Managing your online information can be a challenge, particularly if you use a service like social media where you may not control the delivery of the information.  allmytweets may be able to help if you are looking for Twitter messages to archive, whether yours or someone else’s.

When you send a Twitter message, it appears on your profile and is stored on Twitter’s servers.  You can use an external tool to create an archive (like Backupify) but it can be difficult to generate an archive of all your messages within Twitter’s site.  When you go to allmytweets.net, the only question is the username for whom you want to retrieve all tweets.

It certainly appears to be all.  I retrieved my own account and saw what appear to be all 1,300 odd messages that I have sent to date.  Airtight Interactive, which created allmytweets, says it taps the public Twitter API, but I have to say it’s the most complete retrieval I’ve ever seen on a public tool.  The results are available in real-time, which I tested by deleting a couple of non-informational tweets and then resubmitting my username.  All three messages were gone.

If you are trying to freeze your own – or someone else’s profile for, say, litigation purposes – in time, allmytweets may be a great way to store an archive.

Hat tip to @EJWalters (Ed Walters, Fastcase) and NY Times’ columnist David @Pogue

The second edition of the book, Finding and Managing Legal Information on the Internet, is now available!  I started the revision last summer and completed it in September.  And submitted revisions in November.  And made some more changes during the proofing in January!  Writing about anything related to research on the Web is a moving target and the world seems to have been particularly turbulent in the last 6 months.  Any changes or updates that didn’t make it into the text will be appearing on the blog!

I received some excellent feedback about the first edition and that led me to remove some of the geekier content (like building your own CanLII accelerator, which CanLII has now done!).  Instead, you’ll find more tips that will extend your research expertise, whether or not you are already an expert researcher or not.  The content was significantly rewritten – IE9 wasn’t available during the first edition, let alone the rapid-fire release of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox – due to the significant changes in the available Web browser add ons, tools for managing and storing your research, and the increasing similarity between Web browsers.  It was much easier this time because the big three – IE, Firefox, and Chrome – often worked the same way or had more similar functionality.

Hopefully those of you who found the first edition useful will get even more out of the second edition.  If you have stumbled upon this blog because of a particular research need, you will find the book goes into far greater detail – with screenshots, keyboard shortcuts, and other practical information – than I’m able to achieve on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by and best of luck with your research.

LexisNexis has dropped the free case law resource – formerly known as LexisOne – and is now funnelling users to paid options only. When I saw the announcement on Twitter, it was a disappointment. As far as U.S. case law goes, LexisOne was unique in enabling some of the segments – search by counsel, by judge’s name – that you could get within the paid database.

RT @johnpmayer: RT @MarkRosch We've updated our post on the demise of lexisONE http://t.co/g44Dnccl ... free case law RIP

April 4, 2012 9:21 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@davidpwhelan

David Whelan

This was not that surprising, since they had recently shifted the free case law from a relatively easy to reach location on Lexisone.com to a new community site.  Since that lasted for only 2 months, this elimination of access was probably planned.  It may also mean that LexisOne as a case law service wasn’t that popular, although it may also just be the next shift away from any flexibility in access beyond a subscription.

It seems a relatively feeble decision.  Free U.S. case law is abundantly available.  State and Federal appellate courts have a substantial amount of recent, free law on their own sites.  Google Scholar maintains a database of US case law that is getting regular improvements (citation relationships, pagination).  Despite the continuing lack of information about where the data comes from, it appears to be entirely reliable.

There is also the venerable Public Library of Law, which, like LexisOne did, relies on a fee-based service.  Fastcase.com powers the PLOL and content you retrieve in your searches comes from the same database.

Access to Google, the Public Library of Law, and the courts are more than enough of an option to the departed LexisOne.  Free case law needs to be easy to access – not behind marketing sign-ins and other functionality – so the disappearance of LexisNexis’ free content was probably inevitable.

HeinOnline has released an updated mobile app for iPhone and iPad users who access their fee-based law journal and legal commentary databases.  Many law libraries are providing access to HeinOnline for free if you’re in their space.  The Massachusetts trial libraries have a great post on how to set up to use their subscription.  If you’ve got your own access or remote access through your library – like members of the Law Society of Upper Canada or the Social Law Library or lawyers in British Columbia – you can use the app to login remotely for access to journals from your tablet or phone as well as from your PC.

HeinOnline 2012 Mobile iPhone and iPad app screenshot

When Barnet announced their mobile-enabled Jade Touch site, I was not surprised.  These guys continue to push new methods of delivering Australian case law.  The mobile theme that enables access to their Jade database is sleek and uses standard interface choices for anyone accustomed to Apple iPhone or iPod products.  This isn’t an app, though, so it should work on any mobile device.

Jade Touch mobile interface for Barnet Jade Australian case law on an Android Gingerbread device

Or desktop.  It’s a clean way to access recent decisions from Australian courts.  If you visit on a desktop, you can select settings at the bottom left corner of the screen and switch to the desktop version.  Great new way to get at free case law and use the many other enhancements that Barnet is providing.