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

My second session, Your Blog Is Great, Get People to Know About It, covered enough information to fill an entire track. Since I can't explain the topic well in a short post, I've found good articles that cover the two main points: search engine optimization and social media and network sites.

Search Engine Optimization

• Search Engine Optimization 101 from MarketLeap. A series of articles about the core concepts around search engine optimization (SEO). (Courtesy of the Pro Bono Net SWEB Support site, which has a great section on Search Engines and marketing, but you have to be a member to access it.)
• 5 Quick Steps to Better SEO and 5 More Quick Steps to Better SEO. Two blog posts from Allyson Kapin and Jarrod Seltzer on care2's frogloop blog.

Social Media and Network Sites

• Using Online Social Networks to Build Buzz, Community & Support for Your Cause. Slides from a presentation by Jonathan Colman, Scott Goodstein, and Heather Holdridge.
• How to Show Your Soul and Engage Users on Twitter from TwiTip.

A few resources to try to cover the large amounts of content covered in the this session. Definitely topics that need more attention in the future. - K

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My first BlogHer breakout session, Owning Your Expertise, was an interactive session that fell a little short because of the large number of people that attended. However, I did take away a few key bits.

• Women write only 10 to 20 percent of newspaper opinion pieces, but they are prolific bloggers. The Op-Ed Project works with women, nonprofits, corporations, universities, and others to teach women to submit more op-eds.
• To get attention from media and other influencers, you need to figure out what you are an expert in and let them know.
• Use the sentence "I am an expert in [specific subject] because [reasons] to craft a good statement of why these influencers should listen to you.
• Don't feel like you are bragging. Sharing knowledge is good.

So what does this mean for legal aid/pro bono blogs? Public interest lawyers are smart, well-spoken people. You are experts in many diverse legal issues: divorces, parenting plans, debt collection, public benefits, health care, and so on. The media covers these topics daily. Why shouldn't they be using public interest advocates as their experts? The media gets good information, and your organization gets some publicity and attracts new donors, volunteers, and clients. - K

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