Two weeks ago in my International Human Rights Clinic we had a class on press releases without one mention in the readings of how to promote press online.  My critical response for the week focused on how to blog.  Here are the highlights:

• Add visuals - Visuals draw people to text, they also get you hits from Google image search.
• Make headlines simple and direct, do not hide the ball with a witty headline
• Add meta data and tags to increase Search Engine Optimization
• Use broadcast tools to promote the press release - Twitter, Facebook, Digg, reddit, your blog, your orgs blog, list serves, Slide share, YouTube. In the human rights context use Witness for videos and for legal docs use JD Supra.
• License your work for others to share your message with Creative Commons Licenses (this blog is under a public domain dedication)
• Consider using multi media - a cheap 5 min video will get you 10X the number of hits a text post will over the long term
• Provide links to related works
• Invite community feed back - open comments
• Enable community action - do not just give people a story give them a way to take action!
• Provide links to related articles - see end of post
• Make it easy for your reader to educate themselves through the press release with links. (to wikipedia or relevant sites)
• Promote others that are talking about the same topic (see Cory's video at end of post)
• Keep it short 200- 400 words at most

Cory Doctorow: How to be an uber blogger:

Further reading:
Slate Review of Huffington's guide on how to blog
Four steps to a great Nonprofit Blog by Sarah Davies

Take Action: Start a blog through Wordpress

It is nice to see the school reaching out to online communities, the next step is to populate the page with student generated content to move into Web 2.0. Here is the full press release:

To be effective as lawyers in the service of justice requires that we understand both legal theory and how our actions will be received in the real world. To be effective as a law school also requires that same real-world context. As the world changes around us, we must change with it — or risk becoming irrelevant.

So today we’re launching a Facebook page as a way to keep in touch with students, alumni and colleagues. You’ll be able to find out at a glance about many of the things that are happening around the law school, see photos or video of law school events and connect directly with other friends of the law school.

Please become a fan of our page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/Seattle-University-School-of-Law/51348305898

Bob Cohen gave a great talk today at Seattle University Law on using technology to reach under-served populations. Here are my notes on the talk:

The general rule you need to keep in mind when working with low income folks is that only 20 percent have access to legal services. This means that access to justice is not the reality in the system and that the justice system may be viewed negatively due to the real lack of access.

Orange County uses a three tier approach to providing legal services:

• 1st Tier - Initial Access = Once people access the system it is often very late in the legal process. A key is getting connected with people ASAP in the legal process. For Orange County this means providing hotlines where people can call in with issues and physical locations where people can come and ask questions.
• 2nd Tier - Interactive Community Assistance Network I-CAN! This is a system that works with clients to create documents to file directly with a court. This was extended to IRS tax filings in 2004 which directly helps households file taxes and gain earn income tax credits. www.icanefile.org
• 3rd Tier - Access to attorneys - This is primarily for individuals who are facing actions in court. Unfortunately only 30 to 40 percent of the need is meet at this level due to financial limits.

Beyond providing services Bob also focused on how to communicate your message for the public. One of those strategies is the communicate through new media. An example of this the Maria Shriver EITC Initiative You-Tube video.

This provides a way to both educate the public about programs and a proactive media approach for creating a positive image of the program. This event was hosted by Public Interest Law Foundation and Students for Free Culture.

If you have the chance I recommend attending the "Making A Difference: Using Your Law Degree to Make the World a Better Place No Matter Where You Go in Your Career - and Life."

Seattle University School of Law
Thursday, February 28, 2008
5:00 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. • Room C1
Seattle University School of Law, Sullivan Hall
12th and Columbia

Judge Horowitz and Professor McKay continue their popular series by focusing on the development of excellent professional skills and exploring the opportunities and barriers to serving the public interest as a lawyer. Working for the powerless and the poor requires that attorneys continuously learn and improve their skills throughout their careers. This requirement is essential not only to personal success, but as much, if not more, for making a difference in the lives of clients and in the community. Along with exciting guest speakers, Judge Horowitz and Professor McKay will explore opportunities for public service, lay bare existing barriers to these opportunities, and demonstrate the importance of skills development in attaining and exercising personal and professional freedom. They will explain and show how public service choices on often unpredictable opportunities and barriers can shape our professional lives – and our lives as a whole.

This is the third in the four-part series “Making A Difference: Using Your Law Degree to Make the World a Better Place No Matter Where You Go in Your Career - and Life,” aimed at encouraging students, lawyers and others to make a place for public service in their careers and their lives.

To view videos of the first two symposiums, go to: http://media.law.seattleu.edu/public/events/events.htm