ZiefBrief

The Fourth Circuit on Wikipedia

In a recent opinion, United States v. Lawson, the Fourth Circuit had this to say about Wikipedia's reliability:

Given the open-access nature of Wikipedia, the danger in relying on a Wikipedia entry is obvious and real. As the "About Wikipedia" material aptly observes, "[a]llowing anyone to edit Wikipedia means that it is more easily vandalized or susceptible to unchecked information." Id. Further, Wikipedia aptly recognizes that it "is written largely by amateurs." Id.

Google Introduces "Verbatim"

Google has introduced a new search option, Verbatim, for power searchers who want Google to search the exact words entered in the search box. If you don't use Verbatim, Google routinely will do all of the following: 

• suggest spelling corrections; 
• personalize your search by using information about sites you’ve visited before (many patrons are surprised when librarians' Google search results are different from their search results when the same search is entered, but Google uses your past searching behavior to customize results);
• include synonyms of your search terms;
• automatically search for grammatical variations of words, like including search results containing the word, "employing," when you enter the search term "employ."

To use Verbatim, click "more search tools" on the left side of any search results page, then click "Verbatim."  Type your Verbatim search into the search box and hit "enter."

HeinOnline App for iPhone & iPad

HeinOnline announced the arrival of its free iPhone/iPad app, which allows researchers to access HeinOnline content on these devices. The app allows you to view PDFs, access HeinOnline content by citation, browse by volume, navigate a volume's table of contents, and use advanced search. I experimented with the app on my iPad and found it very easy to use. One caveat: you do need to be on-campus and logged on to the campus network to access content. 

Ohio Deposition Hi-Jinks

Most people wouldn't have a hard time determining whether their office had a photocopier or not. You would think that the acting head of information technology for the recorder's division of the Cuyahoga County fiscal office should be able to answer the question. But in a recent deposition the existence or non-existence of an office photocopier was a source of much discussion. Some of the best banter:

Deponent: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

Questioning Attorney: Let me be -- let me make sure I understand your question. You don't have an understanding of what a photocopying machine is?

Deponent: No. I want to make sure that I answer your question correctly.

Deponent's Attorney: Dave, I'll object to the tone of the question. You make it sound like it's unbelievable to you that he wouldn't know what the definition of a photocopy machine is.

Questioning Attorney: I didn't ask him to define it. I asked him if he had any.

Deponent: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

Questioning Attorney: Let me be clear. The term "photocopying machine" is so ambiguous that you can't picture in your mind what a photocopying machine is in an office setting?

Deponent: I just want to make sure I answer your question correctly.

See the article at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/identifying_photocopy_machine.html for a more complete transcript of the exchange.

Wayback Machine Revamped

The Internet Archive has refined its Wayback Machine interface and released a new Beta version. The Wayback Machine is an archive of web pages. You enter a URL, and the Wayback Machine shows you how that page looked on different dates. I tried the Beta version and really love the interface - very easy to use and it's a breeze to click between different dates to see a page's evolution. The classic Wayback Machine interface is still available if the Beta version is down.

Prof. Freiwald Posts About Cell Location Privacy Decision On Concurring Opinions Blog

As posted earlier, USF Law Professor Susan Freiwald filed a friend of the court brief and participated in oral arguments in an important case before the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeal. This morning she posted her take on the case in the well-regarded law blog Concurring Opinions and attempts to put the decision in its proper perspective. She does a great job of breaking the decision down by analyzing the parties and their arguments, the court's statutory and constitutional analysis, and what will happen next.

To read the complete blog post click here.

Minding Your Online Presence

The National Law Journal profiles Drake University law professor Melissa Weresh this week, who is working to raise awareness among law students of the potential professional pitfalls of social networking for aspiring attorneys.  Among Professor Weresh's tips:

• Always use proper grammar and avoid using acronyms when you text or email faculty members.
• Remember that Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter content might be used by state bar officials to ascertain your fitness to practice law.

Shunning Social Networking

The Washington Post has an article today about 18 to 34-year-olds who refuse to sign up for social networking sites, much to the chagrin of their friends and significant others.  How odd is this?  According to the article, about 84 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds check a social networking site, such as Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter, at least once a week.  The fastest-growing group of new Facebook users?  According to Inside Facebook, it's women over 55.

Wikipedia Unveiled on Volokh Conspiracy

Guest blogger and attorney Ira Matetsky has a series of interesting and informative posts on Wikipedia on the Volokh Conspiracy this week. You can access the first post here -- links to  all of Ira's Wikipedia posts throughout the week can be found at the bottom of the first post.  If you tend to turn to Wikipedia regularly as a research resource, you owe it to yourself to read these posts to understand how Wikipedia works and what its strengths and weaknesses are. 

Whitehouse.gov Gets a Makeover

President Obama's communications staff have been busy!  Whitehouse.gov got quite the Web 2.0 makeover and now boasts a blog with RSS feed.  All of the President's executive orders and proclamations will be made available on The Briefing Room page.  Also, the administration promises to "publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it."  Well done!  Now if we can just spread the innovation to the hundreds of other federal government websites that are stuck in the dark ages!!