The UW Law School now has a Twitter feed. Marquette University Law School has a feed as well.

For a list of other law schools on Twitter, see the Social Media Law Student.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Philadelphia Bar Association recently issued an advisory opinion stating that it is unethical to have a third party "friend" a witness on Facebook for the purpose of gaining information about that person.

From the opinion:

The inquirer believes that the [Facebook & MySpace] pages maintained by the witness may contain information relevant to the matter in which the witness was deposed, and that could be used to impeach the witness's testimony should she testify at trial. The inquirer did not ask the witness to reveal the contents of her pages, either by permitting access to them on line or otherwise. He has, however, either himself or through agents, visited Facebook and Myspace and attempted to access both accounts. When that was done, it was found that access to the pages can be obtained only by the witness's permission, as discussed in detail above.

The inquirer states that based on what he saw in trying to access the pages, he has determined that the witness tends to allow access to anyone who asks (although it is not clear how he could know that), and states that he does not know if the witness would allow access to him if he asked her directly to do so.

The inquirer proposes to ask a third person, someone whose name the witness will not recognize, to go to the Facebook and Myspace websites, contact the witness and seek to "friend" her, to obtain access to the information on the pages. The third person would state only truthful information, for example, his or her true name, but would not reveal that he or she is affiliated with the lawyer or the true purpose for which he or she is seeking access, namely, to provide the information posted on the pages to a lawyer for possible use antagonistic to the witness. If the witness allows access, the third person would then provide the information posted on the pages to the inquirer who would evaluate it for possible use in the litigation.

The inquirer asks the [Professional Guidance] Committee's view as to whether the proposed course of conduct is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct, and whether he may use the information obtained from the pages if access is allowed.

See the full opinion for the Bar Associations' response to the this request.

Source: Fastcase blog

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Miller of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau informs me that the LRB now has a Twitter feed. They'll be tweeting about recent acquisitions and new publications from the LRB.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Online Best Colleges has compiled a list of the Top 100 Twitter Feeds for Law Students. It is an interesting list of feeds from various legal folks and organizations, including law students, firms, attorneys, academics, law librarians, and more.

Whether these are, in truth, the "top" law related Twitter feeds is hard to say, but it is a useful list for those are interested in listening in on or engaging in conversation with other law-minded people. Despite being billed as '"for law students," this list could have a much wider audience.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Beginning on October 1st, Wisconsin will begin collecting a 5% sales taxes on Internet downloads of music, games, books, ring tones and other video entertainment. The District of Columbia and 15 states have similar laws.
From JS Online:

[Governor] Doyle has been fighting for the change for years. He and other state officials say it is a matter of fairness: Internet vendors shouldn't have a tax-exempt advantage over Wisconsin's brick-and-mortar retail stores....

Some digital downloaders don't see it that way, however.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Yahoo News:

A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday...

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead....

She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From ReadWriteWeb:

Starting next month, Meebo will be rolling out ads in the IM service that invite users to access quizzes, polls, long-form video and other resources. Users will be able to opt-in to sponsored experiences that are targeted to them specifically, based on their demographics and behavior.

It's unclear if the ads will carry over to the MeeboMe widgets, which lots of libraries are using to place reference chat boxes on their web sites.

For more on Meebo and other reference IM services, see my article, IM a Librarian: Establishing a Virtual Reference Service with Little Cost or Technical Skill.

Source: LibrarianInBlack

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Matthews over at Stem Legal has written a very useful article on managing your online reputation. He writes:

Online reputation management isn't a question of blogging gone badly, or someone posting drunken pictures in Facebook (although both are possible). It's a business issue for every lawyer who practises, and it requires some form of monitoring and, more often than not, active attention...

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not the lawyers who participate online who are most vulnerable to negative reputation risks. More often, it's lawyers without a web publishing presence, and with a related dearth of content about them, who are at the greatest risk. Unfortunately, in many firms, that group includes the senior members of the partnership...

So if bad profile on the web lingers in the search engines if it isn't addressed, and if the adage of keeping silent and letting things blow over no longer works, what does? The answers come in the form of personal web publishing and developing one's online voice. When a client or prospective client goes hunting for content about a lawyer, that content should accentuate the positives and help bury the negative.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BBC News has an interesting article on the increasing use of YouTube videos as criminal evidence.
Source: law.librarians

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's another nifty new Google tool: Google Translate. It can translate selected text or an entire web page.

I could see this being really useful for viewing foreign laws on the Web when English translations aren't available. Of course you wouldn't rely 100% on the translation, but at least it would give you the gist. I tried the French Constitution (via the Constitution Finder) and it seemed to do a pretty fair job.

Source: Law Librarian Blog

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is an interesting article entitled "Are You Podcasting: Current Uses of Podcasts in Law Libraries" in the May issue of AALL Spectrum. Although they haven't caught on as quickly as blogs have (there are currently 116 law library blogs), some law librarians are experiment with podcasting. The article highlights the podcasting projects from numerous libraries, such as audio tours, recording courses, providing supplementation to regular coursework, special event recording, FAQ and research guides. Insights from the podcasters is also offered.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been reading a lot about Twitter lately. NYT explains:

For anyone unfamiliar with the latest trends in technology, "Twitterers" send and receive short messages, called "tweets," on Twitter's Web site, with instant messaging software, or with mobile phones. Unlike most text messages, tweets -- usually in answer to Twitter's prompt, "What are you doing?" -- are routed among networks of friends.

Like a lot of people, my first reaction was - whoa, way too much information. Just a lot of people sharing the mundane details of their lives. But I just kept hearing more and more about it and so many people saying how great it is.

Well, I'm still not sure what to think. But I did just see a post over at What I Learned Today... that convinced me of one thing that Twitter might be good for - keeping up with people at conferences. Anyone else care to share work-related ways in which they use Twitter?

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

E-Mail Is Out With Today's Younger Web Users reports Information Week.

For most of us in the business world, e-mail is an integral part of our work lives. But for the millenials -- the generation between ages 13 and 24 -- e-mail is for old people....

For younger Webizens, e-mail today is like sending a letter -- something you do when you have to but not a primary means of communication. For these users text messaging, instant messaging, and social networking sites are the ways they communicate and stay in touch.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times has an interesting piece on the increase in spam in the last six months.

According to the NYT:

- Spammers are "conscripting vast networks of computers belonging to users who unknowingly downloaded viruses and other rogue programs. The infected computers begin sending out spam without the knowledge of their owners."

- "The sudden appearance of new sources of spam makes it more difficult for companies to rely on blacklists of known junk e-mail distributors. Also, by using other people's computers to scatter their e-mail across the Internet, spammers vastly increase the number of messages they can send out, without having to pay for the data traffic they generate."

- Spammers also realized that sending spam in the form of an image would effectively thwart the text filters which analyze the content of an incoming message. "The use of other people's computers to send their bandwidth-hogging e-mail made the tactic practical."

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From WSLL @ Your Service: Keep Track of Competitors and Clients

Looking for a free and easy competitive intelligence tool? Trackengine.com is a free service that can be used to track changes made to websites. After signing up for a free account, users can add a "Track Me" button to their web browser. While viewing a page you wish to monitor, click the "Track Me" button to invoke your Trackengine.com account. If you have a pop-up blocker installed on your PC, you may need to temporarily disable it.

You then have the opportunity to customize your tracking, using either "simple" or "expert" tracking parameters. When changes are made to the webpage, Trackengine.com will send you an email alert containing your choice of a summary of the change, or a reproduction of the webpage with the new content highlighted. This is an easy way to monitor competitors or keep up to date on clients.

Trackengine.com also provides tutorials on competitive intelligence research and tips and tricks for using the service. For more robust tracking, Trackengine.com offers a fee-based subscription service.

Similar services include WatchThatPage. and WebSite-Watcher. The latter, available for a fee, is more robust.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Boing Boing reports that Judge Richard Posner is coming to Second Life. [What is Second Life?] From the New World Notes blog:

... Judge Richard A. Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will take on avatar form to discuss the US Constitution in the era of apocalyptic terrorism.... I'll be interviewing the Judge about his latest book, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency, a provocative case for balancing our freedoms with security in the post-9/11 world. As with previous NWN Book Club events, the Judge will answer questions from the audience, and autograph copies of his book's virtual edition.

See the New World Notes post for more information.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Library Stuff - Throw-away e-mail address generators:

• Spamhole - "SpamhOle.com allows you to create a temporary email address; nameyoupick@spamhole.com. For the number of hours that you choose, all email to nameyoupick@spamhole.com address is automatically forwarded to your regular email address. After time is up, any new mail that comes to your spamhole address is automatically deleted. This way, you never have to give your email address out when you sign up for stuff on the internet. You can create a spamhole address, sign up for stuff on the internet, and not have to worry about your mailbox becoming a target for spammers"
  
• 10 Minute Mail - "you will be given a temporary e-mail address. Any e-mails sent to that address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them, click on links, and even reply to them. The e-mail address will expire after 10 minutes. Why would you use this? Maybe you want to sign up for a site which requires that you provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe you don't want to give up your real e-mail address and end up on a bunch of spam lists. This is nice and disposable."

Did you know that you can also use Bloglines for email - throw-away and otherwise? This is especially useful when you want an email address that isn't quite so temporary as those listed above. I use a different Bloglines email address for every listserv to which I subscribe. When I don't want to receive mail anymore, I just delete the email address.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many parents have worried about their children spending too much time online, viewing Internet content that might be inappropriate, or being contacted by unsavory characters in Cyberspace. However, very few parents likely have considered the prospect that they may be sued for the online misbehavior of their kids.

Source: Stark County Law Library Blog

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CNET News has a very thought-provoking article on the challenges of accessing online accounts of deceased family members.

"As more and more people move their lives, address books, calendars, financial information, online, they are taking a risk that some information formerly filed away in folders and desks might never be recovered. That is, unless they share their passwords, which poses security threats."

It appears that e-mail providers won't typically offer access to accounts of deceased unless without relevant documentation. One attorney recommends that his clients include their passwords to e-mail, photo, music and other online accounts in an estate planning document.

Thanks to Mary Koshollek for the link.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you IM? If so, add us to your buddy list. The UW Law Library is pleased to announce our new instant messaging service. Our reference librarians can offer you quick research assistance in real time.

We support IM via AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ. Here is our list of buddy names: AIM: AskUWLaw Yahoo: AskUWLaw MSN: AskUWLaw@law.wisc.edu ICQ: 204333744

• IM is best for questions that can be answered quickly. For more complex questions, contact us in person, by phone, or by email. See our Ask a Librarian page for more information.
  
• Don't have IM software installed on your computer? Chat directly in your Web browser using Meebo.
  
• Reference assistance is intended primarily for current students, faculty and staff of UW-Madison. Anyone may contact us, but we can only provide limited assistance to those outside of the campus community.
  
• And, of course, our disclaimer: As with all of our reference services, we cannot interpret the law as it applies to specific facts or explain the substantive content of statutes and case law. Our assistance does not constitute legal advice.

If anyone would like to contact me personally, my buddy name is BonnieatUWLaw (AIM & Yahoo).

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bob Ambrogi has a nice summary of the difference between Gizmo and Skype, two VoIP services. (What's VoIP?)

I've used Skype but haven't tried Gizmo. The call recording feature is intriguing, however.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This past semester, CALI (Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction) has conducted the Legal Education Podcasting Project where over 30 law faculty used podcasting in their courses.

They've followed up with a series of interviews with faculty about their experiences and their thoughts on how podcasting affected their students and their own teaching. To listen, go to CALIopolis, the CALI blog.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been a Skype user for a while. Skype (rhymes with "type") is a proprietary peer-to-peer Internet telephony (VoIP) network. Basically, it allows you to call people for free using your computer to connect to theirs. See my earlier post.

Now Skype has announced that you can also use your computer to call any landline or cell phone within the US and Canada free until the end of the year. Very nice.

Source: Law.com's Legal Blog Watch

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Law Dawg Blawg:

Colette Vogele and Mia Garlick are the authors of Podcasting Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution (2006) (38 p., PDF), published under a Creative Commons license. According to the Introduction, "[t]he purpose of this Guide is to provide [readers] with a general roadmap of some of the legal issues specific to podcasting." It is divided into four sections:

* Legal Issues In Creating Your Own Podcast
* Legal Issues Surrounding How You Distribute Your Podcast
* Basic Background to Podcasting
* Background & Further Resources

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In WSLL's monthly Tech Tip in Brief, Librarian Heidi Yelk offers recommendations on the Storage and Transfer of Large Files.

There are dozens of free services on the web that allow users to upload files and make them available for later pick up. Maximum size limits vary. While some services allow free transfers up to 2 gigabytes, the average maximum is around 50 megabytes. Generally, these sites require no registration.

Here's how it works: A user goes to the service's website; enters the email address of the person they want to send the file to; and uploads the file from their computer to the service's website via the browse feature. The service then either produces a URL for the file which can be shared with others, and/or sends an email to the recipient containing a web-enabled (i.e. clickable) URL and directions on how to access the file on the Internet. Depending on the service, the file may be saved on the remote server for up to 30 days - the average is seven days.

Heidi recommends YouSendIt. Others are listed on the Creative Guy blog.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wouldn't you like to know what people are saying about you online? If you have or represent a business, you should.

A great brand can take months, if not years, and millions of dollars to build. It should be the thing you hold most precious.

It can be destroyed in hours by a blogger upset with your company.

So says internet marketing and search engine expert, Andy Beal. To find out how, see Online Reputation Monitoring Beginners' Guide at his Marketing Pilgrim blog. Learn what to track and how to do it.

Later this month, I'm giving a presentation on blogging at the Association of Legal Administrators conference in Montreal. I definitely be mentioning this guide.

Source: ABA Site-tation

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

From Jenkins Webblits:

TechCrunch has a great piece on The State of Online Feed Readers. It includes a handy chart showing you all of the features each reader offers.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Law.com has introduced a desktop RSS Reader called Law.com NewsPoint. From the FAQ:

What is Law.com NewsPoint?

Law.com NewsPoint is a desktop newsreader. It allows you to sign up to receive updates from Law.com and other online publishers. Once you've installed Law.com NewsPoint on your computer, it will automatically check for news updates from Law.com and the other publishers you've added. This means you can get the latest updates directly on your computer desktop, without having to surf lots of different websites to find it.

If you read a lot of blogs and haven't discovered RSS readers yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so. They are a huge timesaver. There are two types of readers, desktop (like NewsPoint) and web-based (like Bloglines). With a desktop, one distinct advantage is the ability to download content and read it off line. Web-based readers allow you to access content from any Internet-connected computer. Both types are good, so choose the one that best suits your needs.

Source: TVC Alert

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a pair of items about Wi-Fi access:

- Milwaukee Wi-Fi provider ready to start building network (WI Technology Network) - "Installation work on Milwaukee's Wi-Fi network could begin in a matter of weeks, representatives of the City of Milwaukee and Midwest Fiber Networks said Thursday."

- Wireless Hot Spots in the Courthouse (DCLRC Blawg) - "There are at least four wireless access points, or 'hot spots,' in the Dane County Courthouse."

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday's Wisconsin State Journal had an interesting article about piggybacking whereby computer users use someone else's unprotected wireless Internet connections.

For the most part, piggybackers don't consider the practice stealing. And most piggybackees weren't too worried about it either, other than the few who noted that it could potentially slow their access speed.

But Brian Lisse, owner of Madison Computer Works, 353 Island Drive, said that's not the half of it.

"If someone is using your ISP (Internet service provider) to do something illegal, like kid pornography, drug deals, terrorism, whatever, the FBI will come beating on your door," Lisse said. "That's the biggest danger. You're leaving it open for others to use."

"You better hope the guy next door isn't using your connection for something illegal," Lisse said.

The article goes on to list Wireless networks found throughout Madison.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you Skype? Skype (rhymes with "type") is a proprietary peer-to-peer Internet telephony (VoIP) network. Basically, it allows you to call people for free using your computer to connect to theirs.

SkypeOut is a paid feature, which allows Skype users to call virtually any non-computer-based landline or mobile telephone in the world. Read more at Wikipedia.

Today, any registered Skype user can claim 10 minutes of Skype Credit today and try SkypeOut for free.

If you set up an account and want someone to test call, my Skype name is "bshucha." You can tell me what you think about WisBlawg!

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In any relationship there is a fine line between reminding and nagging. When does too much of the former turn into the latter? Are you once, twice, three times a nagger? I'm sure that my husband and I would disagree.

But will he (and you) remember to do things without a few gentle "reminders"? Not to worry - now he can sign up for his own e-nagging service called HassleMe. Simply enter your email, what you want to be reminded of, and how often.

Popular hassles include:

- Go to the gym roughly every 4 days
- Write an entry in my diary roughly every 3 days
- Call your mother roughly every 7 days
- Go to the theatre roughly every 21 days

Source: BarclayBlog

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From inter allia:

Have a long message to send to someone, and just don't feel like typing it? Enter WaxMail, a program that records your message in MP3 format and then attaches it to an Outlook message. And it's free, too.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some Gmail (Google email) users now have access to nifty new tool - an embedded chat client. Unfortunately, it hasn't made its way to my Gmail account just yet. But, according to SearchEngineWatch, it's pretty sweet.

For those visual learners like me, check out the Gmail chat help for an enlargement of the image below.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the New York Times:

America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, are about to start using a system that gives preferential treatment to messages from companies that pay from 1/4 of a cent to a penny each to have them delivered. The senders must promise to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, or risk being blocked entirely.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)