Category: Technology

By Carli Spina

No matter what your role at your library, you probably have to create presentations or support patrons creating presentations from time to time. The most popular tool for creating presentation slides is still PowerPoint, but other alternatives have emerged to offer free and online options for creating engaging presentations. One of my favorite of these tools is Haiku Deck.

Available as both a web application and an iPad app, Haiku Deck allows users to create presentations that are focused on images and visual information without the added complication of having to search for these visuals in other sources. Instead, Haiku Deck has an integrated image search feature that allows users to find relevant Creative Commons-licensed images that have been posted on Flickr and integrate them seamlessly into their slidedeck. Once an image has been selected, Haiku Deck even automates the process of properly attributing the image to its creator by including all of this information at the bottom of the slide.

Haiku Deck also offers some options for creating charts within the application if you would like to present data in your slides, though you can also upload your own charts and images if you would prefer.

While it is true that Haiku Deck offers more limited features than other tools such as PowerPoint, this is actually one of the advantages of the service. Users can choose from twenty different themes and more than twelve layouts, but beyond this there is little to no ability to further customize the slides. This is a limitation, but the payoff is that Haiku Deck is able to offer a consistent and very professional look to the finished slides.

Finished slides can be shared online, either publicly, privately, or under a limited option where only those with the link can find the slides. Users can also opt to make their slides reusable so that other Haiku Deck users can use these decks as a starting place for their own work. Decks can also be shared via social media, email or as an embeddable slideshow. If a user would prefer to export slides, Haiku Deck also offers the option to export as a PDF or as PowerPoint slides. This also means that slides from Haiku Deck can be integrated into a presentation that has been created in another tool.

Recently, Haiku Deck has also debuted a new tool called Haiku Deck Zuru. This ambitious product uses artificial intelligence to take an existing presentation or even a simple outline for a presentation and generate a completed slidedeck automatically. Slides can be imported from PowerPoint, Keynote, or Evernote, with more import options planned for the future. This feature is not included in the free Haiku Deck accounts, but is instead currently available for an annual pre-order price of $30, which is a 50% discount on the planned price of $60 per year. While I have not yet tried this tool, it is an intriguing possible option for the future. If you frequently create slide decks and are interested in new technologies, it may be an interesting option for automating some of your slide creation process. You can see a demo of Zuru below.

By Carli Spina

In the most recent issue of the LLNE News, I wrote about the new social network Ello. Since that article was published, Ello has continued to add some new features to respond to user concerns, such as settings that will make sure that you don’t encounter “not safe for work” content and the ability to block or mute other users. Perhaps even more interesting to LLNE blog readers, Ello also changed its legal status to address concerns that it would ultimately sell user data or allow ads to be placed on the network. In an effort to alleviate these concerns, Ello has converted to a Public Benefit Corporation (“PBC”) under the laws of Delaware. In a letter posted on the site, the founders and investors argue that this will bind them to their stated mission of remaining ad-free. Specifically, the letter states,

“Ello’s PBC’s charter states that Ello shall not for pecuniary gain:

1. Sell user-specific data to a third party;
2. Enter into an agreement to display paid advertising on behalf of a third party; and
3. In the event of an acquisition or asset transfer, the Company shall require any acquiring entity to adopt these requirements with respect to the operation of Ello or its assets.”

This is an interesting and fairly high profile use of the relatively new (at least in Delaware) Public Benefit Corporation structure to alleviate a specific public relations problem for a company. Under Delaware law, a Public Benefit Corporation is “a for-profit corporation organized under and subject to the requirements of this chapter that is intended to produce a public benefit or public benefits and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. To that end, a public benefit corporation shall be managed in a manner that balances the stockholders’ pecuniary interests, the best interests of those materially affected by the corporation’s conduct, and the public benefit or public benefits identified in its certificate of incorporation.”[1] This provision was enacted on August 1, 2013 and on the first day Delaware saw a record 17 businesses file to become PBCs. However, after that initial rush to become a PBC, the incorporation of new PBCs or the conversion of other entities to PBCs slowed and in the end only 55 PBCs existed in Delaware 90 days after the effective date of the provision.[2] It remains to be seen how popular PBCs will become, but with several states offering this kind of corporate structure, it is important to understand the basics of how they differ from other corporate entities.

But, what does converting to a PBC mean for Ello? As a Public Benefit Corporation, Ello will have to state its principles in its certificate of incorporation and at all times balance these principles with stockholder interests when making decisions. This type of organization is specifically intended to benefit organizations that are not nonprofits but nevertheless wish to commit to a purpose beyond pure monetary gain, so it seems like a good fit for Ello, but at the same time, there is not much law clarifying exactly how this balancing should be done and, as some critics have noted, the company could always convert away from PBC status in the future if a sufficient number of shareholders agreed to the plan. Ultimately, for Ello, this conversion will likely have the desired effect of reassuring users to at least some degree that the company will remain true to its stated principles. And, the plan seems to be succeeding in at least one way: the company has already received $5.5 million in venture funding.

 

[1] Del. Code tit. 8, §362.

[2] Alicia E. Plerhoples, Delaware Public Benefit Corporations 90 Days Out: Who’s Opting in?, 14 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J. 247, 259 (2014).