Why Web 2.0 : Challenges and Opportunities for the Legal Sector

Why Web 2.0? Challenges and Why Web 2.0? Challenges and opportunities for the legal sectoropportunities for the legal sector

CLIG Seminar – 13th March 2008James Mullan – Information OfficerCMS Cameron McKenna

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What is Web 2.0? A look at some Web 2.0 tools (Opportunities) Challenges for you Challenges for the Legal Sector

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What is Web 2.0?What is Web 2.0?

A perceived second generation of web-based communities…such as social networking sites, wikis and blogs…which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration and sharing (of content) between users.

Wikipedia entry “Web 2.0”

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Web 2.0 applications are usually…Web 2.0 applications are usually…

Collaborative– Users can “contribute” content in a non-

passive way Interactive

– Users can view each others content and talk to other users about their content

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Web 2.0 TechnologiesWeb 2.0 Technologies

Blogs RSS Wikis Social Software

– Social Networking– Social Bookmarking

Widgets Mashups & Startpages

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Blogs and BloggingBlogs and Blogging

A Weblog or Blog is a frequently updated Website

Dated entries are arranged in reverse chronological order

Blogs are easy to create and update Blogging software is free

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Law Librarians & BloggingLaw Librarians & Blogging

Blogs can be used for a variety of reasons including;

– To promote Library Services– As internal communication tools– To avoid Information Overload

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The future of Blogging?The future of Blogging?

New ways of Blogging have started appearing;

“Microblogging” (Twitter) Collaborative Blogging

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RSSRSS

RS what?

– Really Simple Syndication– Rich Site Summaries– Read Some Stories

RSS Feeds are simple XML documents which need to be read in an “RSS Reader”

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RSSRSS

RSS Feeds enable you to;

Deliver web content from multiple sites to a single web application

Subscribe only to content you want to see Avoid visiting multiple sites Easily see which sites have been updated

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Law Librarians & RSSLaw Librarians & RSS

RSS isn’t just for Blogs though:

– Journals– Government Websites– Law Firms– News Sources– Online Databases

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What does it really mean?What does it really mean?

It’s now much easier for Information Professionals to;

– Stay on top of what is being published on the Web

– Make the content available to other users– Use RSS as part of a current awareness

service

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WikisWikis

A Wiki is an application or a piece of software that allows users to create edit and link “web” pages

Increasingly Wikis are being used within law firms to:

– Encourage Knowledge sharing/collaboration

– Replace or enhance Intranets

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Why are Wikis so wikied?Why are Wikis so wikied?

Wikis have been successfully used by Law Firms because:

– Their focus is on content not authoring tools– You don’t need to have any experience to

start using a Wiki

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Law Librarians & WikisLaw Librarians & Wikis

There is huge potential for Law Librarians to use Wikis in the following areas:

– System Documentation (LMS)– Subject Guides– FAQ’s– Best Practice Guides

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When using WikisWhen using Wikis

There needs to be a reason for the Wiki

More than one person should be using it as a communication/collaboration tool

You must avoid the “empty Wiki” syndrome at all costs

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Social NetworkingSocial Networking

A social networking site allows user to form connections with other people

Users post information about themselves which is then available for other people to search

Popular Social Networks include;

– Facebook– MySpace– LinkedIn

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Law Librarians & Social NetworkingLaw Librarians & Social Networking

Law Librarians can use Social Networks to:

– Promote useful websites and legal resources

– Demonstrate their organisations and their own expertise and interests

– Connect with users in “their spaces”

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How to start using Social NetworksHow to start using Social Networks

Join a network Create a profile Decide how much or how little information you

want to display Find potential connections Invite them to be your friend (connect) Start building on these connections

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Social BookmarkingSocial Bookmarking

Why use Social Bookmaking?

Social Bookmarking tools let you and anyone you want to access your saved sites.

You can discover sites being used by other people without having to visit the site yourself

The sites can be easily organised using categories (tags)

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Social BookmarkingSocial Bookmarking

One of the most popular sites is del.icio.us

Other sites include;

– Digg– Furl– StumbleUpon

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Widgets (Gadgets)Widgets (Gadgets)

Widgets are “mini” desktop applications that deliver content from the web.

Widgets are usually;

– Embedded within blogs– Social networking pages or websites

Their application could go beyond this though

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WidgetsWidgets

There is some potential for using Widgets in Law Firms to display content available on the Web.

Widgets could also be used to display content from other systems on Portals or Intranets

Lots of Libraries are using Widgets to display content from their Library Catalogue

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Mashups and Start pagesMashups and Start pages

A “mashup” is a Web application that uses content from more than one source to create a new service

Usually RSS feeds/content

Yahoo Pipes/RSS Mixer

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Start PagesStart Pages

Start Pages are user created “sites” which contain many different elements

The sites are usually divided into tabs which contain “elements”

– RSS Feeds– Calendars– Notes– Bookmarks

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Challenges for youChallenges for you

Keeping up with the pace of change!

Deciding what to start using first

Having “rights” to use the technology

Knowing what the best sites to use are

Convincing your organisation that you should be using Web 2.0

Identifying the skills and knowledge that you need

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Challenges for youChallenges for you

Avoiding Information Overload…again

Web 2.0 is increasing being described as a “disruptive” technology

– RSS– Reading blog posts

Applications are available that can now filter the information you receive;

– Feed Rinse– Yahoo Pipes

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Challenges for youChallenges for you

Ethical

– Social Networking sites and Virtual Worlds

Legal

– Your anonymity– Defamation– Downloading of documents/images

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Challenges for the Legal SectorChallenges for the Legal Sector

Associating your organisation with a product

– Allen & Overy and Facebook

Encouraging collaboration

– Not renowned for collaboration– Existing systems don’t encourage– What role should Law Librarians play?

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Challenges for the Legal SectorChallenges for the Legal Sector

If your organisation does want to do “Web 2.0” then you need to think about;

– Your priority application areas– Whether you are replacing or an improving

an existing service– What the benefits are going to be

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Challenges for the Legal SectorChallenges for the Legal Sector

What about MOSS?

Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server or Sharepoint

Likely to be implemented by a number of firms in 2008

– Blogs– RSS Feeds– Wikis

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ConclusionConclusion

Web 2.0 provides Information Professionals with new methods by which to disseminate and create information and can provide real benefit to users, however;

A Web 2.0 application cant be applied to every situation

Don’t do Web 2.0 just because it’s “cool”

The take-up of Web 2.0 is growing but many applications are still blocked

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Questions