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May 31, 2007

Return to blogging and podcasting

Following a five week blogging hiatus, S2KM's structured settlement blog coverage will begin again in June. At that time, S2KM will also begin offering audio podcast commentary.  S2KM's audio feed player and podcast subscription buttons are already installed and visible on the left side of this blog.  S2KM audio commentary will become available starting next week. 

The structured settlement industry is fortunate to have these existing sources for podcast news, features and commentary:

S2KM believes the market for podcasts is growing.  There is room for and need for additional structured settlement podcast sources and applications - especially as structured settlements continue to merge (on the plaintiff side) with settlement planning and special needs planning. 

To provide podcast content, S2KM is partnering with Truffle Media Networks.  Based in Indianapolis, Truffle Media's core values and skill sets include the use of podcasts to help build online communities and networks. 

Truffle's background and success building communities and networks for specific international agricultural industries is a great example of how the growth and development of online social networking sometimes appears counter-intuitive.  Who would have assumed that farmers (physical laborers) would be among the early web 2.0 adapters?  Ned Arthur of Truffle Media will be co-hosting S2KM's preliminary podcasts.  S2KM welcomes Truffle Media as a communication and education partner.

S2KM's podcasts will supplement S2KM blog posts and feature interviews and commentary.  Preliminary topics will include three recent conferences S2KM attended:

  • NSSTA's 2007 Annual Meeting
  • Stetson Law School Special Needs Trust Seminar
  • NAELA's 2007 Symposium

In addition, S2KM will begin taking a closer look at how web 2.0 is impacting structured settlements, settlement planning and special needs planning.  As one example, take a look at Care Pages - a simple, and free, social networking tool that connects disabled persons (and elderly persons) with their family and friends.

For additional information about:

April 25, 2006

Legal Blogs and Taxonomies

Ian Best, a third year law student at Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University has developed a valuable blog for attorneys, judges and law students called “3L Epiphany”. One of the highlights is titled “A Taxonomy of Legal Blogs” which Best characterizes as “an online service to the legal profession”.

For additional information about “taxonomies”, including a concept map, see this post in the “Green Chameleon” weblog.

An important upcoming event featured on 3L Epiphany is a free, public forum titled “Bloggership: How Blogs are Transforming Legal Scholarship” April 28, 2006 sponsored by The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.  The symposium events will take place in Ames Courtroom at the Harvard Law School and will include a live webcast.

Thank you to Denham Grey for keeping me updated on legal blogs, taxonomiesconcept maps, podcasts, wikis and knowledge management generally.

March 28, 2006

Educational Conferences

As participants within the structured settlement and settlement planning industries increasingly recognize the complexity and importance of their professions, one result should be improved educational programs that incorporate Internet features including weblogs, podcasts and wikis.

Thank you to Denham Grey for alerting me to this excellent weblog post on 2 Cents Worth about how any organization or association can improve and expand its educational programs using Internet technologies.

January 24, 2006

Structured Settlement Weblogs

S2KM welcomes two new bloggers to the structured settlement blogosphere:

1. Mark Wahlstrom - Mark is co-owner (with Jan Schlichtmann) of the Legal Broadcast Network.  Mark's podcast and weblog commentary appears on The Settlement Channel.  One of Mark's recent weblog posts addresses the EPS SFA merger.

2.  John Darer - John is a leading structured settlement consultant and industry commentator.  John has an interesting take on Symetra's recent announcement to expand its settlement transfer business.  For those who have not seen the Symetra announcment, here is a copy:
---------------------------------------

"Introducing Clearscape Funding Corporation

Dear Structured Settlement Consultant:

Nine months ago we launched an "advanced funding" pilot program, giving payees under Symetra Assigned Benefits Service Company (SABSCO)-owned annuities the ability to transfer their structured settlement payments to SABSCO in exchange for an immediate lump sum. The results of this program have been outstanding! Clients tell us they are grateful for our ability to quickly meet their immediate financial needs and for the professional manner in which we've shepherded their cases through the courts.

SABSCO's funding services are now available in all states. We're also expanding with a new service to payees under non-SABSCO-owned contracts, including those issued by other life companies. At the heart of this expansion is the latest addition to the Symetra Financial corporate family ?

Clearscape Funding Corporation!

Beginning January 11, 2006, Clearscape Funding Corporation will offer payees the same helpful and responsive service that many have come to know through Symetra Life. Clearscape Funding continues the Symetra tradition with fair pricing, fast turnarounds, and strong technical knowledge. It's yet another example of how Symetra Financial is working to meet your customers' needs by providing financial solutions for navigating the unforeseen changes that life can present. For more information, visit www.clearscapefunding.com.

If you have questions about our structured settlement or funding services, or need assistance with a nonqualified opportunity, please call your new business representative or me at 1-800-599-5732.

Sincerely,

Kim McSheridan

Vice President

Income Annuities

Symetra Life Insurance Company"

November 21, 2005

Social Network Technologies

Denham Grey, a leading Knowledge Management (KM) thinker and practioner, takes on the KM lions in their own den when he moderates an online presentation this week for the "Star Series" sponsored by the Association of Knowledgework (AOK).

Entitled "Knowledge Sharing and Social Software", Denham's presentation includes a valuable and related wiki.  Among other resources, the wiki features a concept map of podcasting created by Barbara Bowen for S2KM Limited.

For additional background information about social network technologies, see Denham Grey's weblog, "Knowledge-at-work" as well as the following wikipedia entries:

Plus additional information about:

January 11, 2005

Lilia Efimova Blogging Seminar

     The Tri-State Knowledge Management Association issued the following press release on January 10, 2005:

Blogging Seminar and Workshop to Feature Lilia Efimova

· International Expert to Speak at The METS Center

· Program Targets Tri-State Knowledge Workers

· Personal and Business Applications Featured

     Cincinnati, Ohio – January 10, 2005: Lilia Efimova, an internationally-acclaimed online learning and blogging expert, will conduct a blogging seminar at The METS Center in Northern Kentucky from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on January 20, 2005.  Networking and a continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 am.

     Sponsored by the Tri-State Knowledge Management Association, the seminar is designed for knowledge workers interested in blogging including learning and HR specialists, attorneys, journalists, marketing and public relations professionals and consultants. 

     Efimova will discuss the rationale and start-up process for blogging as well as the related tools, technologies, best practices and business applications. The seminar will also address more advanced issues such as RSS, backtrack, blog-specific search engines, social bookmarks, blogviews, blogs and personal knowledge management and emergent blog communities.

     The cost of the seminar is $35 per person. Attendees may register in advance online or by contacting Linda Bickel by telephone (859 647-6387) or email (linda.bickel@useMETS.org).

     Born and educated in Russia, Efimova resides in the Netherlands where she conducts research about learning and knowledge management at Telematica Instituut. Efimova also authors Mathemagenic, an award-winning blog. During her current visit to the United States, Efimova is participating in a series of seminars and workshops about blogs and blogging.

     Blogs, also called weblogs, are an inexpensive and easy method to publish on the Internet. Blogs generally serve as personal or collaborative online journals and contain frequent entries organized in reverse chronological order. Blogs have many applications including reporting, publishing, learning, marketing and networking. The underlying blog technologies facilitate syndication and subscription to other blogs. The process of updating a blog is referred to as “blogging”. The person who writes and maintains a blog is called a “blogger”. Collectively, the online blogging community is known as the “blogosphere”.

     Recently social software, which includes blogging, has caught the attention of the popular and business press with articles in the New York Times, Forbes, Fortune and Financial Times. Major Internet players such as Google and Microsoft have started to enter the blogging field and venture capitalists are funding software projects. According to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, blog readership grew 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of Internet users.

      The Tri-State Knowledge Management Association is a non-profit organization that provides collaborative KM learning opportunities for knowledge professionals in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Association meetings, seminars and workshops take place at The METS Center located near the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. Affiliated with Northern Kentucky University, The METS Center features advanced learning technologies. For additional information about the Tri-State Knowledge Management Association , contact Patrick Hindert (Patrick@s2km.com).

December 28, 2004

Wikis, Blogs and Tsunamis

     The December 28, 2004 edition of the New York Times (NYT) includes an article entitled “Blogs Provide Raw Details from the Scene of the Disaster” (registration required) about the aftermath of tsunamis resulting from the December 26, 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

     Although the NYT article promises a lot  (“For vivid reporting from the enormous zone of tsunami disaster, it was hard to beat the blogs”), I was generally unimpressed with the news coverage in the blogs featured in the NYT article.  Most likely, the extensive damage caused by the tsunamis has prevented many on-site bloggers from accessing the Internet in the immediate aftermath. 

     Of the blogs I have reviewed, the most informative posts about the recent Asian earthquakes and tsunamis are Dina Meta’s blog (“Conversations with Dina” - multiple posts) and Dennis Kennedy's blog ("DennisKennedy.com" - December 27, 2004 post).  Both Dina and Dennis include a reference to Wikipedia.  After reviewing Wikipedia’s coverage, my conclusion is the same as Dina’s: “This is so impressive …within hours of the disaster, Wikipedia has a most comprehensive and evolving page on the Indian Ocean Earthquake."   Dina's December 28, 2004 post features an interesting and valuable comparison entitled "Blogs or Wikis...What's the best platform for building a collaborative disaster-relief resource on the web?" with specific reference to SEA-EAT, a blog Dina helped organize.  Dina's conclusion: "Because [SEA-EAT] is a community that is open...[p]erhaps a wiki might have captured the spirit better?"

     In addition to extensive, updated news coverage of the Asian earthquakes and tsunamis, both Wikipedia (a free open source encyclopedia) and Wikinews (an affiliated free demo news service) also provide tables of contents, cross-links to related subjects and external links to traditional, international news sources. See Wikinews for additional information about the debut of this demo news service.  See Socialtext for a leading social software provider that incorporates wikis and blogs.

    

December 22, 2004

Tri-State KM Association

     The Tri-State KM Association (TSKMA) was organized in March 2004 to provide knowledge professionals in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana with collaborative KM learning opportunities. TSKMA meetings, seminars and workshops take place at the METS Center located in Northern Kentucky near the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. The following excerpts from the December 21, 2004 TSKMA Newsletter summarize TSKMA accomplishments during 2004 and announce a January 20, 2005 KM seminar at the METS Center featuring Lilia Efimova, author of the Mathemagenic blog.

TSKMA 2004 – Highlights and Accomplishments

I. KM Perforum – TSKMA organized and co-sponsored (with the METS Center and Tier1 Performance Solutions) a KM Perforum on July 21, 2004 featuring Denham Grey, a TSKMA member and internationally-recognized KM leader. Denham engaged 70 Perforum attendees in a dialogue focusing on KM’s role in the manufacture of high-performance bicycle parts at Zipp Speed Weaponry.

II. Online Collaboration Forums – with support and sponsorship from VentureForward and Denham Grey, TSKMA has developed and continues to maintain two online communication and collaboration forums:

     A. The Brain – for information and access, contact Gina Suever at gina@wow2now.com

     B. Socialtext – for information and access contact Denham Grey at dgrey@iquest.net

III. Surveys – with assistance from the METS Center and Tier1 Performance Solutions, TSKMA conducted KM surveys of 58 Tri-State professionals who expressed interest in KM and TSKMA. Results included the following preferences for TSKMA:

     A. Membership - a diverse TSKMA membership base including: knowledge workers; KM subject matter experts; KM product providers; for-profit and not-for-profit organizations; educational organizations; and governmental agencies;

     B. Mission – collaborative KM learning;

     C. Benefits – KM seminars and workshops; KM profiles; KM Yellow Pages; KM certification; knowledge exchange(s); knowledge networks.

IV. Logo – Tom Hortel of VentureForward designed the TSKMA logo.

V. Newsletters – TSKMA has published four (4) newsletters in 2004.

VI. Meetings – Four TSKMA meetings occurred at the METS Center during 2004.

VII. Special Thanks – In addition to the METS Center, VentureForward, Tier1 Performance Solutions and Denham Grey, TSKMA wishes to thank Liz Nash, Keith Burtoft, Fred Meyer and Nick Franceschina for their contributions and support during 2004.

TSKMA 2005 – Activities and Events

I. KM Seminar and Workshop – On January 20, 2005, TSKMA and the METS Center will sponsor a KM Seminar and Workshop featuring Lilia Efimova. Further information (including times and registration instructions) will be communicated in early January. Mark your calendar and don’t miss these exciting learning opportunities! Here is a preview:

     A. Lilia Efimova is an internationally-acclaimed expert on blogging and personal KM. Currently working in the Netherlands, Lilia will be visiting the United States in January to participate in multiple seminars and blogwalks.

     B. Lilia’s Blog

     C. What is a blog (aka Weblog)?

     D. What will you learn at the Seminar and Workshop?

          1. Why is blogging important;

          2. How to get started;

          3. Ways to track who is reading your blog;

          4. Tools to measure traffic and reputation;

          5. Who are the key players in the KM blogging community;

          6. What roles blogging plays in business.

II. Additional TSKMA Projects for 2005 – In addition to seminars, workshops, meetings and newsletters, here are some additional projects TSKMA is planning for 2005:

     A. TSKMA Website;

     B. KM Profiles for TSKMA Members;

     C. Tri-State KM Yellow Pages.

If you would like addition information, visit the TSKMA online collaboration forums (see above) and/or contact Patrick Hindert at Patrick@s2km.com.

December 05, 2004

Blog Posts About Blogging

Recent blog posts about blogging:

As Posted by Nancy Stinson on the Stark County Law Library Blawg

1. Blogging Policies: A Good Place to Start - "From the blog: For those firms which choose to take the blogging road and encourage their employees to blog, thought will most probably need to be given to the drafting of blogging policies. For a useful starting point, with links to various corporate blogging policies, see Charlene Li's useful post Blogging Policy Examples. Additional thought would need to be given to issues distinct to the practice of law, such as compliance with professional/ethical obligations, but Charlene's post is a good place to start. Source: FeedMeLegal, 9 November 2004."

2. Courts Look to Blogs to Improve Accessibility - "Sabrina posts: "From the National Center for State Courts' 2004 Report on Trends in the State Courts, see Web Logs: Increasing Courts' Ability to Quickly Communicate with Constituents (3 pages, PDF): · "The courts' traditional means of communicating with court users are the postal service, the organized media, fax machines, and telephones. In the past decade courts have increasingly used e-mail and Web sites to communicate internally and externally. Web logs, or "blogs," can be useful communication tools for courts because they are easy to use and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici 2 December 2004."

As Posted by Joy London on Excited Utterances

1.  Corporate Blogging - "In the November 28th issue of llrx.com, Sabrina Pacifici, in a fantastic PowerPoint presentation, documents and illustrates how the development and implementation of blogs within an organization can serve as a key application to facilitate research services, knowledge management, marketing, training, and communications within groups, departments, and enterprise wide".

As Posted by Dennis Kennedy on DennisKennedy.blog

1. Marketing Blogs - "As you know, I'm a little biased because I am an editor of the ABA's Law Practice Today Webzine, but the new November issue, which focuses on legal marketing, is chock full of great articles. I highly recommend that you check it out.

"The four feature articles on legal marketing from four stellar authors will definitely expand your thinking about both the theory and practice of legal marketing - just in time for gearing up end of the year / beginning of the year marketing efforts.

"Blawg Channeler Tom Mighell has a column covering blogs on legal (and non-legal) marketing. My contribution to this issue is called Revolutionizing Case Preparation and Client Relations with CaseMap 5 – Making It Easier to Win Cases and Clients, in which I suggest an innovative way litigators can use one of the best litigation software programs to market legal services to both existing and new clients simply by giving clients the kind of information they wish you were giving them now.

"And there are even more good articles in this issue."

As Posted by Bruce MacEwen on Adam Smith, Esq.

1. Joy London on Blogging 101 - "The always-inspiring Joy London of "excited utterances" has penned a Blogging 101 article for Legal IT.  Although much of what Joy has to say is targeted at what might charitably be described as the extreme novitiates in the audience (what a blog is, for starters), she has some insightful observations on why the blog medium and legal practice are a match made in heaven:

  • people are a firm's true intellectual capital, just as the individuals constituting the legal blogosphere are the source of its true power;
  • the mindset behind successful and effective blogs—an impulse to share reliable analysis and observation—is precisely the instinct that animates successful knowledge management in a firm; and
  • at least in the legal blogging community, bloggers "exuberantly share links and observations."

"Joy kindly concludes with a list of about a dozen of her favorite US- and UK-based blawgs, and—the envelope, please—"Adam Smith, Esq." is right there.  Yo, Joy:  Would you prefer a bottle of champagne, or Scotch?"

2. Announcing the Launch of the Savvy Blawgers Panel - "Announcing the launch of the "Adam Smith, Esq." official "Savvy Blawgers Panel," a brain trust I will rely upon to sound off and chime in on (hopefully) interesting ideas I will query them about every so often—not so often as to wear out Adam Smith's welcome, but often enough to keep the Panel, and you, dear reader, engaged.  The notion is to pose a question, collect answers, and publish them here on "Adam Smith, Esq." for the edification of all.

"What will these topics be, and who are these people?

"The topics will range from the high-end and deeply strategic ("The future of '[.....]'") to the practical and down-to-earth ("The gadget I could not live without is ...").  Readers are also invited to submit mind-bending or just plain irritating questions of their own, understanding that the editor (Bruce) reserves the right to accept, reject, edit for clarity or brevity or good taste, and so forth--and know that all decisions of the judges are final.

"The panelists are a highly selective group of outstanding members of the legal blogosphere:  Once all have confirmed their acceptance to this august panel, I will post a list identifying them and their blawgs.  For the moment, I hope to be able to promise a treat in the quality, acuity, variety, and overall sassiness of the group.  We don't need no shrinkin' violets!

"Stay tuned; the first Savvy Blawger Query will be posted shortly."

As Posted by Evan Schaeffer on Notes from the (Legal) Underground

1.  A Fine Introduction to Law-Related Weblogging - "Congratulations to Todd Chatman a/k/a Ambivalent Imbroglio for his great article "Join the Blawg Bandwagon," which appears in this month's Student Lawyer.

"Todd's article explains how law students can benefit from weblogs, contains a sidebar about how to start a weblog, and includes a great list of law-related weblogs with descriptions and links.

"Student Lawyer
, of course, is published by the American Bar Association.  Here's one former ABA member who's hoping Todd was well-compensated for lending his talent to such a nice-looking, glossy magazine".

As Posted by Paul Caron on TaxProf Blog

1. Foundation Press, Lexis, and West Sponsor TaxProf Blog - "We are thrilled to announce that LexisNexis has joined Foundation Press and West Publishing Company as sponsors of Tax Prof Blog and the Law Professor Blogs Network. We hope this is the beginning of a long-term relationship that will provide both financial support for our blogs and useful information about new books of interest for our readers."

As Posted by Lilia Efimova on Mathemagenic

1. Blogging as breathing or how to find time for blogging? - "The most asked question when I speak to people who don't blog, is where I get the time to do it.

"In Umea we discussed time consumption and listed a number of time-consuming factors. Time is needed:

  • To get used to the tools
  • To grow a network
  • To get into action with others
  • To grow trust
  • For getting to know and find useful (re)sources
  • To find your voice (for yourself, for others)

    "This seems like a list of things that apply to a lot more situations than just blogging. For instance we compared it to Stephanie's experiences when she first moved from the US to Sweden, and had to find her rhythm in a new country. It also resonates with my own perception that the time I spend blogging is either not very large, or all of the time. Reading blogs, writing to reflect and digest, writing to collect and gather, and sharing along different channels (blog, wiki, company portal, e-mails, etc.) is just the way how I collect and process my personal information flow. Asking me how much time I spend blogging, is treating blogging as an additional activity in my life (which it was at first), and feels to me like asking how much of my time I spend breathing.

    "My answers to this question are pretty similar: I can afford spending quite a lot of time blogging only because it's so integrated with my regular activities that it's not an add-on anymore.

    "A brief brainstorm of the role blogging plays in my own work:

    • professional awareness
      • I read weblogs instead of reading mailing lists and searching professional web-sites to stay updated with news and trends
    • work-related search
      • saving time for searching as in many cases I come across papers/information I need for my work via weblogs and blog/bookmark it
      • social search - very often I know whom to ask for a specific information/advice
    • networking
      • reading weblogs is a low-cost way to stay in touch with others (if they have weblogs :)
      • writing my own weblog exposes my own work and expertise, so it's easier to establish contacts
      • better use of f2f time as with bloggers there is no need for updates on each other news
    • conversations
      • getting help or answers fast without being too intrusive
      • feedback on ideas and early drafts
      • development of ideas in a community (actually: in different communities :)
    • research
      • data collection, interpretation and presentation (e.g. as everyday grounded theory)
        • reading other weblogs and being a blogger are part of my data collection instruments 
        • I use my weblog to test my interpretations and to get a feedback on ways of presenting some pieces of research
      • weblog as a research notebook
        • keeping notes on reading, research progress, ideas, publications
        • organising notes into themes to support thinking and future retrieval
      • writing
        • low-threshold space to start writing that helps to start small when working on large pieces (like papers or PhD as a whole)
        • space to get an early (or urgent :) feedback on writing
      • getting emotional support

    "I guess there is more... Anyway I'll be back on it because I'm thinking about writing a paper on blogging as a research method :)"

December 01, 2004

"Blog" No. 1 Word for 2004

Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has selected "blog" as the "No. 1 Word of the Year for 2004" representing IMHO an historic milestone for Internet publishing.