Finding the right image to use on a new article you’re posting on your website, or for capturing attention for posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, is vital to encourage engagement. Making sure you have the legal right to use that image is even more critical.

Way back in 2012, I wrote a TechTips article on How to Find Legal Pictures and Images. While the websites mentioned in the article are likely out of date, it is essential that you make sure you have legal rights to use an image.

There are a growing number of royalty-free websites you can use to find images. One of the latest to come online is the Smithsonian Institution’s Open Access.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a grand experiment with remote working. One of the problems is maintaining communication and collaboration among team members.

Email is a very cumbersome and unproductive way to communicate with team members. It is slow and hard to keep track of multiple conversations and conversation threads.

Several platforms have been created over the last few years that attempt to solve this problem.

One example is Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft has spent many resources over the last few years enhancing their Microsoft Teams collaboration platform. It is a tool your agency should consider adding. One reason is Teams are included as part of the Office 365 (recently renamed Microsoft 365) subscription.

Nextdoor is a social networking platform for neighborhoods. The company was founded in 2008 and is designed to help neighborhoods keep in touch. Typical platform use includes neighbors reporting on news and events in their “neighborhood” and members asking each other for local service provider recommendations.

Neighborhoods are created based on hyperlocal communities. It could be a subdivision or a small geographic area. I have been a member of the Franklin, Tennessee, neighborhood for several years. If your address falls outside of the geographic definition of the existing neighborhood, you can establish your own “neighborhood.” The “Founding” members determine the name and its boundaries. To create the new neighborhood, the member must attract a minimum of 10 households to the platform.

I published about 50 TechTips in 2019. I realize that with the continued flood of email, some of these TechTips may have gotten sent to a “read later” folder and were forgotten. Others may have scanned the issue but didn’t have time to research to see if the tip would help.

I have never promised that every TechTips will be earth-shattering and life-changing. I do hope that there will be a few gems over the course of the year that significantly impact productivity and effectiveness for you individually and for the organization.

In this issue, I am highlighting my top 10 TechTips for 2019, listed in no particular order.