks like a great blog, Brain Traffic Blog, with more useful information on developing and maintaining content strategically.

Creating a Social Media Strategy: The Data Shows Why It's Important - Dan Zarrella

• Ideas don't spread because they are "good."
• You either need to break through the noise or avoid the crowds. To avoid the crowds, look at posting materials on the weekends. (The traffic might be less overall, but your story might get more attention.)

Andy Carvin from NPR did a great job tweeting this session.

• Zarrella: even if only 10% of your audience use social media, they'll still be your most influential users. #g2e (See tweet.)
• Zarrella: in WWII, OSS & MI6 studied how to weaponize rumors. When there's an info void, rumors fill the gap. (See tweet.)
• Zarrella: the higher grade level required to understand title of article, the less it's shared on FB. #g2e (See tweet.)
• Zarrella: asking people to rt actually works. Just don't do it too often. #g2e (See tweet.)

Dan Zarrella also provided interesting lists of the most shareable and the least shareable words on Facebook and the most retweeted and the least retweeted words on Twitter.

Navigating the Maze - Caroline Lawson

I didn't attend this session, but from what I saw on Twitter, I wish that I had.

• Gov 2.0 is not at all about technology, its about reaching citizens where they are - Carolyn Lawson session "Navigating the Maze" #g2e (See tweet.)
• carolyn lawson: sm policy comes down to behaving yourself in public. Same as yesterday #g2e (See tweet.)
• Carolyn Lawson, CA CIO Office: If government is going to use social media, it must be prepared to be more nimble. #g2e #opengov (See tweet.)

I'd argue in that last tweet that "government" could be replaced with "legal aid organization." What do you think? - K

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Yesterday Kate spoke at the Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington, DC about courts' use of technology to help self-represented litigants.  The Gov 2.0 Expo brings together speakers on using the Web as a platform for government and citizen participation. You can watch Kate's terrific presentation below. Not only does she highlight the amazing work being done in our community, she also gives voice to those for whom justice is out of reach because they cannot afford a lawyer. - M

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This week, technology leaders from the private and public sectors are headed to Washington, DC to explore how governments can use technology to become more transparent and better engage the public. This event Gov 2.0 Expo 2010 is one of a series of events hosted by O'Reilly Media and UBM Tech Web to look at the benefits and risks of strategies that local, state, and federal government agencies have used so far and to encourage more agencies to implement initiatives.

Access-to-justice community members may not recognize the Government 2.0 buzz word, but I hope they recognize how their work aligns with this movement.

Government 2.0 means doing more with small teams, and even the power of one. It means exploiting global creativity and changing workplace models and traditional designs for carrying out missions. It means infusing old processes with new technology. It means unlocking stores of data that can better inform and empower people about their communities, and governments about decision making. It means change has come to America. (From About: Gov 2.0 Expo)

Sound a little like what you are doing as you create legal information websites, automate documents, offer LiveHelp, and set up other technology initiatives to help people represent themselves? I think so.

I will be speaking, on behalf of Pro Bono Net, about the parallels during a Gov 2.0 Expo presentation called "Opening the Courts – Using Technology to Empower the Unrepresented." I'll have five minutes and twenty slides to convey my message to attendees in an Ignite-style presentation as part of the Keynote Kickoff.

I hope to introduce people outside of the access-to-justice community to the work that courts, legal aid organizations, and pro bono programs are doing to make the law more accessible to the public. Perhaps, I'll even be able to convince a few of them to try similar projects with their own customers.

If you are interested in learning more about Gov 2.0, I highly recommend viewing Tim O'Reilly's webcast "What is Gov 2.0?" and reading the "Government As a Platform" preview from the book Open Government: Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice. And of course, you can follow what Expo attendees and others are saying about Gov 2.0 on Twitter. - K

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A heads up for any casual readers of Beth Kanter's blog, Beth's Blog. It has moved to bethkanter.org and got a new look. If you've been reading the blog via RSS, no change is necessary. (And don't worry. The old blog at beth.typepad.org will still be around for a while.)

For those curious about the design details, it  was done by Rad Campaign, the group responsible for the LawHelp Interactive redesign. - K

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Spring is the season of fresh starts, and it seems websites are taking it to heart. Just this week, two sites intended to connect the public with relevant legal information were launched.

The Australian Government launched Access to Justice to help the public find both legal aid and private lawyers. This site is part of a series of initiatives launched by the Attorney-General for Australia to make the Australian justice system more accessible.

The United States Courts also relaunched its site with a spiffy new design. Along with the expected static information about the federal court system, you'll also find podcasts, widgets you can embed in your own site, a link to The Federal Judiciary's Channel on YouTube, and other multimedia. State website coordinators should direct their attention to the bankruptcy area, which includes a Bankruptcy Basics section and a series of bankruptcy videos in English and Spanish. For the full list of enhancements, see the US Court's news release.

Have you noticed any other legal websites that have shed their winter coats? Or do you have some website spring cleaning of your own planned? Tell us about it in the comments. - K

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Friday, the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals (NAPBPro) awarded Mike Monahan, Pro Bono Director at the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project/Georgia Legal Services Program, the 2010 Tanya Neiman Pro Bono Professional of the Year Award.

This award is presented to pro bono professionals who demonstrate a steadfast commitment to pro bono and have achieved outstanding results. It is named after Tanya Neiman, who "pioneered the fields of pro bono, holistic legal services and community lawyering." She was the Director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program at the Bar Association of San Francisco for nearly twenty-five years and " was a giant in her commitment to improving the condition of all people and in her passion for living."

Congratulations, Mike! The award is well deserved. Keep placing those unplaceable cases. - K

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Sonia Nazario, who's spent 20 years examining and reporting on social issues like hunger, drug addiction, and immigration, opened the 2010 Equal Justice Conference. In an emotional speech, she explained the difficulties faced by children immigrating to the United States to join their parents and her experiences on El Tren de la Muerta (the train of death) as she traced their journey. For those who couldn't attend in person, the ABA streamed this session live and have posted a recording online. Also available is a short interview with Ms. Narazio about Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization that represents immigrant children, who otherwise would have to negotiate the US immigration system alone.

A side note: As you listen to the beginning of Ms. Nazario's session, several people will refer to protesters. While it's likely not a surprise that the ABA's decision to continue holding the Equal Justice Conference in Arizona was controversial, you may be surprised to hear that on Thursday local advocates protested the ABA's decision. azfamily.com has a short segment on the protesters as well as a quick shot of their song and dance. Was anyone at the conference able to capture the whole song? I couldn't find a recording on either Vimeo or YouTube. - K

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