practicehacker

I like JD Supra and admire the cojones with which it shot out of the starting gate 3 years ago. I’ve used it myself and blogged about the experience while waiting for the promised traffic to materialize. I was still waiting when my “free look” expired a year later and JD Supra informed me that if I wanted to keep my profile, documents, etc. I’d have to pay. In one e-mail JD Supra went from Law 2.0 superstar to paid lawyer directory. Fair enough. If JD Supra wants to get paid like a vendor, I get to evaluate their services as a vendor. Let’s see, the company claims that it can

• promote my firm to prospects
• connect me with the prospects
• earn higher search-rank for me
• earn higher profile on LinkedIn

Can it really do any of these things? Who knows? I spent 40 minutes yesterday talking with a salesperson who couldn’t answer that question or explain why he was calling a 5-person firm to sell a big-firm document posting service. Can’t blame him: there is no explanation.

The fact is JD Supra should be paying for high-quality content, not the other way around. The more content, members, and activity it accumulates the more of a network effect it generates, the higher its search rank, and the more leverage it has to value itself in the inevitable acquisition (Lexis, Westlaw, whoever). So far everything is coming up JD Supra. What about its members? The company promises to put them in front of prospects. But how does it know who and where my prospective clients are? Presumably JD Supra assumes that putting me in the “bankruptcy” category in the “Illinois” bucket on their directory is all the customization I need.

Seriously, JD Supra? Why would you insult my intelligence like that? Your service should cost $0, you should be paying for my content, and LinkedIn is the Dane Cook of social networks. And don’t call me back until you are prepared to treat my content as valuable or you manage to get a grip on reality. Whichever happens first. Posted via email from practice (redux)

via sociablelawyer.org

With his breakthrough performance in Kindergarten Cop, Arnold showed us why he would someday be Governor of California and leader of the free-world. Or whatever. In the meantime, here are some “baby steps” (get it, Kindergarten, baby steps?) to using social media in your practice, courtesy of Sociable Lawyer.

1. Do not be afraid to try
2. Share your knowledge
3. Polish your online rep
4. Strength in numbers

Posted via email from practice (redux)

The single biggest complaint that I hear from people who don’t use Twitter is that it’s all about pointless crap that fills people’s days. Well nobody is interested in what I had for breakfast so that’s not what I tweet about. And anyone who does write about garbage like that is soon in my rear view mirror.

I use Twitter to learn about developments in technology and to discuss the law.  In other words: things that matter to me and to the way I make my living (practicing law). I always assumed that these rules go for everyone; that all Twitter users more or less demand high-quality, relevant content or else.

This infographic illustrates that most of the time only about 1 in 10 Twitter users pays attention to messages, while 90% of the messages come from the biggest companies in the world (i.e. Ford, Proctor & Gamble, etc.).  The graphic also tells us that Twitter is big with 20-something women of Latin-American descent, is huge in South America, and is dominated by a tweeting elite of celebrities and brand-hawking marketers.

Pretty soon the “little social network that could” is going to look a lot like that other medium that has come to be dominated by big companies: Television. And at that point I intend to simply turn in my Twitter account. In any case, it looks like Twitter will have a long, long way to go before it’s actually useful to professionals like me.

Posted via email from practice (redux)

Posted via email from practice (redux)

Posted via email from practice (redux)