Making the law accessible on the Web

Everyone needs access to the law eventually.

At some point, you're going to incorporate your business, write your will or get a copyright or patent. Ten years ago, a couple clever lawyers put their heads together and hatched the idea of making some standard things related to the law available on the internet. Today LegalZoom has been able to provide those services to over a million people, not eliminating all the paperwork and hassle, but a good part of it.

LegalZoom's CIO Tracy Terrill talked with me about his job combining technology and the law for an article in CBS Interactive this week. He brings a tech background from some other notable companies, including Universal Studios, Warner Brothers and Gartner.

One of the most interesting things going on with LegalZoom these days is their Facebook page, where attorney Joe Escalante masquerades as "Free Joe Friday," and has gained the page more than 50,000 followers with his gratis advice.

On social media marketing Tracy says:

"We're still in the early days of our social media presence, but things are starting to come together... Free Joe Friday is an example of that... We actually have about 10 times more followers on Facebook than on Twitter right now."

You can find the free PDF download of the entire interview here.

Why IT is not a department anymore

My ten-question interview with longtime technologist and top Fortune 100 executive, Julius Tomei, is out in today's TechRepublic. His job covers 50,000 end users in 45 countries, and his experience runs the gamut of technology-related positions. Among other topics like outsourcing, mobility and consolidation, Julius talks about his perception that IT should no longer be thought of as a department.

I also asked Julius for his insights on delivering remarkable presentations, both the ones he gives and the ones he has attended:

"Two things stand out to me when it comes to Powerpoint: getting the right number of slides, and using good graphics and illustrations. What I see most often is either more slides than necessary or not enough. Then there are people who are good at developing very elaborate slides that actually end up losing the audience's attention. Using relevant pictures and graphics is the way to keep people focused. I try to put together slides I can talk to and not read from, and discuss the background behind the slides.

In 2007 I was invited to speak at the annual itSMF conference in Atlanta on the topic of how I got ITIL to work. I took them through the process by illustrating in terms of golf. You don't win by hitting holes in one every time. You do it by making a series of putts. So I was able to keep the discussion at a high level for a larger audience. I can get technical when I need to, but in this case I needed to make it very accessible. When I do include technical information in a presentation, I like to keep it to one or two slides. What people really want to know is, 'How did you come to think of that? What was your thought process?' In this case it was to run a lights-out data center very efficiently and at the lowest practical cost. I needed people to speak the same language and operate from the same framework, and that was ITIL. Explaining in those terms really resonated with the audience."

You can also find this and other technology leadership interviews at 10QatAtime.com.

Ten Questions on Practical Technology Transformation with Antonio Hylton

Any idea where the largest county* in the US is? You might expect it to be in the state of Texas, but that's not it. The number two county on the list also edges out Harris County, TX by just a bit, and that distinction is held by Cook County, Illinois.

The CIO of Cook County's massive infrastructure is the founder of Broadband Technology Associates, Antonio Hylton, and he is transforming the technology throughout a complex set of layers in the organization with his "Vision 2010" plan, including the city of Chicago and a total budget of more than three billion dollars.

In this interview with Antonio, which just came out in TechRepublic magazine (you really ought to be a subscriber), he talks with me about the dangers of technological procrastination and what it has taken to reach the point where he can get the ball rolling.

You can always download the PDF version of these articles from the TR site, as well as add your comments and perspectives to the list.

*the largest county is Los Angeles County, CA

Just how important is a smart healthcare IT executive?

Not many issues approach the universal concern over the healthcare situation (crisis?) in this country.  The changing role of the CIO at a hospital or other health service provider seemed like a great topic for a few questions.  

So I asked Patrick Moroney, who is among the best authorities out there in this area, for his candid opinions.  Here's the interview with Patrick that came out in TechRepublic today.  (Add your comment and/or vote if you like it.)

Thanks!