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

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Yes. Legal aid programs are posting a lot of video online. In fact, after scouring YouTube and Vimeo, I found that 65 legal aid programs had posted almost 600 videos. The table below shows a break down by funding source.

If you'd like to see the videos that programs have posted, a list should be available shortly on LSNTAP as an update to Eva's previous post about legal aid programs on YouTube.

Did I find and count all of the access-to-justice videos on YouTube and Vimeo? No. I saw several videos about pro bono legal services posted by bar associations and law firms that I didn't count. (For an unfiltered list of these videos, search "pro bono" on YouTube or "pro bono" legal on Vimeo.)

Are these even all of the videos posted by legal aid programs? Probably not. YouTube and Vimeo are easy to search and look through, but not all legal aid programs have made their videos easy to find and identify as videos from a legal aid program. For example:

• I searched for all of the LSC-funded programs using their names. If the organization didn't include its name in its profile, their videos wouldn't appear in these search results.
• I searched the terms "legal aid," "pro bono," "legal services," "access to justice," and a few other variations. If these terms weren't in an organization's profile, their videos wouldn't be in these search results.
• I looked at who organizations were connected to. For example, Atlanta Legal Aid Society has "friended," or connected to, five other legal aid organizations, which makes them easier to find. If you haven't friended or been friended by any other legal aid programs, I wouldn't have found your videos this way.

So what can you do to make your videos easier to find?

• Create an account for your organization. Don't have a staff member post your videos under his or her account.
• Fill out your profile. Include your organization's name, logo, a brief description, your website's address, and your city and state.
• Name and describe your videos clearly so that people know what they are about.

When writing video names and descriptions, think carefully about what words people will use to search for your videos and include those words. For example, if you are posting a video about filing an answer pro se, you would probably want to include the words "court" and "without a lawyer" in the description for the video.

If you want to replicate a profile that is easy to find and nicely set up, I recommend checking out one of these examples:

• Equal Justice Works (YouTube)
• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (YouTube)
• Legal Aid Association of California(Vimeo)
• Legal Aid Society of Louisville (Vimeo)

I also suggest looking at two additional resources:  DIOSA Communication's YouTube Best Practices and See3 Communication's "YouTube for Nonprofits" webinar. You'll find additional tips, including information about the YouTube Nonprofit Partner program, which provides free benefits for nonprofits.

Now it's your turn. Are you one of the programs posting video online? What tips and tricks do you have for setting up your profile? Tell us in the comments. - K