North Coast Connections

I write from the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs where I am attending a major conference with court management professionals in the US and worldwide. Although this is largely a public sector (government) endeavor, we have found a way to actively engage the private sector in identifying solutions to operational problems, especially relating to technology.

I write from the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs where I am attending a major conference with court management professionals in the US and worldwide. Although this is largely a public sector (government) endeavor, we have found a way to actively engage the private sector in identifying solutions to operational problems, especially relating to technology.

We started a group called FACT, Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (http://fact.ncsc.dni.us) in which private sector "vendors" pay dues to sit in a neutral, sales-free forum to discuss product development, standards development, education and improved procurement practices. If a Microsoft or other large corporation stepped into these discussions alone, it would be viewed as inappropriate and a conflict of interest because they sell products to courts. But if "industry" steps up and speaks as one voice, we avoid these conflicts.

I have the honor of chairing FACT and the results of defining these rules of engagement have been rewarding. Technology is a vexing problem for any organization, but especially so in government. We expect our government agencies to act with complete transparency, and that is exactly how it should be. However, if a government official can't even speak to a private sector "vendor" for fear of charges of favoritism or collusion, then governments are left completely on their own to figure out solutions. What is missing are rules by which we can not only speak to one another but actually develop standards, educate one another and define the problems that could be solved with the right technology.

Don't even get me started on the procurement process ... this is a terrible mess where government agencies often find themselves asking for last year's technology in last year's budget. There are lots of best practice examples of good procurement rules, including many from Canada. Unless we have ways for the public and private sector to discuss these practices, we are stuck with a hands-off effort that ultimately costs taxpayers countless millions of dollars.

So here I sit in a world class hotel in a wonderful city writing about something I care deeply about ... harnessing technology to make our lives better. To see this work through high level leadership in an important government institution such as courts is more art than science. And I deeply appreciate art.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I try my best to mask my impatience with colleagues, acquaintances and strangers who don't bother to polish their tech skills. After all, I can hardly encourage people to use technology effectively by scolding them. So I offer coaching, advice and talk about the benefits in the hopes of inching people along as best I can.

I try my best to mask my impatience with colleagues, acquaintances and strangers who don't bother to polish their tech skills. After all, I can hardly encourage people to use technology effectively by scolding them. So I offer coaching, advice and talk about the benefits in the hopes of inching people along as best I can.

However, I get to the point in my work life that I occasionally have to use shock therapy to get people out of their comfort zone. When I am teaching or consulting, I try to instill a sense of alarm when dysfunctional tech scenes unfold instead of just living with it. Here are some examples:

CLUNKY DATA SYSTEMS
God save us from computer systems that require the user to access multiple screens, enter a lot of extraneous data, use the mouse more than necessary and generally annoy, vex and frustrate those the computer system is supposed to work for. I add to this category those data systems with unattractive
interfaces such as black screens and green fonts.

OVER CLICKING
Everyone building a website should be painfully aware that users lose interest after a click or two. Content should be organized so that useful information is no more than two (at the most three) clicks away from your home page. Track website statistics that show what visitors see most on your site and "promote" heavily visited content while "demoting" or eliminating little used information.

LOSING YOUR TOOL
Like most busy professionals, I need a good calendar, address book, to do list and note taking organizer. After all, it is a necessary tool. I've purchased plenty of different software packages over time, but I've stuck with one that is now out of business from Daytimers (the folks who make paper organizers). Why? Because IT WORKS!! I've tried all the major products and each one is either too difficult to learn, is not intuitive, or is clunky beyond reason. A key feature must be the ability to synchronize with Palm digital assistants. I only hope I can find a replacement software package before this one loses its ability to work with new Windows updates.

Posted by Blog Admin at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ahhh ... I LOVE this global society. I'm writing from San Jose, Costa Rica where I just finished a project working with a group of court reporters. I've performed considerable international work, but it always amazes me that small, specialty tech consulting firms like mine can not only compete effectively with the big boys and girls, but can actually best them.

Recently, the RTC (www.redwoodtech.org) hosted a presentation of Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat, and the message is right on point. Go to the RTC website on the HOT TOPICS page for a rundown ... in a nutshell, the presumption was that as society moved into global connectivity and commerce, the larger corporations would be the big winners because only they would have the capital and infrastructure to compete on such a grand scale. As it turns out, the little guys and gals are finding a lot of work because we are nimble, have less overhead and can exploit the need for niche goods and services. Of course, there will always be a need for Coca Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, but those smaller players who band together into networks can actually find themselves on top because of high quality goods and services, lower overhead and the ability to move quickly.

A colleague of mine just left for Macedonia to perform work in the courts there for the World Bank. She has a similar project in South Africa later this year.

I am not alone on the local North Coast scene ... there are quite a few global players in Humboldt, but because we market to customers outside of the area we don't tend to advertise or publicize our exploits.

By the way, the weather here in Costa Rica is picture perfect (lucky me), and we had a chance to add a few days at the front and back end of the project to experience some eco tourism through the rainforests, butterfly farms and coffee plantations. When I get back, I have a three day turnaround to Colorado Springs to attend a major conference. Talk about extremes!!

So, vio con dios, mi amigos ... I'll catch you at the market or a local coffee shop,

where folks will ask where were you last week?

oh, we were in Costa Rica on business and had a wonderful time proving that the world is, indeed, flat.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to admit that despite being tech savvy and a recognized expert in
technology within the court management profession, I am a slow adapter to
blogging. When the "web log" phenomenon became popular in the early 2000s, I
sided with the media coverage that labeled it the most useless development
in the technology rather than eagerly lining up to become proficient in its
use and potential.

What happened between then and now? Several things, including:

The rising role of blogging in "democratizing" the media — the fourth
estate, like most businesses, has been subject to market influences that
make it increasingly difficult to remain profitable, resulting in industry
consolidation, buyouts and concentration of ownership into large corporate
control. While newspapers, TV and radio continue to ride the free market
train into homogenized-land, individuals and small organizations are using
blogs to articulate new perspectives on life, business, community
development, politics and education. Sure, "alternative media" sources such
as blogs are rife with nutcases, extremism and rumor — they are also
insightful, passionate and refreshingly real. The trick, of course, is
choosing which blogs to track and which to ignore. This is not any different
from choosing which newspapers to read, radio stations to listen to and TV
programs to watch.

"Pushing" blog content instead of "pulling" other media content — I used to
participate in Internet "chat rooms" and bulletin boards, but I grew tired
of having to take the affirmative step of visiting a website in order to
check the latest postings. Let's face it, life is too time consuming to add
chores such as these to your routine. RSS, Rich Site Summary, enables
bloggers to "push" content to subscribing readers rather that requiring that
readers "pull" the content by visiting a site. If I'm too busy or want to
take a break from a particular blogger, I can either ignore/delete the
incoming blog-mail or ultimately unsubscribe. Blogging has now become more
of a casual chat with a familiar friend in the back hallway.

Andrew Cohill and DesignNine.com — the keynote speaker at RTC's 2004 Tech
Expo is an inspiration to all of us who are trying to harness technology to
improve rural communities. His leadership turned rural Blacksburg, Va., into
a world-renowned "wired village." He also maintains a blog on his exploits
in Blacksburg and elsewhere that contain a wealth of useful information and
insights into best practice, changing telecommunication regulations, and
chronicles of activities in other rural communities.

Professional development — more and more of my professional interaction with
colleagues and continuing education involves blogs. In the legal profession,
these first appeared as "blawgs," of law-related web logs. In the court
technology field, the National Center for State Courts (www.ncsconline.org)
converted their paper version of the Court Technology Bulletin into a blog,
while the Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute (www.IJIS.org)
uses a blog to keep its private sector court IT vendors abreast of the
latest developments in criminal data sharing issues.

So, it's time for me to suck it up and get into the game. Over the course of
maintaining this North Coast Tech Blog, I'll offer observations about
emerging technologies, new tech developments in the community, economic
development opportunities and occasional sarcasm. You're welcome to join in
with cheers and jeers of your own.

Posted by Chris Crawford at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)