The LinkedIn Lawyer

Worcester County Bar Association Presents The LinkedIn Lawyer

2010-04-09T08:54:00.001-07:00

The SlideShare Presentation from the event below. Get more social media seminars for lawyers on DVD at http://www.legalsocialmedia.blogspot.com

Worcester County Bar Association Presents The LinkedIn Lawyer

View more presentations from David Barrett.

As Lawyers and Law Firms on Facebook Explode, Facebook Legal Networking Groups Mushroom

2009-11-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

If you don't believe "the hype" about the huge number of lawyers and law firms setting up profiles on the mega-popular social networking website Facebook, try a search on Facebook yourself (see above) using the terms "law firm" or "law office" or "attorney" and you can see this phenomenon for yourself.

The challenge moving forward for these law firms, is going beyond "establishing a presence" (i.e. merely setting up a profile and/or firm fan page) to "effectively" utilizing this new media technology (which has as many definitions as there are observers and consultants).

As Facebook continues to implement changes to various Facebook news feeds, the effective use of groups and fan pages as "media channels" to reach online networks is becoming increasingly important. Many lawyer Facebook users are not yet up to speed on the nuanced relationship between groups, business pages, and news feeds - but it can be simply stated as - folks who want content on a particular subject now get that content in their own news feeds via their group / business page membership.

Popular Legal Groups on Facebook

Facebook Lawyer Referral Group (1350+ Members)

Lawyer Referral Network (170+ Members)

Lawyer Referral Exchange (1380+ Members)

Legal Marketing Using Social Media (1110+ Members)

Because whether you have employees or a job, EVERYONE needs an employment law resource (760 Members)

The LinkedIn Lawyer (1890+ Members)

Online Legal Marketing (500+ Members)

The Rainmaker Institute (1100+ Members)

Digg Lawyers

Interested to learn more?

Facebook for Lawyers - Seminars on DVD

This Week's "Top Tweets" the Black Friday Edition

2009-11-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

Legal Social Media This Week - Black Friday Episode

2009-11-27T13:05:00.001-08:00

Social Groups and the Attorney / Client Relationship

2009-11-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

Stephen Fairley and I were speaking about the great increase recently in lawyers and law firms who have established some kind of presence on Facebook. As the number of Facebook users has exploded (now Canada's favorite website) the number of lawyers and law firms with some kind of presence on Facebook has increased as well.

Many solos and small firms handle their own social media marketing campaigns, and lawyers and law firms have developed a variety of approaches on Facebook to include fan pages (aka "business pages"), personal profiles, or sponsorship of groups or causes as a marketing and business development activity. Some lawyers use a mix of these options, some firms utilize one or another.

Facebook is ever-evolving and I was recently asked about my opinion as to whether groups or business pages are "better" in some way when considering the recent Facebook interface updates.

Jan Henson Boswell Belcher
If you have a "group" page, should you convert these to business pages ?

David Barrett
I'm generally against efforts to get folks on social media to migrate anywhere (whether that be within or between social media platforms) because it is a lot of work and it never works, so why swim upstream. Groups seem to be treated differently now in terms of news feed (i.e. pages feed posts to the members but groups do not).

However there may be a particular advantage with forming a group of a particular population - some folks are just more likely to join a group of equals rather than become a "fan" of someone or something. Purely in terms of the technical Facebook functions of each, pages seem to be better if all else is equal.

As a speaker for Bar Associations and lawyer groups I'm often working to identify the legal ethics issues in social media (in our relentless pursuit for CLE credit), and in my view the important issue for lawyers when it comes to setting up a group is AVOID ANY INDICATION THAT GROUP MEMBERSHIP FORMS AN ATTORNEY / CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. As lawyers, we know that this kind of issue trumps other minor technical considerations like whether a group post comes up in the news feed of the group members.

In many examples lawyers could do more to make sure that it is clear that membership in their online social media group does not create an attorney / client relationship. Many lawyers failed to include any disclaimer on this issue in the group or page description. Many law firms use a firm logo or establish a group in the firm name, which may implicitly denote a relationship between the firm and the members of the group.

However in the example in the photo above, we have a group of 80 members all of whom identify themselves as members of "Joseph Rosetti is My Trial Lawyer" which is even more problematic than Facebook groups that merely use the law firm name or logo because it states there is an attorney client relationship.

Membership in this group is not even conditional - I just joined the group myself without any screening or establishment of a written document attorney / client relationship.

Picky picky picky LinkedIn Lawyer David ... so why is this a problem?

I can think of a few potential problems with this kind of group -

1. Likely a legal malpractice insurance carrier's nightmare

2. Possibly a violation of local bar lawyer rules

3. Group membership may need to be considered in client conflict database, thus limiting a lawyer's ability to represent other parties

4. In part it simply doesn't make sense after reading the firm and group descriptions

Is this kind of group cute? Sure. Should lawyers take legal ethics issues more seriously than they do when engaging in online advertising? Yes.

Many firms seem to set up groups in the firm name in order to "get their name out there" which is simple enough to understand. However, even dismissing the ethical issue identified above - who wants to join a group that does nothing but promote your law firm?

Successful online social media groups are somehow a resource for those members of the group by meeting their information or networking or other needs in some way. Smart social marketers figure out how to meet needs of the networking targets identified in the firm marketing plan when considering each practice area's competitive advantage.

Click here to learn more about how lawyers can effectively utilize Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Blogs.

LinkedIn for Lawyers

Facebook for Lawyers

Twitter for Lawyers

Blogging for Lawyers

Social Media Tool Kit for Lawyers

Lawyer Small Talk on Facebook is Published News

2009-11-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's LA Family Court Examiner published a story called "What Lawyers Really Think of Judges, Pro Per Litigants, and Their Jobs" which basically republished Facebook communications made by a number of lawyers as they had idle time in the work day.

Whether one line of text about how the author got the printout of the Facebook communications is actually an article or whether this is an adequate practice of journalism may be interesting issues, but LAWYERS focus on the forest, not the trees (i.e. what you say on Facebook is potentially newsworthy media content for all kinds of publications).

In my seminars for lawyers and on speaking occasions about effective social media for lawyers, I frequently use the mantra ... think publishing ... think publishing ... think publishing ... but the truth is many lawyers either choose to use Facebook for personal rather than professional activities, or they improperly operate their account privacy settings or misjudge what might put them in a bad light.

However, as social media marketing becomes more popular with lawyers and law firms working to establish a robust presence online, the answer is not only as simple that now lawyers need to make their Facebook profiles private.

Used properly, social media can provide a significant marketing and business development benefit for lawyers and law firms. From a marketing perspective, public Facebook profiles or Facebook profiles and pages that maintain communities with large numbers of members are obviously preferred to private accounts that use Facebook like a communication tool such as email, chat or text.

Common sense is still the best advice - figure out which are your personal social media accounts and which are your public social media accounts, and have a plan for each. Of course everything we do online is online, so don't overestimate your online privacy in your personal accounts.

Interested to Learn More About Lawyer Use of the New Internet and Web 2.0 ???

Social Media Seminars for Lawyers on DVD - http://bit.ly/3EhkX6

http://www.LegalSocialMedia.blogspot.com

Facebook Business Pages for Lawyers

2009-11-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

Facebook Fan pages (aka "Business Pages") are one of the most successful ways lawyers and law firms can establish a presence on Facebook. Although Facebook has modified its Terms of Service to allow for "(non-)personal use" a law firm profile set up as a Facebook personal profile is awkward for a few reasons.

First, such use may be construed as a violation of the terms of service and without warning Facebook could shut down all of these accounts, and all the friends and work put into building such Facebook pages would be lost.

Second, the personal connection inherent in social media is lost. Is there a person behind that curtain? Does this law firm answer messages or Facebook chat? Who exactly are we speaking with?

Third, a Facebook strategy that utilizes personal profiles for attorneys, business pages for the law firm, as well as Facebook groups achieves a much more robust presence on Facebook. This arrangement also allows for attorneys to feed content to and from the law firm page, as appropriate for the particular personal or group network.

Here you may find an example of my Facebook "Fan Page" or "Business Page".

Interested to learn how to leverage the power of the new internet?

Legal Marketing Using Social Media

Seminars for Lawyers on DVD - http://bit.ly/3EhkX6

The Digg Widget

2009-10-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

Social Media Planning for Lawyers

2009-07-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

I was pleased to see my Facebook friend Francis Flynn Thorsen's Slideshare presentation (proud to be on page 11) on "Social Media Business Planning and Time Blocking."

Although this presentation was developed with real estate professionals in mind, the message for busy lawyers is the same - if you are to achieve ambitious goals with social media you will need an organized and time saving approach.

I do an entire webinar about social media systems and balancing social media and practicing law.

Real Estate Social Media Business Planning and Time Blocking

View more documents from Frances Flynn thorsen.

Thank you for visiting The LinkedIn Lawyer blog.

David Barrett

Let's Connect on Social Media
http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com
http://twitter.com/barrettdavid
http://www.facebook.com/barrettdavid

Marketing Resources

Free Guide - 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan
Rainmaker Institute Law Firm Marketing Newsletters
Free E-Book "Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them"
The Rainmaker Retreat - July 17/18 Las Vegas, Nevada

A Twitter Interview with LinkedIn Lawyer David Barrett

2009-06-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Lance Godard of The Godard Group for including me as the 22nd interviewee in his creative Twitter interview series, "22 Tweets - Real Time Twitter Interviews with Lawyers Who Tweet."

Godard uses a series of questions posed via Twitter and a threaded conversation hashtag (#22twts) to allow his subjects to tell the story of their law practice.

You can click here for the full interview with LinkedIn Lawyer David Barrett.

Godard includes particular questions about law practice, and more broad questions about the legal profession as a whole. As patterns emerge, he is able to bring together the common views of his interviewees.

Godard proves that Twitter is only as innovative and powerful as we are, and that this rather simple internet interface has significant creative potential.

Follow David Barrett on Twitter here.

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" - Top of June Edition

2009-06-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Here are the "Top Tweets" from the last week (partially as tracked with Tweetburner).
David A. Barrett's Recent Most Popular Twitter Messages

"Top Tweets"

@barrettdavid proud to be on "20 Twitterers Lawyers Should Follow on Twitter" - http://twurl.nl/uol4em (via @GinaRubel)

Most Influential "lawyer" Tweeting @ABAJournal @lawtweets @barrettdavid @rex7 @gma_news - http://twurl.nl/14gngx

How To Be A Rainmaker In 2009: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & Blogs - http://twurl.nl/i4nyl5

The Anatomy of a Twitter Tweet - Twitter Basics for Lawyers on The LinkedIn Lawyer blog - http://twurl.nl/zi5nmn

6 Keys to Becoming a Recognized Expert in less than 180 Days - http://twurl.nl/mtvsfa (by @StephenFairley)

Rainmaker Institute Law Firm Marketing Newsletters - http://twurl.nl/1uc2r2 (by @StephenFairley)

Found JDSupra: Emotional Intelligence for Lawyers http://twurl.nl/nt8r4i (best lawyers are people smart who understand and manage emotions)

Twitter for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/1g16g2 (via @Pistachio) "There’s a growing body of articles about Twitter for Attorneys ..."

Free E-Book "Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" http://twurl.nl/7zzrio (by @StephenFairley)

15 People All Securities and Corporate Litigators Should Follow on Twitter - http://twurl.nl/lv3n3z (by @SecuritiesD)

The Web 2.0 Revolution: Lawyer Marketing fuses with Social Media - http://twurl.nl/naedv7

5 Tips to Grow Your Twitter Presence - http://twurl.nl/bt171y (via @problogger)

4 Myths Attorneys Believe About Referrals - http://twurl.nl/hsvl20 (via @StephenFairley)

The Rainmaker Retreat - San Francisco and Las Vegas - http://twurl.nl/miecp1 2 Day Marketing Boot Camp for Small Law Firms

Web 2.0 and David Barrett in the Maryland Bar Bulletin - http://twurl.nl/qifuyy

Any Tweeps out there using Hummingbird for Twitter? http://twurl.nl/doz8in

RT @TotalAttorneys: Crain's Chicago Business Fast Fifty - # 2 - Total Attorneys!! http://tinyurl.com/nxlsgs (via @edscanlan)

Daily reminder: take 5 mins to reply/retweet others. Nothing about you. Engage, interact, build. (via @unmarketing)

RT @BostonBar 100 Twitter Sites for Law Students and Twitter Newbies http://bit.ly/uY9Eu (via @OklahomaBar)

RT @Law_Practice JDSupra: It's Time to Teach Marketing and Sales in Law School http://tinyurl.com/lt4st5 (via @AdvertisingLaw)

Web of Justice?: Jurors' Use of Social Media - http://twurl.nl/wtjans #lawyer #law

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

The Anatomy of a Twitter Tweet - Twitter Basics for Lawyers

2009-05-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago while checking email I noticed via a email update that one of my favorite colleagues, Attorney Tom McLain, was following me on Twitter.

Although Tom is an attorney in the Greater Atlanta area, and I practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I have had the opportunity to get to know Tom just a bit via social media.

In addition to the typical pleasantries exchanged upon making a new LinkedIn connection, Tom responded to my call for help in response to the major change in the group policy by LinkedIn.

In a rather short amount of time, I had to “share” my nationwide network of lawyer networking groups, and Tom was both courageous enough to take over ownership of a group and willing to keep the group in part of the larger MyLinkLaw family of lawyer networking groups. (I still "give away" LinkedIn lawyer networking groups as a networking activity itself, but the time pressure has passed.)

After looking at Tom’s Twitter page (which has since flourished), I noticed that he was rather new to Twitter.

I was confident Tom would be able to share interesting content on Twitter, and I knew he was sincere about his use of social media for professional networking. Also because Tom had done me a big favor, I thought I might repay the favor by attempting to attract him some followers to his new account by Tweeting about him.

My Twitter message was –

Follow @TomMcLain Chair, Corporate Lawyer Network on LinkedIn (1700+) - http://twurl.nl/qr2mry #followfriday

… and Tom responded with a private DM (Direct Message) full of honesty and a great question -

“I think I may be in over my head . . . The message you posted - - what does it do?”

Although Twitter messages are only 140 characters, Tom’s question was a good one since there are a few elements included in this Tweet.

Let’s deconstruct:

1. “Follow @TomMcLain” – in addition to the general suggestion for others to follow Tom, including the “@” sign together with his active Twitter account name allows users to easily click through to his Twitter home page, where viewers may learn more about Tom, click through to his website, or choose to follow him on Twitter.

2. “Chair, Corporate Lawyer Network on LinkedIn” – is my attempt to tell others something about Tom. You see … I happened to create and send this Twitter message on a Friday, and I did so with the Twitter meme (the term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an inside joke) “Follow Friday” in mind.

“Follow Friday” can be found as its own Twitter page and its “bio” reads as basic instructions on how to execute the concept (“Tweet the names of Twitter users you'd like others to follow and tag it with #followfriday”).

One "Follow Friday" Tip -

Some folks pack in as many Twitter addresses as possible in 140 characters for their “Follow Friday” messages:

@barrettdavid, @jdtwitt, @tommclain, @stephenfairley, @bambrogi, @rkodner, @massgovernor, @barackobama, @rex7 #followfriday

However, “Follow Friday’s” are more effective if you include fewer people in each Tweet, and if you explain something about why you think others should follow this person. For example:

@barrettdavid – World’s Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network, One of 20 Twitterers for Lawyers to Follow #followfriday

3. The “tag” (i.e. “#followfriday”) typically is found at the end of the Twitter message, and this refers to the “#” symbol used to create a searchable term (i.e. distinguishing it from a simple word search, which may have an alternate meaning) by using a service such as Twitter Search. These tags are commonly referred to as “hashtags” and are collected and observed at the Hashtags website.

4. The “(1700+)” adopts some LinkedIn shorthand typically used to show how many LinkedIn connections one has (LinkedIn changed its initial policy and now only shows the number of connections a given member has up to 500) and refers to the number of members in the aforementioned Corporate Lawyer group on LinkedIn,

5. and “http://twurl.nl/qr2mry” is a quick link to the group, should others be interested to join.

One should note that the "real" link to the Corporate Lawyer group on LinkedIn is:
“http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=117520&trk=anetsrch_name&goback=.gdr_1240602125088_1”

However, this link is way too long for a Twitter message of 140 characters or less. So I plugged that link into Tweetburner, a free website service which produced this shorter link (i.e. http://twurl.nl/qr2mry) while also tracking how many people “click through” that link.

Now, looking at a Twitter message (or “Tweet”) such as this –

Follow @TomMcLain Chair, Corporate Lawyer Network on LinkedIn (1700+) - http://twurl.nl/qr2mry #followfriday

Should no longer seem as intimidating.

I hope this helps explain a little bit of the foreign language of Twitter. Twitter can be a great networking tool when used wisely.

Follow Boston Attorney and Legal Social Media Consultant David Barrett on Twitter.

Do Lawyers Have Good Facebook Manners?

2009-05-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Although these etiquette tips are in the context of the relationship between Timmy and Alice on Facebook “The Electric Friendship Generator,” there are many lessons here that apply to a professional networking presence on Facebook.

Connect with David Barrett on Facebook here.

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" - May Day Edition

2009-05-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

Lawyers Exploring Twitter Communities

2009-05-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

A large online legal network is a useful tool when taking the social media pulse of lawyers nationwide, and there seems to be a current buzz around lawyers making sense of the various Twitter communities online, and how to use them effectively.

This buzz first bubbled up to me when Robin Kobayashi of the Lexis Nexis Workers Compensation blog asked if I had written anything or had an opinion about Tweetlaw.

Smelling the potential interest in a larger blog post not only on Tweetlaw, but Tweetlaw and other Twitter communities for lawyers, I used Twitter to solicit a little feedback –

@barrettdavid Working on a review of Twitter lawyer communities for The LinkedIn Lawyer blog - might you @me a Tweet about your faves?

The response was tepid, like swimmers testing the water with their toes in the springtime … not sure if it is warm enough to dive in and start swimming.

For example, @KMarvel a somewhat anonymous child support enforcement lawyer from San Antonio Texas responded:

Still trying to find good lawyer communities -- not much out there for family lawyers. I'd love some ideas, please!

and apparently responding to one of my subsequent tweets:

@barrettdavid - Just joined a twibe. Visit http://twibes.com/attorney to join

The “fairly uppity business and tax lawyer” @CynthiaRRowland

Asked: @barrettdavid I don't get it, what's the point of Twibe?

So first, I would generally describe “Twitter communities” or “Twitter Lawyer communities” as self-selected sub-groups of the larger “Twitter Community” (i.e. everyone on Twitter) who join such groups via websites independent of the official Twitter interface. Generally these websites re-broadcast the Twitter feeds of the members, and allow members to find other Twitter users who may be lawyers, legal professionals, or whatever shared interest of the group.

Historically, these communities were not so fancy, and Adrian Lurssen’s hyper-linked article “145 Lawyers and Legal Professionals to Follow on Twitter” (now at 703 members) was a ground-breaking tool assisting lawyers to find other lawyers and legal professionals on Twitter.

Slick website Twitter communities were soon to follow, including Kevin O’Keefe’s “LexTweet,” Justia’s “Legal Birds” and the aforementioned TweetLaw.

These communities further evolved to be defined by the users themselves, and leading the charge with the use of “Twibes” is legal marketing guru Stephen Fairley with his “Attorney Twibe” and “Law Marketing Twibe.”

So @KMarvel - here’s an idea for you, go to the Start page on Twibes and start a Twibe of Family Lawyers. I started a Twibe for Legal Professionals, but like any social media group for lawyers, recruitment is a considerable challenge.

Really a similar result could be achieved by using an existing LinkedIn group, say American Divorce Lawyers and organizing all the members to provide the group manager with their Twitter feed RSS to that the manager may re-broadcast the Twitter feeds of all the members.

However, this will never work. One secret to getting lawyers and other busy professionals engaged in your particular social media activity is to keep the engagement process as simple as possible.

Social media group organizers need to anticipate that folks are not going to just join because you created a group (i.e. “if you build it they will come” doesn’t work), and getting over the considerable barriers of limited time and varying degrees of techy skills requires you to make the sign up process quick, easy and low-tech.

What is the point of Twibes and other legal communities on Twitter @CynthiaRRowland????

There are a few reasons to join:

1. You may want to find other lawyers or legal professionals who you may want to follow on Twitter. This can help supplement your efforts to crib followers off of other people’s Twitter friends lists, and is easier than going through the trouble of running two internet browsers on your desktop and using Google as a sort of third party Twitter Search.

2. You may want to be found by other lawyers or legal professionals who are interested in what you have to Tweet, and you may gain followers.

3. You may want another venue to re-broadcast your Tweets. Much like the static lawyer directories like the Cornell Law School Directory re-broadcasts of your Tweets can enhance your exposure and your presence in search engines.

4. You likely won’t use these communities as a new place to view a Twitter stream, but you could. Most Twitter users want to follow a Twitter stream that relates directly to them.

Generally I would say that Twitter communities for lawyers are very useful, and very helpful when it comes to networking with folks who are your networking targets, not just any Twitter user who may come along.

Related Articles

For the Birds: LegalBirds: Twitter Directory for the Legal Community

Lawyers Are Building Community Online

Follow David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets"

2009-04-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

The Powerful Networking Synergy of Martindale-Hubbell Connected and LinkedIn

2009-04-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

In Beta, Martindale-Hubbell Connected is Valuable Resource

There have been a few highly-regarded squeaky wheels blogging in order to get their oil from M-H Connected as LexisNexis slowly rolls out the social networking for lawyers website (currently in Beta), but let’s face it – all online social media tools have their quirks, and dealing with those is part of being a cutting-edge early adopter.

I was ranked #23 on LexTweet before Twitter mysteriously wiped out half of my follower/following connections, LinkedIn scrapped who knows how many hours of work by changing their group policy out of the blue, and who can even think of writing a how-to book about Facebook when dealing with the new interfaces is a constant re-education process? It is an imperfect world and social media websites are not always an artful example of the inclusive, transparent and democratic values that many associate with “the internet.”

I admit that I used some of my social media connections in the legal community to get my second M-H Connected application approved, but let’s focus on the important part – Martindale-Hubbell Connected is a super social networking resource for lawyers, particularly when used together with a strong lawyer network on LinkedIn.

Although the Compliance Building blog calls it “sparsely populated,” as I log into M-H Connected today my screen indicates a membership of nearly 3500 lawyers.

Certainly 3500 people is not an incredible number, but one should remember that these are lawyers - a group who are widely regarded to be slow to embrace the worldwide frenzy over social media. After all, my modest personal network of 4000 lawyers is still “The World’s Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network” and until many more lawyers not only set up profiles on social media websites, but actively network using online social media, any group of attorneys over a couple of thousand is a pretty substantial online lawyer networking resource.

However, rather than the sheer number of lawyers on M-H Connected, the social network has considerable value because of the kind of lawyers in the network rather than the volume. Although there are many exceptions to broad generalizations, it appears to me that many of the lawyers on M-H Connected are the kind of lawyers who wouldn’t be caught dead on MySpace, who don’t spend much if any time on Facebook, but who may have entered their rolodex into the professionally focused environment of LinkedIn.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for using “cross-over connections” on various social media websites in order to enhance my knowledge of the people in my network, and my interaction with them. I love getting my LinkedIn connections into my Facebook network, so that my connections can learn more about me, and so that I can interact with them using the multimedia tools Facebook offers. I generally view my LinkedIn network as a “virtual handshake” and use Twitter and Facebook as “relationship enhancers.”

At the same time, I believe building fresh professional relationships is the greatest asset online social media has to offer. Certainly one can connect with a legal community of social media savvy legal professionals who are on blogging, using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter very very frequently but unless you provide services to the people who provide services to lawyers, why invest so much time in building professional relationships with only such a similar and tight-knit group?

Simply put, you can find lawyers in M-H Connected that you may not so easily find in other areas of the social media universe. But I digress … in addition to a fresh group of online networking targets, there is a powerful synergy between LinkedIn and M-H Connected, and it exists in one function on most M-H Connected profiles. If a M-H Connected user has a LinkedIn network, and that person has enabled their M-H Connected profile to share their LinkedIn connections – the networks work together, in effect making one network from the two social media websites.

So for example, if I am browsing the members of M-H Connected, and I find a lawyer I would like to initiate a professional relationship with – I can click on a LinkedIn link in order to see how we are connected to each other (whether by first, second or third level connections) on the more populated professional networking website LinkedIn.

To their credit, much like LinkedIn the stated M-H Connected policy seeks to rein in out of control connectors who send invitations that smell much like spam –

“Quick Tip! Since Martindale-Hubbell Connected is a trusted online community, members should take care to extend invitations to people they already know. Remind potential connections how you know each other by including a personal note.”

… and even I of 8300 LinkedIn connections would agree that invitations to connect are most effective when they include a personalized message and a reminder about some commonality between you and the target connection.

But the integration of LinkedIn into M-H Connected helps to develop a commonality that would not exist on M-H connected alone. M-H Connected invitations may include something like –

“I noticed that we’re both connected to Barack Obama on LinkedIn, and I would be interested to learn more about your practice as I may be in a position to make legal client referrals in your area.”

Another area where users can leverage a synergy between M-H Connected and LinkedIn (not to mention another commonality with fresh target contacts) is with lawyer groups on both social networks.

M-H Connected seems to encourage users to set up new lawyer networking groups, and much like LinkedIn, groups on M-H Connected can be powerful networking tools. Certainly if a lawyer were to set up law school alumni groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and M-H Connected, s/he would get an assortment of networking contacts who all share a common history. Practice area or geographically focused groups have flourished by utilizing more than one social media portal for some time (historically LinkedIn and Facebook), and attracting members who have different social media starting points.

I appreciate it when social media experts like Chris Brogan advocate for websites like LinkedIn to adopt new features that may enhance our user experiences, and M-H Connected seems genuinely interested in user feedback. At the same time as lawyers, why not leave the geeky website development stuff to the pros – and just focus on using available technologies for networking and developing new business?

Connect with David A. Barrett on Martindale-Hubbell Connected

Connect with David A. Barrett on LinkedIn

A Martindale-Hubbell Connected promotional video -

Lawyers Seek to Grow Online Networks

2009-04-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Recognizing the Business Development Potential of Social Networks

Everyone has their own philosophy when it comes to “effectively” using social networking. Social networking is so new, and is used by such diverse groups of professionals, that there is not really a “user manual” nor a clearly defined set of “best practices.” Many of these answers are still up for debate.

However, it does seem to be a trend that lawyers are seeking to grow their online networks.

One can think of the styles of online networking as a sort of continuum, where on one side “open networkers” willingly connect to anyone who asks (and to many who don’t), and use social networking websites as “relationship initiators.” While on the other side of the spectrum “closed networkers” only allow those who they know well, or those who they have an existing professional relationship with, into their online social networks, presumably in order to enhance those relationships.

Lawyers, being the cautious and exclusive breed they are, have generally been somewhere of the mind of “closed networkers” in the past, and have often been unwilling to connect without a pre-existing relationship.

However, such attitudes among lawyers seem to be changing.

Law and Legal Open Networkers – Not just for LIONS anymore

One barometer of such a change I see is the increase in the number of lawyers, and the number of large firm lawyers, who are interested to join the LinkedIn group Law and Legal Open Networkers. At one time this group was full of non-lawyers associated with the legal profession seeking to build new business relationships, however recently lawyers from nationwide firms such as Mintz Levin, Nutter, McClennen & Fish, and Duane Morris have applied for and gained admission to this group.

Although as a group, lawyers are still somewhat apprehensive about the potential havoc an untrusted contact may wreck in one’s online network (please contact me with examples if you know of any – I have yet to hear of one), lawyers do seem to be catching on to the business development potential that building new relationships via social networking offers.

Building Connections is not a Self-Executing Process

It is important to remember that although you may have decided to change your social networking philosophy, simply joining a group of open networkers, adding your email address to your profile, or even adding a message like “INVITE ME” to your profile will not dramatically increase the size of your online network. Many LinkedIn users are busy people, and they incorrectly assume that by taking one or more of the aforementioned actions that the entire online world will come after them seeking to connect as if they have the name recognition of Barack Obama.

It is important to remember that although some connections may come to you by joining such groups as Toplinked, Open Networker, or the Dallas Blue Business Network, most connections (particularly most targeted or high quality connections) will not just come to you as you are engaged in other work activities.

If online networkers are sincerely interested to build their connections in a substantial way, they should:

1. Identify their networking targets
2. Locate groups where their networking targets may be found
3. Initiate contact with their networking targets

Always be careful not to send messages that smell like SPAM, always be a “networking giver” by sharing resources, and seek to initiate a conversation or a relationship rather than delivering a sales pitch.

Click here if you are interested to join David Barrett’s online network on LinkedIn – the World’s Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network.

The LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" - April Showers Edition

2009-04-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

David A. Barrett's Recent Most Popular Twitter Messages

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Here are the "Top Tweets" from the last week (partially as tracked with Tweetburner).

"Top Tweets"

Hear "Lawyers and Social Media" blogtalkradio show on The LinkedIn Lawyer blog - http://twurl.nl/q8dzcz

DAB is #47 on Top 100 Twitter Feeds for Law Students - http://twurl.nl/cwg2va

Sending a Tweet in the Right Direction (Michigan Lawyers Weekly) - http://twurl.nl/grqc0b

Health and Hospital Lawyer Network on LinkedIn now feeds health law news and articles from JDSupra - http://twurl.nl/ntfxcx

How to Build a Social Marketing Plan - http://twurl.nl/abpool

Copyright And Libel Questions Hit The Twitterverse - http://twurl.nl/lko30r

LinkedIn for Lawyers Guide from AttorneySync - http://twurl.nl/beiteq

Courtney Love Gets Sued For Tweets - http://twurl.nl/4jc8ai (Don't Drink and Tweet)

Environmental and Land Use Lawyers on LinkedIn now feeds legal news and articles on topic from JDSupra - http://twurl.nl/2me72t

Real Estate Lawyer Network on LinkedIn now feeds hot legal news and articles from JDSupra - http://twurl.nl/chj7ig

Building a new profile on Martindale-Hubbell Connected - http://twurl.nl/m065aq (and is seeking connections)

Updating juror instructions for the era of Internet 2.0 - http://twurl.nl/moidf4

Think of Tweeting about work as "publishing" and remember "Cisco fatty" cautionary tale - http://twurl.nl/y7alb0

Employment Law Network on LinkedIn now feeds news and content from JD Supra - http://twurl.nl/ruhcmq

RT @JDTwitt Social media is seen by many marketers as the next gold rush - http://snurl.com/exp8a

Ambrogi: Social Networking for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/z7n6w7

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

Lawyers and Social Media blogtalkradio show

2009-03-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

What Were We Tweeting When the Human Rights Lawyers Were Killed?

2009-02-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Advanced Topics in Twitter and Human Rights Law

Amidst this worldwide economic downturn, and in The Year of Twitter it is certainly understandable for us all to get excited about the inherent business potential of this new online social media.

However, although the practice of law is a business, lawyers have a particular responsibility to stand up for the rule of law – and for those lawyers who dedicate their professional lives to protecting the fundamental human rights of themselves and others.

Although I aspire to use Twitter to support Human Rights Lawyers more than I have, my work to do so has been an informative journey in advanced topics in using Twitter, particularly hashtags and retweeting.

Hashtags

Hashtags are a tool to help those using search together with Twitter to have a conversation on a limited topic. Hashtags are included in Twitter messages, and can be recognized with the pound sign attached (i.e. "#lawschool"). The Twitterer using a hashtag may seek to enter an existing conversation, or that person may seek to start a conversation on a particular topic.

The great thing about hashtags is that you can just make them up, once you follow the @hashtags Twitter user from
http://hashtags.org/ and it will automatically will follow you back.

As I was working on developing the hashtag for Attorney Gao Zhisheng, I initially came up with “#zhng” or an abbreviation of his last name.

Now that I have seen hashtags such as “#americanidol” and “#oscaradwatch“ I realize there was little reason to abbreviate the name, and I have come to learn that popular terms without the "#" will also come up in hashtag searches, or Twitter Searches.

At the same time, the publications were referring to Attorney Zhisheng as “Mr. Gao” and I wondered if this was the same phenomenon I have never clearly understood that allows Ichiro Suzuki to be the only player in Major League Baseball to put his first name on the back of his jersey.

Whever the reason, I figured a “#gao” hashtag may personalize Attorney Zhisheng for American Tweeple, and make the effort to spread word of his situation on Twitter more effective.

However, I should have used the search function on hashtag.com to check before creating the hashtag, as another Twitter user had already used “#gao” in an unrelated way when tweeting about the Government Accounting Office (and their reports on the lack of paid health care benefits for U.S. Soldiers).

ReTweeting

The other Twitter topic I got to know better in my quest to spread the word about human rights lawyers unjustly detained or killed was the art of asking others to "Retweet" my Twitter message. Although I'm not sure that all of the involved government and military officials are on Twitter, there have been a number of Twitter campaigns that have had a real world impact.

How to Retweet is best covered the Related Articles below, but in brief there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. You "ask" people who see your Twitter message to "Retweet" (or cut and paste and then re-post on their own Twitter page) by including "Pls. RT" in your message (i.e. Please Retweet)

2. Those who are kind enough to Retweet your message, do so with attribution, starting with "RT" or "Retweet" or "Tweet Tweet" and then the address from where they found this 140 character informational jewel (i.e. "RT @barrettdavid") before the text of the message.

3. You have limited Re-tweet capital, so spend it wisely. Folks who see your request may think to themselves, "what has s/he done for me lately" and opt to ignore your plea. As @guykawasaki says "We all want to be Retweeted."

4. You may have to educate your followers on what retweeting is, how to do it and why to do it.

As examples, I have listed my "Top Human Rights Tweets":

Nobel Contender Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears - http://twurl.nl/qn8l7e (pls RT) #zhng

Markelov Assassination Tied to Release of Budanov? - http://twurl.nl/vnq5gf #mrklv (pls RT)

Markelov Killed For Human Rights Law Work - http://twurl.nl/toum6j (Please ReTweet) #mrklv

(Pls ReTweet) Russia: Investigate Murder of Prominent Rights Lawyer http://twurl.nl/uvhpvq #mrklv

BonnieRN: RT @barrettdavid Nobel Contender Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears - http://twurl.nl/qn8l7e(pls RT) #gao

Related Articles:

How to Start a Twitter Hashtag

An Introduction to Twitter Hashtags

Hashing Through Twitter Hashtags -- a Look at Structured Conversation

Explore the Twitter Hashtag

The Art and Science of Retweeting for Twitteraholics

Retweet: The Infectious Power Of Word Of Mouth

How to Retweet

How to Retweet: Format and Convention

International Human Rights Law Resources

PROFILES IN COURAGE - China's rights defenders

Human Rights Watch, Stay Informed - Get action alerts, breaking news and updates

Beyond Obama’s Order to Close Guantanamo

International human rights law

Human Rights First believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence.

Interested to Discuss this Blogpost? - Connect with David Barrett on Twitter

ABA CLE Online Social Networking Gets Professional

2009-02-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

Social Media for Lawyers Seminar Online Success

The American Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Seminar, "Online Social Networking Gets Professional, the Pitfalls and Rewards" had a number of very pleased seminar/webinar attendees, and a considerable following on the social media website Twitter.

Seminar faculty set up a hashtag of #LPMSM for the online event, allowing another mode of communication for seminar attendees, and for other interested people to follow along and even participate without signing up for the entire seminar. At one point, @RealTimeTrends found the hashtag "#lpmsm" to be the #4 trend on twitter.

Online Social Networking Gets Professional

View more presentations from David Barrett. (tags: social media)

ABA CLE Online Social Networking “Top Tweets”

As partially tracked with the assistance of Tweetburner.

Connect with David Barrett on LinkedIn - http://twurl.nl/dke3nk #LPMSM

barrettdavid: Social Media Pitfalls: 5 Lessons Learned - http://twurl.nl/7vir0n #LPMSM

List of 350+ Social Networking Sites - http://twurl.nl/vx1ey3 #LPMSM

Find more social media information and links on The LinkedIn Lawyer http://twurl.nl/xld62v #LPMSM

50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on - http://twurl.nl/apfeia #LPMSM

@heathermilligan: $250,000 worth of patent work! via LinkedIn - http://twurl.nl/yeftdw #LPMSM

Professional Social Networking or "Facebook for Suits" http://twurl.nl/nhcyd2 #LPMSM

Twitter 101 for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/8xgdqp #LPMSM

Law Marketing on Ning - http://twurl.nl/w58w4g #LPMSM

To friend or Not to Friend – Social Media for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/kmjzsz #LPMSM

Twitter Basics for Curious Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/4pt3ua #LPMSM

LinkedIn Lawyer Networking groups by practice area and location - http://twurl.nl/klg0d0

Social Media Marketing for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/i620ho #LPMSM

How Sociable is Your Brand Online? http://twurl.nl/5hizh1 #LPMSM

Highlights from the “#LPMSM” hashtag Twitter Tweets during the Seminar

JDTwitt: 42% want to reach new clients with SM - biggest challenge: developing a strategy/ #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @stevematthews: blog is the hub for lawyers - every else pushed out to the networks. #LPMSM

barrettdavid: @tamerabennett - if you're losing ROI don't read every tweet - following more builds more new relationship opportunities #LPMSM

molecule18: #lpmsm Important to own yr domainname and website, for SEO purpose, as well as so not to be at the whim of Google,Wordpress etc...

heathermilligan: @barrettdavid - LinkedIn is a "relationship initiator" #lpmsm

matthomann: It's easy to learn how to use Twitter, but it's hard to learn why. Once you get it you'll move from skeptic to disciple overnight. #lpmsm

JDTwitt: @barrettdavid makes nationwide litigator referrals using LinkedIn - has largest network of attys on LI -"even modest newtork" good #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @barrettdavid to sum up: want to understand LinkedIN? Connect with David Barrett #LPMSM (join groups, associations, practice g's)

JDTwitt: @heathermilligan: Linkedin allows a small firm to make a big impact. "Have fun" Connect with colleagues, friends, former clients #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @stevematthews: Connect with as many relationships as you can, even childhood friends. Power of "who knows who" Again: join groups.#LPMSM

leahcdaniels: @JDTwitt Yep, LinkedIn is a relationship building tool that can be used to disseminate content which can lead to virtual referrals.#LPMsm

alinwagnerlahmy: #LPMsm @barretdavid: “ twitter great way to make and enhance relationships you have made on other sites”

barrettdavid: High quality Twitter posts are appreciated. Think before you Tweet. #LPMSM

alinwagnerlahmy: #LPMsm @heathermilligan "Twitter expanded my presence across country, world, practice area – building my reputation very quickly ...

nicolecaccamo: If you are using multiple SM sites - FB/Twit/LI create similar brand throughout to create a well-rounded & prof image of yourself #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @stevematthews: OK to display your professional work to personal network. Show people what you do. Opportunity for referrals #LPMSM

nicolecaccamo: RT @barrettdavid: Twitter is a local networking event without a particular time and location - always open, always on. #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @barrettdavid Facebook and Twitter connections aren't necessarily the same. OK to tether - have Twitter updates appear on Facebook #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @barrettdavid uses JD Supra app to stream documents from JDS to Facebook. "Connect one to another" #LPMSM

nancymyrland: I LOVE your 4 point 2.0 plan! :-) RT @heathermilligan: Here's my 4-point 2.0 plan. http://tinyurl.com/crcek3

JDTwitt: RT @matthomann Friends more likely to recommend you than colleagues who do same thing you do. Let friends see your professional side #lpmsm

JChristi: RT @stevematthews: "Write once, publish often." This is one value of social media/networking. Allows for presence in multiple places #LPMSM

barrettdavid: Individual Facebook pages and firm pages can work together to compound online presence - must be personal but professional. #LPMSM

eschaeff: RT @matthomann From my LTNY Presentation: Ten Tweets about Twitter http://is.gd/i8PA #lpmsm

DebraTuomey: RT @JDTwitt: RT @barrettdavid What is a Ning site? http://www.ning.com/ Create your own social network for anything. #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @stevematthews distinguish between formal pieces of content (articles, case law, etc.) and then the informal conversation #LPMSM use both

JDTwitt: @davidbarrett: lawyers should think of social media participation the way you think of publishing. follow same standards. #LPMSM

barrettdavid: Is it worth paying for LinkedIn account? Absolutely. Pay for an account and delegate administrative tasks to staff. #LPMSM

barrettdavid: @lancegodard - Plan first, then pay for LinkedIn - need a plan to make it worthwhile, but if you have a plan is very valuable. #LPMSM

barrettdavid: @lancegodard - building relationships with referral attorneys and potential clients is more important than one communication. #LPMSM

barrettdavid: @lancegodard - building relationships with referral attorneys and potential clients is more important than one communication. #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @barrettdavid think of it like a party. No one likes guy at party who goes around saying "Hello I'm a lawyer, why don't you hire me" #LPMSM

barrettdavid: @claxtonlegal - Many aspects of difference between paid and free LinkedIn accounts - search results, # invitations, mail messages #LPMSM

JDTwitt: RT @SCartierLiebel Have social media plan to develop relationships. Give first. Be generous w/tools for others benefit. It comes back #LPMSM

JDTwitt: @stevematthews: Google yourself. Connects to everything. If you're saying nothing, that's your fault. SM participation allows control #LPMSM

stevematthews: RT:@matthomann Twitter is also a great way of incubating ideas that will later grow into a full blog post. #lpmsm Completely agree.

leahcdaniels: Attys have to be very careful about sending private DMs . Don't want to inadvertently create an attorney-client relationship. #LPMSM

molecule18: #LPMSM Thanks! Most fun CLE ever!

stevematthews: @fredabramson RT: "I practice under my name, I twitter under my name... my name is my "brand" Great approach, I think. #LPMsm

stevematthews: @fredabramson I don't think either strategy is 'wrong'. I just happen
to think investing long term in your name, is never a mistake. #LPMsm

heathermilligan: @jonlin98 I find that clients "interview" the firm, but "hire" the lawyer. Both brands are equally important. #LPMsm

heathermilligan: @JDTwitt twttr is like wlkng into a cocktail party / million ppl, shouting "who wants 2 talk abt legal mkt, & having 1200 ppl respond #LPMSM

heathermilligan: @LarryApple for a lawyer, it is always advisable to have a disclaimer on your page somewhere re: creating att/client relationship #LPMSM

LindsayGriffith: RT @nancymyrland: Not that u asked ;-), but here are my Twitter strategy & goals #lpmsm http://bit.ly/VCFHB

nicolecaccamo: RT @stevematthews: @kdtalcott has a good foundation article on the use of twitter by lawyers #LPMsm http://is.gd/kaH6

dhowell: What firms (as opposed to individual lawyers) are doing social media best? Thx, I'll put you in my talk notes. #lpmsm http://ff.im/-18WZE

goldenm: RT @matthomann People want to know you before they hire you. Be yourself in SM, unless you don't expect to be yourself with clients. #lpmsm

JDTwitt: One value of @nikiblack's LegalTweets.com: see stevematthew's summary of the recent #LPMSM webinar & tweetapalooza ... http://is.gd/ktMH

Connect with David Barrett on Twitter here.

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer Social Media "Top Tweets" Stimulus Package

2009-02-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Click here for a video introduction to David Barrett's Twitter profile.

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Here are the "Top Tweets" from the last week (partially as tracked with Tweetburner).

"Top Tweets"

Client Referral Strategies For Attorneys - http://twurl.nl/1fmhpz

Massachusetts Fee splits require up-front written client consent - http://twurl.nl/pisqms

Superstar Article: How to be a LinkedIn Superstar - http://twurl.nl/687pfl

BubbleTweets for Distinguished Social Media Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/46zggq

Video Welcome to David Barrett's LinkedIn Network - http://twurl.nl/zz3ggx

Are Lawyers Taking Full Advantage of Slideshare? - http://twurl.nl/vp5fta Via LinkedIn, blog widget, Twitter, Facebook? #slideshare

Hello LegalTech New York from the LinkedIn Lawyer - http://twurl.nl/w7wvow #ltny

The travelers guide to Twitterverse - http://twurl.nl/di0qz1

"145 Lawyers to Follow on Twitter" by JD Supra now 563 - wow http://twurl.nl/tmxtti

Social Media Legal Marketing on the Law Marketing Network - http://twurl.nl/xwtfha

Nobel Contender Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears - http://twurl.nl/qn8l7e (pls RT) #zhng

Rights groups: China rights lawyer released (!!!!) - http://twurl.nl/lvfs31 #gao

Twitter: It's Not You; It's Me... http://twurl.nl/wg3ak3

Online social networking is the beginning of a relationship that can develop - http://twurl.nl/lkxxmr

MySpace And Facebook Becoming Evidence In Court - http://twurl.nl/n6ussn

Duke University Law Library on Facebook - http://twurl.nl/k1aldu

LinkedIn Legal Networking Groups at MyLinkLaw.com - http://twurl.nl/ck13wj

Nancy Gertner: New Media Judge - http://twurl.nl/llobu7

NY Times Twittering Tips for Beginners - http://twurl.nl/r552xc

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

David A. Barrett's Representative Legal Clients

2009-02-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

Slideshare is a great application that allows users to get powerpoint presentations out to social media portals such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Representative Legal Clients

View more presentations from barrettdavid.

Related Twitter Chatter:

barrettdavid: Are Lawyers Taking Full Advantage of Slideshare? - http://twurl.nl/vp5fta Via LinkedIn, blog widget, Twitter, Facebook? #slideshare

cableandclark: @barrettdavid Looking forward to trying out Slideshare in overhaul of web site. Thanks for the links!

BillTilley: @barrettdavid I have not used it but have been thinking about it, are you having success?

RecruiterEsq @barrettdavid i browsed through slideshare for "law" & "legal" & (lack of) results surprised me. also, why isn't law its own category!

stephkimbro: I try! RT @barrettdavid : Are Lawyers Taking Full Advantage of Slideshare? Via LinkedIn, Twitter, etc? #slideshare

gerkmana: RT @StephKimbro : RT @barrettdavid : Are Lawyers Taking Full Advantage of Slideshare? #slideshare
about

BubbleTweets for Distinguished Social Media Lawyers

2009-01-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Names like “Tweetbubble” or "BubbleTweet" can make even the toughest trial lawyers’ eyes roll back in the head. Much like the International House of Pancakes patrons ordering the “Rooty Tooty Fresh N’ Fruity” with an embarrassed whisper, many of today’s distinguished attorneys use the new nouns and verbs of social media with some trepidation.

While waiting in line for the court clerk, during a break at trial, or when counsel awaits the verdict of a jury deliberation, the shift to this new whimsical language can be downright amusing:

“hey um … have you started using Tweeter … Twitted … I mean Twitter?“

“well I just started that stuff … I guess yesterday was the first time I Tweeted, but I felt pretty good about it. I figure the more Tweeple I get, the more well known my new DUI defense practice will be.”

“nice going … the other day I Facebooked someone, but I just about lost it when I got a message on LinkedIn from this guy who had a Twitter-bubble or something … um, did I miss this class in law school?”

Counsel, hang tough. Just like learning the new vocabulary of the law when we were just starting to quack like a duck as first year law students, seeing the social media forest through the trees can enable you to overcome this foreign landscape for your profit – this time by taking advantage of some of the most cost-effective legal marketing available.

Bubble Guru Kevin Sherman’s BubbleTweet is not only worth a try, it may have a huge online social media impact.

His primary product of self-executing videos is the BubbleTweet – which makes a great introduction to your Twitter profile. It is great because BubbleTweet puts the people in the media, and does so very effectively.

Even as Portalfuse's Social Media Blog cautiously and critically reviewed the article "How Will Social Media Change in 2009?"

they had to “agree the most with her #1 point: It’s About People:

…(S)ocial media is bringing back the human element to all digital interaction. People now deliberately seek meaningful connection, self-expression, and a relevant and receptive community.”

Feedback on my Tweetbubble from New Media Product Manager at LexisNexis, Alin Wagner-Lahmy (who also blogs at Sleepless in NY and Virtually Social) struck a similar note:

“Seeing your (BubbleTweet) clip brought a huge smile on my face and I hurried up sending it through to all my friends and connections - it was one of those rare moments on web when two media formats were sitting together in such harmony, complementing each other in a perfect mix. Just a drop from each, and voila - there's a real taste of personality here!

Seems like Twitter's nuggets-sized content bits form a perfect base for different formats to be layered within and/or on top of one another - and what a tasty dish it is! [I could go on and on here about Jeremiah Owyang's "Content like Shish Kebob - bite sized media" theory (see Slideshare presentation under “Appendix A - The Future of Social Media in the Social Era" below), but maybe best to chew one idea at a time...).

I am always very curious about the role of video with 'conversational' communities, I think this is a great example of a simple yet brilliant start: will it just remain an introductory video or will it develop into a 'status update' either in its own right or complementing textweets, and how will that work with 12seconds.tv ? that, I guess, remains to be seen - and we'll all be watching every second of it. literally.”

Thanks for the conversation Alin.

BubbleComment may Revolutionize Micro-blogging

Bubble Guru Kevin Sherman has another similar product, BubbleComment, which is very similar to BubbleTweet but allows one to create a webpage overlay – so that a bubble video can allow users (and micro-bloggers) to provide a video comment to any existing web page.

Let’s face it, as we use Twitter more our demand for quality Tweets increases. We are quickly becoming bored over Tweets like “having lunch” or “having a ham sandwich for lunch … mmmm” or “boy I’m tired … having coffee” and a recent Retweet from Adrian Lurssian of JD Supra captured the need for high interest content well -

@JDTwitt RT LOL @davewiner Twitter should replace the question 'What are you doing?' with OMG NWAY!

“Micro-blogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates (say, 140 characters or fewer) or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user.“

But it wouldn’t really take much to “revolutionize” micro-blogging, as after a while many folks sharing links get around to sharing the same ones – and scanning websites in the race to be first isn’t always the best use of a lawyer’s time.

However, adding a BubbleComment to a shared website link, not only allows an added human factor, but it adds an ability to comment on, add to, or interact with the content on the shared link to add value.

For example, I was able to get involved with Larry Bodine’s blog post on Are (Law) Marketers Really Using Twitter? - even apparently after having missed his solicitation for comments.

Pointing out links I haven’t seen is great, and I appreciate those who do share interesting and useful content. At the same time, I would love to see a quick comment from many of the professionals I follow in response to many of those links, as the social media landscape is forever evolving and there are few authoritative resources. Publishing about social media is just becoming "part of the conversation."

Creative uses for combining BubbleComments seem to be only beginning. I have added them on my own blog posts (LinkedIn QuickLink Invitations (Quicklinks are Great!)) and I have added one to my own LinkedIn profile.

Still skeptical?

I have noticed on Twitter Search that there has been some favorable buzz on Twitter about the BubbleTweet that I use as a profile introduction -

@econwriter5: RT @JDTwitt if you haven't seen it - go to @barrettdavid and click on the link in his twitter bio. grab some popcorn, oda & turn off yr cell

@JDTwitt: if you haven't seen it - go to @barrettdavid and click on the link in his twitter bio. then grab some popcorn and a soda & turn off yr cell

@JDTwitt: @barrettdavid that bubble tweet on your twitpage is COOL. wild, crazy, cool. i'd imagine as the concept spreads it'll become like

alinwagnerlahmy: started writing a comment 4 @barrettdavid 's fab bubble & got so carried away I almost wrote a booklet. no worries ive cut it into a par ...

"Appendix A - The Future of Social Media in the Social Era"

The Future of Media in the Social Era

View more presentations from jeremiah_owyang. (tags: socialmedia media)

Related Articles:

BubbleTweet

Is BubbleTweet The Coolest Twitter App Yet?

Personalize Your Twitter Page with BubbleTweet!

What is Microblogging?

Your Guide to Micro-Blogging and Twitter

Interested to Discuss this Blogpost? Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer Social Media "Top Tweets"

2009-01-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

Click here for a video introduction to David Barrett's Twitter profile.

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Here are the "Top Tweets" from the last week (partially as tracked with Tweetburner).

"Top Tweets"

Thank you for following me on Twitter, welcome and enjoy - http://twurl.nl/rx2acv

Preparing materials for ABA CLE Online Social Networking - http://twurl.nl/sm8ik4 - Any requests?

LexisNexis Insurance Law Center is LinkedIn - http://twurl.nl/vkcxre

LinkedIn QuickLink Invitations (Quicklinks are Great!) http://twurl.nl/hwfpox

Six Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile - http://twurl.nl/84n618

Mina Sirkin’s Law Marketing group on Ning is hot! - http://twurl.nl/jgkfdz

Lawyers Get Snippy on Twitter / Inside the "Effective Use" Debate - http://twurl.nl/1evjm7

Human Rights Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Russian Journalist Killed http://twurl.nl/8zsxt1 Please Retweet. #mrklv

How Search-Like Are Social Media Sites? http://twurl.nl/wep85q

I Did Not Get the Value of LinkedIn … Do You Get It? - http://twurl.nl/updh67

"The biggest mistake I see - many lawyers are not on LinkedIn" - http://twurl.nl/0l8dl6

Micro-blogging is an effective lawyer use of Twitter - http://twurl.nl/523v0u - private chats are boring for rest of followers.

LinkedIn on Workers' Compensation Law Center from LexisNexis - http://twurl.nl/ktu2zr

LinkedIn Clamps Down On Super-Connected Users - http://twurl.nl/2t8o0k

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

Lawyers Get Snippy on Twitter

2009-01-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

Inside the Debate on “Effective” Twitter Use for Lawyers

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Figuring out the social media landscape in this ever-changing environment is not always easy. Social media mavens of all stripes, including lawyers, have differing philosophies regarding many many issues involved with the use of various social media.

Some of these differences are fundamental (i.e. “Facebook is my personal network – not business” or “I only connect with people I know personally and would recommend on LinkedIn”), however other social media philosophical differences are more subtle.
One such nuance recently debated on Twitter, was regarding “effective” use of Twitter.

This first came to my attention by a ReTweet by Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog:

RT @collinudell: lawyers using twitter effectively: @kevinokeefe @dougcornelius @nikiblack @lisasolomon @ctemplawyer @dancanon @vpynchon

Which Mr. O’Keefe well balanced with Twitterers of a different opinion:

RT @danielschwartz: It depends. Lawyers use twitter differently based on the audience they are trying to reach. No 1 right way.

Followed by a solicitation of more views:

@kevinokeefe Anyone else with 140 character answer on how lawyers use Twitter effectively?

I first touched on this issue while putting together my list of “10 People All Lawyers Must Follow on Twitter” and although I recognize that a variety of styles of Twittering may be used, I have a humble opinion about what is the most useful and productive approach.

As such, I offered my 140 character answer on how lawyers use Twitter effectively:

@barrettdavid Micro-blogging is an effective lawyer use of Twitter - http://twurl.nl/523v0u- private chats are boring for rest of followers.

Which received a quick comment in support:

dancanon @barrettdavid A-freakin'-men, brother. Some tweeps seem to forget they have email, IM, phones, etc. God love 'em.

As an early adopter of social media among lawyers, a social media consultant, and as a former teacher and trainer, I habitually seek to educate with my social media activities, whether those are Facebook posts, LinkedIn questions, or Twitter Tweets.

I happened to be writing another blog post about micro-blogging, and checked Wikipedia for a general definition. Both in an effort to streamline work activities and educate others on how they may use Twitter for micro-blogging, I used this Wikipedia (http://twurl.nl/523v0u) link as explanatory information in my Tweet.

However, challenges to this view of “effective” Twitter use for lawyers soon approached:

vpynchon @barrettdavid what do you consider a "private chat"?

As I am something of an advocate for a microblogging rather than open email approach, we took the debate to Twitter Direct Messages (DM’s).

DM to vpynchon I think its pretty self-explanatory. I said M-blogging "an" effective use - not "the only" effective use, but my bias is obvious.

DM from vpynchon wikipedia . . . is there an article there by you?

DM to vpynchon http://tinyurl.com/65k4g4 but maybe I'll write another. is there a need to insult me?

DM from vpynchon are you talking to ME? insult you? link was to wikipedia . . . didn't see article by you will check this link

DM from vpynchon lose nuance in 140 chars but truly was asking Q 4 clarity; sorry u felt insulted; wld love to know what I sd 2 insult

This may not exactly be a Heavyweight prize fight, but an interesting debate remains. Is Twitter best for relationship building and networking, or as a microblogging tool?

If both, what kind of mix would be most effective?

Some call a conversational style "engaging" while others call it "Serial Twittering" and cite it as a reason to un-follow someone.

Is is possible to microblog and relationship-build/network on the same Twitter account, or should lawyers use two accounts differently in order to maximize the benefits of each? One Twitter marketing guide thinks so, but it may be possible to balance well with one account while keeping one's larger audience in mind.

I would suggest that your social media marketing activity be part of your overall legal marketing plan, and that lawyers match each social media technology with specific goals and specific opportunities offered by a particular technology.

Appendix A

“A Micro-Blogging Twitter Style by David Barrett”

Are Law Marketers Really Using Twitter? - http://twurl.nl/45s7bs 5:00 AM Jan 20th from Tweetburner

LinkedIn QuickLink Invitations (Quicklinks are Great!) http://twurl.nl/hwfpox 4:35 AM Jan 20th from Tweetburner

Thank you for following me on Twitter, welcome and enjoy - http://twurl.nl/rx2acv 2:43 AM Jan 20th from web

Human Rights Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Russian Journalist Killed http://twurl.nl/8zsxt1 Please Retweet. 10:05 PM Jan 19th from Tweetburner

Les aficionados de twitter, facile à trouver difficile à conserver - http://twurl.nl/1dpzu7 9:46 PM Jan 19th from Tweetburner

Law Marketing group on Ning - http://twurl.nl/jgkfdz 9:41 PM Jan 19th from Tweetburner

Six Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile - http://twurl.nl/84n618 8:18 PM Jan 19th from Tweetburner

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" - The MLK Day Edition - http://twurl.nl/6dyl1a 9:53 AM Jan 19th from Tweetburner

@barrettdavid is giving away 3 x 1 hour LinkedIn consults - http://twurl.nl/cxn6c8 - Just RT this to enter, will Tweet the winners 10:57 PM Jan 18th from Tweetburner in reply to barrettdavid

Using LinkedIn as a Small Business Owner - http://twurl.nl/nr8ojj 10:32 PM Jan 18th from Tweetburner

7 Critical Elements of Your Social Media Strategy - http://twurl.nl/wij8r1 10:29 PM Jan 18th from Tweetburner

Appendix B

“A Conversational Twitter Style by Victoria Pynchon”

@nomadtoes tiers so crazy; we're the most status obsessed profession I know of though the top biz school ppl & places like McKinsey ditto about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to nomadtoes

@gerkmana imagine what ppl with Ph.Ds do abt school debt; when I was teaching at Univ. felt sorry for profs who couldn't moonlight like me about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@gerkmana also much greater distance between attys and teachers/nsures than b4; trite to say middle class disappearing but true about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@gerkmana yes; there's the 2 professions problem too: one range for top of class; another 4 rest at much greater distance than when I began about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@gerkmana everyone sd market flooded in '80 when I grad: always work for attorneys & if can't get "job" always able to hang out shingle about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@gerkmana $700/yr 3 yrs at U.C. Davis; Adam's tuition at UCLA started around $25K & increased over his time there: I grad '80; he grad '06 about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@idealawg I left a comment on the post on law school debt/disclosure by law schools: Stephanie's post here: http://westallen.typepad.com/ about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to idealawg

@charlesthomas what percentage of your criminal clients have drug/alcohol problems associated w/ crimes? about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to charlesthomas

@gerkmana as atty for nearly 30 years now, in taxes & pro bono services, State has more than recouped $$ on my education about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to gerkmana

@gerkmana Cal severely contracted funds for education, public libraries, etc; not smart in democracy requiring critical

Many Thanks to Attorney Victoria Pynchon for her engagement in this debate.

DM to vpynchon Interesting issues to blog about. Would you like me to leave your identifying info in or out?

DM from vpynchon feel free to leave it in

Related Articles –

http://www.buzznetworker.com/how-to-use-twitter-effectively/

http://scottmeis.com/2008/10/20/beyond-the-tweet-how-to-effectively-use-twitter/

http://thatsgreatprblog.com/2008/10/13/learning-how-to-use-twitter-effectively/

http://www.davidtinney.com/abcs-of-using-twitter-effectively.html

Analysis from "Mr. Tweet" -

My Twitteristics: Tweets more than the Twitter founders(3.7/day), Conversational(20%), Hyperlinked(95%)! http://mrtweet.net/barrettdavid?t

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

Click here for a video introduction to David Barrett's Twitter profile.

LinkedIn QuickLink Invitations

2009-01-20T01:09:00.000-08:00

Click here for David Barrett's video comment on this blogpost.

The most important consumable commodity on LinkedIn is a user’s “invitations to connect.” Invitations to connect are extremely valuable to LinkedIn users, and the LinkedIn company restricts the number of invitations a particular user may use.

Once you use all your invitations to connect, you may (or may not) be granted a small amount of new invitations upon request from LinkedIn customer service – only after you run out.

However, with a properly utlized Quicklink, LinkedIn users are able to conserve their invitations, in order to use them when most appropriate, and also to maximize the size and quality of their LinkedIn network.

Super-networker Marc Freedman says Quicklinks are "the professional, convenient, and personal way to invite your business contacts and open networkers to connect on LinkedIn. QuickLinks encode your personal info and takes the user direct to a LinkedIn invitation page. MyLinkInvitation delivers the service and image that you need to represent yourself and your business. It's the least you can do to ensure your success in a hypercompetitive business world where there are millions of other networkers.

It's Convenient. Your contacts can send you an invitation in only three clicks with a QuickLink. There is nothing to search and nothing to type. The invitation process takes several seconds, not several minutes.

It's Personal. DallasBlue provides you a branded secure URL with your personal or company name instead of a meaningless or unwieldy address with up to 100 characters.

It's Professional. When you share a QuickLink you show that you're a considerate and knowledgeable business person, someone people want to business with and have in their network.

It's Powerful. DallasBlue provides a range of services to supercharge your LinkedIn neworking, including this site, branded QuickLinks, and a QuickLink directory. We're commited to keeping QuickLinks easy to use and up to date."

You may connect with David Barrett on LinkedIn using the QuickLink below –

http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" - The MLK Day Edition

2009-01-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

Click here for a video introduction to David Barrett's Twitter profile.

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and the legal profession, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Here are the "Top Tweets" from the last week (partially as tracked with Tweetburner).

"Top Tweets"

How Lawyers Can Grow Billings using Online Networks and Internet Marketing - http://twurl.nl/4i7p2t

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing - http://twurl.nl/fdj7vs

How to turn Linkedin connections into valuable Long-term business relationships - http://twurl.nl/6zaz4r

The Key to Online Success - http://twurl.nl/z5k3n8

Everyone else is on Facebook. Why aren't you? http://twurl.nl/8lmrcj

20 Tips for Marketing Your Law Firm in Tough Times (Tips 16-20) - http://twurl.nl/qgfda7

Grow Your Business With Social Media And Not Have It Take Over Your Day - http://twurl.nl/rho13s

Britney Spears Is Hiring An Online Media Manager - http://twurl.nl/47jqrz

40 Key Elements to Getting Started In Social Media - http://twurl.nl/y7ea75

Lawyer Networking groups on LinkedIn - http://twurl.nl/i1janq

100+ Resources to Boost Your Social Media Savvy in 2009 - http://twurl.nl/awiq3g

Lawyers Talk About Experiences with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook - http://twurl.nl/mvbwva

The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter - http://twurl.nl/xpp1l5

Social Media Marketing - DIGG For Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/cdxn0l

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

Help! Lawyers from Television’s “Damages” show are Twitter-Stalking Me

2009-01-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

So last night much like the other members of the “I’ll Watch Law and Order Until My Eyes Fall Out” group on Facebook, I tuned in to FX to see the season premiere of their lawyer show – “Damages.”

With all of the Law and Order marathons on around the New Year, I figured it was prudent to change things up a bit and conserve myself in case my bloody corneas are in fact an indicator of my Law and Order career coming to an end.

I missed the first season of Damages, but I told friends that I was coping pretty well because we who had finished law school and passed the bar had a special aptitude for lawyer shows which allowed us to jump in mid-stream with a full and complete understanding of the entire show. Like all my humor, that statement only had a bit of truth in it, and I was only able to grasp a few of the fast-paced Damages show basics.

First, and easiest to discern was that the Glenn Close character (Senior Lawyer Partner Patty Hewes) was the “bad guy.” The show’s director was successful at giving her an overall aura of evil, but for those of us who have worked in a law firm, Attorney Hewes was most transparently “bad” as throughout the show she was both concerned with her Associate’s true opinion of her (which wasn’t so positive after last season’s murder attempt) and riddled with the guilt of not giving the Associate all of the facts and the entire big picture of the case she worked so diligently on all last season.

Secondly, although the Rose Byrne character (Junior Associate Lawyer Ellen Parsons) was frequently engaged in dream sequence or reality-type scenes of herself engaged in revenge murder or attempted murder, I know from my Law and Order training that she is the “good guy.” As part of season two, Attorney Parsons is working with the FBI to bring down her boss, and as anyone who has seen Law and Order knows, those working with or for law enforcement and District Attorney’s office are wearing the white hats.

The show was interesting enough, but after it ended I got back to my primary addictions – LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Since Kevin O’Keefe’s LexTweet has come out with rankings based on how many followers on Twitter one has, building my Twitter network has become my competitive social media activity du jour, and I first logged in to check out my current number of followers, or how close I am to pushing past my next target @Glennia

As I scanned through my followers, who are mostly social media savvy lawyers and legal professionals met via LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, I was surprised to find Attorney Ellen Parsons from the Damages show following me. I responded like any late-30’s adult male would respond to being Twitter-Stalked by a young and very attractive female attorney - I asked her out with an “@Reply”

“@EllenParsons thanks for the follow. Since your fiancée is murdered and all I was wondering if you're free this weekend. I'm in Boston.”

Twitter has recently limited the number of Tweeps I can follow for some reason at 2000, so I quickly booted some MD/JD with nothing much to say, and followed back @EllenParsons. I mean hey, she does seem like a good attorney.

Later however, things got creepy. I later found the alleged murderer and evil super lawyer @PattyHewes (the Glenn Close character) following me! Ahh! Creepy thing is - now I'm following her back - and I never clicked to follow her, and I didn't even have the capacity to follow someone else as I was at my limit of 2000! How powerful is this woman!?!

Pretty sharp marketing if you ask me, and despite being a law school grad, I plan on getting deep into the Season One Wiki on the Damages show to get ready for next week.

If you enjoyed this article, please Digg it, or Tweet a Tinyurl Link for your Twitter followers. Thanks!

Connect with David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

How I Connected with Barack Obama on LinkedIn

2009-01-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I’m frequently asked about how I am lucky enough to be directly connected to President-Elect Barack Obama on LinkedIn, at times even bartering such knowledge/perceived access in exchange for various goods and services, but I have had so many requests I feel that it is time to publish this blog post in order to save myself some time in responding to all the requests.

Although President-Elect Obama and I are directly connected on LinkedIn, I cannot say I know the man personally. I’ve had interactions with a couple Massachusetts Governors, former Presidential candidate John Edwards, Democratic political strategist James Carville, and CNN’s Candy Crowley, but never “The Big O.”

Never have I had the chance to find Mr. Obama as my constitutional law professor, nor knocking on my door while he was community organizing, nor while playing pickup basketball games at the local YMCA, nor while hungry and slightly tipsy waiting in line late-night at Harold’s Chicken in Chicago’s Hyde Park area. Our paths must have crossed somewhere along the line, but never was I in the right place, at the right time.

Although I’m proud to admit my admiration for Mr. Obama, and I even worked diligently on behalf of his campaign, I have no official professional relationship with President Elect Obama either. I may be on all the mailing lists, in all the Facebook groups, and a follower of Mr. Obama on Twitter, but none of these situations give me special access of any kind.

Sure my LinkedIn and Facebook networks are well populated with National Public Radio personalities, political journalists and professional campaign staffers from Democratic campaigns back to the days of Jimmy Carter, but as my father would say “that and two bucks will get you on the bus” (i.e. no special access or perks from those relationships either).

I was able to connect with Barack Obama on LinkedIn the same way I have connected with many others in my network – I asked him.

Asking one to connect on LinkedIn can take a variety of forms, but if you seek to directly connect with President-Elect Obama I would suggest making it as easy as possible for him (or for the staffer who manages his LinkedIn profile). I’m working on another blog post about just how valuable “Invitations to Connect” on LinkedIn are, but if you seek to directly connect to a President-Elect go ahead and spend an invitation.

If, like many of us, you have had an invitation to connect refused somewhere along your LinkedIn career, and are on rather thin ice with the LinkedIn powers that be, you may find that sending an invitation requires a shared group membership or use of your invitee’s email address.

I believe that I joined the "Obama for America" group, and since the President-Elect was also a member of that Group and Association, we shared membership, and I was able to invite him to connect on that basis.

If you still need an email address to send an invitation, here’s a little “secret” for you – obamaamerica AT gmail.com

Please pass along my well wishes.

If you are interested to connect with David Barrett, direct connection to Barack Obama, on Linkedin, you may initiate an invitation here - http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com

The First LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" of 2009

2009-01-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Building Blocks Of Business Online

2009-01-03T05:22:00.001-08:00

Building Blocks Of Business Online

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: strategy business)

What is social media, and why should I care?

2009-01-02T14:48:00.001-08:00

What is social media, and why should I care?

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: interactive marketing)

The Tao of Twitter: An intro guide

2009-01-02T14:43:00.001-08:00

The Tao of Twitter: An intro guide

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: networking business)

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

I Don't Have Time For Twitter or Facebook by Perry Belcher

2008-12-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets" (the 'Post-Christmas Edition')

2008-12-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Internet Marketing Strategies: How To Develop Successful Online Marketing Program

2008-12-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Internet Marketing Strategies: How To Develop Successful Online Marketing Program

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: case-study immigration-attorney)

How to Combine SEO, Blogging, and Social Media for Marketing Results by HubSpot

2008-12-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

How to Combine SEO, Blogging, and Social Media For Results HubSpot

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: seo search)

Find the video for this webinar here with additional resources.

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets"

2008-12-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

LinkedIn's SlideShare Application

2008-12-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

Call for Guest Bloggers at The LinkedIn Lawyer

2008-12-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to tip my hat to Amy Derby and Bill Marler for the inspiration to open up one’s blog for guest bloggers – thank you both.

The LinkedIn Lawyer is now open for Guest Bloggers with various areas of expertise – lawyers, social media mavens, legal marketers, and other super-networkers who are interested to write about and explore where social media meets the legal profession.

Collaboration is a great way to network!

Please contact David Barrett with your ideas for blog posts on The LinkedIn Lawyer.

This Week's LinkedIn Lawyer "Top Tweets"

2008-12-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Social Media Monitoring - 10 Free Tools

2008-12-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Social Media Monitoring - 10 Free Tools

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: socialmediamonitoring tools)

Ten People All Lawyers Should Follow on Twitter

2008-12-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and lawyers, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Besides Twellow, there are basically two lists of lawyers on Twitter -

1. 145 Lawyers (and Legal Professionals) to Follow on Twitter (now 502) and

2. BigLaw Lawyers on Twitter

After following many of these lawyers, and with the suggestion of Problogger I humbly submit my "Top Ten" Twitterers all lawyers should follow on Twitter.

There are many many more than 10 folks worthy of being followed on Twitter, so to create this list, I focused on my opinion of how good their "Tweets" are, rather than how great their blogs are, important their books are, how skilled these Tweeters are as lawyers, or how otherwise interesting they may be.

Are you Tweeting about having coffee? Are you providing followers Twitter updates about how you have finished writing a motion? Are you using Twitter as email that we call can see? You may not find yourself here.

The LinkedIn Lawyer's Ten People All Lawyers Should Follow on Twitter

1. @barrettdavid - The LinkedIn Lawyer; solid content and links in all Tweets mostly about social media with a few potential client referrals.

2. @kevinokeefe - CEO of LexBlog; always finding new boundaries to explore.

3. @JayFleischman - New York Bankruptcy Lawyer; who could make a CLE in bankruptcy law from his Tweets alone.

4. @SCartierLiebel - Creator of Solo Practice University; don't be fooled by her conversational Tweeting style as lawyers can learn loads from her Twittering.

5. @JDSupra - HotDocs are a constantly updated source of newsworthy legal documents, direct from the source; hard information you don't find other places.

6. @stevematthews - founder of Stem Legal; so much legal tech problem solving information here lawyers benefit by just taking a peek.

7. @bobambrogi - Lawyer, writer, consultant; an evangelist new media lawyers should believe and follow in detail.

8. @bentleytolk - practicing lawyer, consults to lawyers and future lawyers; Attorney Tolk shares great information and this is one from the BigLaw list that won't hurt your Twitter Grade as bad as the others.

9. @chrisbrogan - advises on how to use social media and social networking to build value; law practice is a business and lawyers can learn a lot from this non-lawyer social media pro.

10. @MIAMICRIMLAW - Miami Criminal and Bar Defense lawyer; shares both useful information and a great sense of humor.

Interested to learn more about Twitter for Lawyers? Spend some time with Nichole Black's Twitter 101 for Lawyers.

This Week's "Top Tweets" from The LinkedIn Lawyer

2008-12-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Use LinkedIn Answers to Interact with Potential Clients and In-House Counsel

2008-12-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Lawyers need to use LinkedIn to have it pay off for them. The ABA Journal notes that Social Network Sites Only Work for Lawyers Who Work at Them, and in addition to building connections or building recommendations, one way to work at LinkedIn is to participate in the Question and Answer sections. LinkedIn may not change your practice much if you merely set up a profile with a few connections with other folks around the office.

Steven Shimek talks about how interacting via the Questions and Answers feature on LinkedIn has helped him bring over $250,000 of new business to his public relations firm.

There are plenty of LinkedIn members seeking legal counsel as well, as you may find almost everyday in the Law and Legal Question and Answer section, and those that I work to post on Twitter. You can see some examples of these type of client inquiries in My Tweet Sixteen - http://twurl.nl/kmrdu4

What Is the Value of Social Media?

2008-12-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Come on Over to David Barrett's "House" and Join him on Facebook - http://twurl.nl/nfdttr You are now enjoying some "dip and chips."

Social Media Is...

2008-11-24T10:07:00.001-08:00

Social Media Is...

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: socialmedia enterprise2.0)

Follow The LinkedIn Lawyer on Twitter

2008-11-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Twitter is a free and easy-to-use "micro-blogging" site that allows you to send and receive short updates from multiple users. David Barrett, The LinkedIn Lawyer is "Twittering" -- follow me here -- and keep up to date with news about Web 2.0 social media and lawyers, with a particular focus on LinkedIn.

Click the links below to browse some of The LinkedIn Lawyer's most popular "tweets" over the last few months.

"When you hire someone, you hire his or her network." http://twurl.nl/laq05x

The LinkedIn Lawyer makes the ABA Journal http://twurl.nl/gkyp28

Real Estate Lawyer Network on LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/we075w

Is LinkedIn a Better Lawyer Search than Google? http://twurl.nl/5jmqnw

LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover http://twurl.nl/5seopk

Who Do You Let In Your Professional Network? http://twurl.nl/g1fv4m

LinkedIn Leadership http://twurl.nl/pkenyu

RT: @kevinokeefe LinkedIn profile will (either) show you are a go getter (networking activity) or one that doesn't use innovative technology.

Twitter 101 for Lawyers http://twurl.nl/68oh4f

What does it mean to "own" a LinkedIn group? http://twurl.nl/bvl742

(tweet tweet) @degold007 Interesting: 50 percent of attorneys are members of online social networks. http://tinyurl.com/55gobu

Companies Believe Social Media Can Increase Revenue http://twurl.nl/05m0gg

LinkedIn member seeks Arlington, VA Construction Lawyer - http://twurl.nl/llhzi7

Create a Law Office Profile on LinkedIn - http://tinyurl.com/5q5qnm

Law and Legal Open Networkers on LinkedIn is over 670 members; build a professional legal network - http://twurl.nl/1w06zz

Largest Law Firms have Expanding LinkedIn Profiles http://twurl.nl/nnuhhg

Unleash Your LinkedIn Profile http://twurl.nl/g6havc

"All My Clients Come From Twitter" http://twurl.nl/2yqx8m

PR Lawyer shares More Ideas on Using LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/hz1gkx

Large Law Firms Begin Using LinkedIn Groups http://twurl.nl/08n2lt

LinkedIn should be a part of every lawyer's marketing mix - http://twurl.nl/d2kduw

Become a master brand using LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/lrcjpe

Twitter for Lawyers: Networking in 140 Characters or Less - http://twurl.nl/e3glis

Connect on LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/wkgkpq

(The LinkedIn Lawyer) is presenting at Mass. Bar Association's Online Networking for Attorneys seminar tonight http://twurl.nl/o0zrg0

You're No One If You're Not On Twitter http://twurl.nl/3fl1he

David Barrett is #11 of "145 lawyers to follow on Twitter" http://twurl.nl/yg3kn2

(The LinkedIn Lawyer) invites more lawyers to own groups in the MyLinkLaw Family http://twurl.nl/tr506k

Lawyers get LinkedIn on IPhone http://twurl.nl/7bxxrk

LinkedIn Lawyer Network Invitation http://twurl.nl/j3uxri

Here's a great LinkedIn resource - http://twurl.nl/abfutm

The LinkedIn Lawyer blogs on New LinkedIn Group Policy http://twurl.nl/2vz603

(tweet tweet) @ScottMonty Social Media for Dummies - great list of 50 resources, posts and tips http://snurl.com/6ehav

Tweeting Lawyers in the Forefront http://twurl.nl/o0qjju

Lawyers not on Twitter? http://twurl.nl/opc34a

LinkedIn's New Free Apps http://twurl.nl/rohigk

Audio Interview with The LinkedIn Lawyer http://twurl.nl/uty1gw

Build Dreams One LinkedIn Contact at a Time http://twurl.nl/mc43a5

100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/w1c3rs

LinkedIn Users Have High Financial Success http://twurl.nl/a0ruxu

How to Use LinkedIn ... for Lawyers - http://twurl.nl/3g332u

Lawyers Get Clients Using LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/f4tph4

Getting the Most Out of Your LinkedIn Connections http://twurl.nl/krnzzo

RT @mariosundar Elements of a Good LinkedIn Recommendation | chrisbrogan.com http://ff.im/4ech

Trial Lawyer Network on LinkedIn http://twurl.nl/5qf6d3

Join the World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network - http://tinyurl.com/65mtv6

Crucial Conversations In Social Media

2008-11-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

Crucial Conversations In Social Media

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: kelseyruger kelsey ruger)

Is LinkedIn a Better Lawyer Search Than Google?

2008-11-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

If you stop to think about the “history” of law firm business development for a minute, it could be basically broken down into two categories – adverts for those potential clients who don’t know any lawyers, and reputation or relationship-building for potential legal client referrals from other attorneys.

Online listings found through the search engine Google (either through paid listings or well planned website SEO) may help develop new leads in both of these categories, however lawyers seeking to refer a client to another lawyer with a particular area of expertise will likely not do merely a Google search. Most attorneys will refer to other attorneys in their firms, attorneys found through Martindale-Hubbell with a solid peer review rating, or well-recommended attorneys in their professional networks.

Now that the number of attorneys on LinkedIn has grown considerably, and LinkedIn has unveiled its new search platform it may be time to ask whether LinkedIn is a better business development tool for lawyers than Google.

Others have asked about the limits of the technical search specifications of Google but at issue here is whether the relationship-based nature of LinkedIn makes it a more effective legal client referral tool than a search of law firms purchasing the top listings on commercial search engines.

Most lawyers would likely agree that potential clients who are referred from another attorney are better leads than those who are merely calling a list of names (obtained from either the telephone book or from a computer search).

Further, the relationship-based nature of LinkedIn is the type of assistance potential clients likely desire when they approach an attorney they trust, even if that attorney practices in a specialty that is outside of the scope of the legal matter.

The relationship-based nature of LinkedIn may also be a significant asset for those with a considerable number of non-lawyer connections as well. If one is to search “Boston lawyer” on LinkedIn the search results are typically ordered by proximity of relationship – i.e. direct connections first, followed by second degree connections (connections of your connections), third degree connections, and those who belong to a shared LinkedIn group.

The more connections an attorney has, the more often that attorney would come up in such a search done by any of the connections seeking a lawyer, and adds support to the argument that more LinkedIn connections is a better situation than fewer LinkedIn connections.

As my current extended LinkedIn network approaches 14 million professionals, I hope that the concept that LinkedIn is better than Google catches on quickly not only for self-interested reasons, but because it makes sense.

I'm not the first person to hatch this idea, and the folks at ReadWriteWeb duly note the limits of this approach (best for early adopters, those with few connections have few search results). However as LinkedIn use grows among lawyers, those attorneys with responsibilities in business development would be remiss to ignore this likely trend.

Related Articles

How Search-Like Are Social Media Sites? http://twurl.nl/wep85q

I Did Not Get the Value of LinkedIn ... Do You Get It? - http://twurl.nl/updh67

For more content from David Barrett follow him on Twitter here.

How Many Lawyers Use LinkedIn?

2008-11-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

When LinkedIn guru Marc Freedman and I took a look at the number of lawyers in our networks, we found that many lawyers did not identify themselves under "law practice" or "legal services." Often a lawyer who was in-house counsel for a food manufacturer up would list themselves as a part of the "food services industry" and as such the true number of lawyers is difficult to calculate.

According to Steve Matthews, the number of lawyers on LinkedIn in June, 2008 was 216,000, which I would consider to be a very conservative estimate.

Law.com Shares Tips to Build Your LinkedIn Profile

2008-11-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

As we all work to figure out Web 2.0 for lawyers, it felt just a bit validating to read the article by Diana Rubin in Legal Times "Tips to Build Up Your LinkedIn Profile."

In the article "boosting connections" is considered a good thing (funny how this took a while to catch on), and group membership is suggested as a strategy to increase connections. The MyLinkLaw family of lawyer groups is not mentioned explicitly, but the MyLinkLaw groups have to be where more lawyers go to network with other lawyers, as just one of those approximately 96 lawyer networking groups can go toe to toe with "Happy Lawyers" or even "ABA Friends" in terms of membership.

I'm still not sure why it has taken lawyers so long to embrace the open networking philosophies of many of the top-linked members of other professions, but we seem to be catching on.

Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog blogs that "LinkedIn for Lawyer Marketing Works Big Time" which from much anecdotal evidence is true. However, lawyers should not forget that LinkedIn works best for those with a solid marketing concept and plan happening already, and that putting up a free profile with thirty to sixty friends and family alone likely won't change your practice too much.

For more content from David Barrett follow him on Twitter here.

LinkedIn Unplugged - Help For Lawyers On The Way?

2008-09-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

A very interesting discussion between Stan Relihan and Patrick Crane, VP Marketing & Advertising at LinkedIn can be found in an audio blog post at LinkedIn Unplugged.

Stan and Patrick discuss the growth of LinkedIn, and how business gets done through connections, contacts and opportunities both locally and in other parts of the world.

Patrick provides a brief history and touches on the future of LinkedIn, particularly new LinkedIn group functions. Patrick and LinkedIn plan to use LinkedIn staff to help business development people in fields such as law harness the inherent power of this online environment.

Strategies for LinkedIn Group Limit Endgame

2008-08-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

As lawyers who think of LinkedIn in terms of business development narrow down the groups to which they belong, they should consider the point raised by Bill Smith.

Bill Smith raises a good question by asking about how group membership results in being found in searches done by other members.

Membership in groups allows LinkedIn members to find members who are not direct connections in their "People Search" by keyword, and this may be a consideration as lawyers gradually leave enough LinkedIn groups to comply with the new group limit.

Simply put, is your membership in Law and Legal Open Networkers more about you meeting new desired contacts or is it about those contacts finding you!

LinkedIn Develops Application for IPhone

2008-08-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

In addition to getting a no-frills LinkedIn member profile on the go, lawyers can interact with LinkedIn with this new application.

Daniel Toljaga explains that lawyers "can update your status messages on-the-go, e.g. “John Smith is reading Palluxo!” or whatever you feel like doing. Second, with the address book integration you can copy and migrate LinkedIn contacts to the contact list on your iPhone or iPod touch. And finally, you can save your search history and results to avoid unnecessary typing."

Mario Sundar of LinkedIn says "wow" and the most useful part of this application may be downloading connection contact information into the IPhone.

LinkedIn Lawyer Networking Group Transition

2008-08-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Once the initial stages of grief have passed, the transition of LinkedIn group ownership of the 100 lawyer networking groups in the My Link Law family has been like dealing with a nudge down a path already taken.

Even before the change in LinkedIn group policy, I often had great co-chairs in the groups - often experts in the area of the law matching the particular group.

Now, changing the ownership of many of these groups seems perfectly natural. Matching the leaders in their profession with a large network of potential candidates has created groups with great potential, and with the My Link Law website the opportunities for expedited group selection and cross-membership remain.

Now we only look to LinkedIn as to what type of interaction the LinkedIn interface will offer in the future.

A LinkedIn Signature Box for Law Firm Information

2008-08-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Members can use LinkedIn to create a signature box
signature box that can be used on email that supports html.

Group Management? Group Ownership? What's Involved?

2008-08-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

I enjoy getting group managers involved in my lawyer networking groups, as shared leadership of the group can have additional benefits.

Often I'm asked about what it really means to be a group manager. Generally, the commitment is very modest, and there is more information here.

"A Great LinkedIn Resource" Dallas Blue MyLinkWiki

2008-08-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today's tweet "A Great LinkedIn Resource" (with this link) has been popular enough for reposting here.

Find a roundup of recent twitter activity including LinkedIn legal client referrals.

2,962 results found. Industry: Law Practice

2008-08-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

If there was any doubt about the legal industry's involvement with LinkedIn, one can search "Companies" and look for "Law Practice."

This trend seems to match "word on the street" I often get about law companies' current practices regarding LinkedIn ... "yes we all got a memo today from headquarters asking us to get more involved with LinkedIn."

The LinkedIn Team on LinkedIn Group Limits and Restrictions

2008-08-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

From: LinkedIn Team
Date: Mon, Aug 4, 2008
Subject: Changes to LinkedIn Groups

As an active member of LinkedIn Groups, we wanted to let you know about some changes we're putting in place in the coming weeks.

We are in the process of adding new functionality to enhance the experience of Groups, including the recent release of a searchable directory. We are also working with our development teams to bring new tools and widgets to this collaborative space throughout the rest of 2008.

We are also at this time making some changes to the user-created groups we host. These changes include adding a limit to the number of user-created groups any LinkedIn member may be part of at one time. Currently we are setting that limit at membership in 50 (fifty) user-created groups.

Please take the time before this limit goes into place on August 14, 2008, to choose which groups you would like to maintain. To remove yourself from a group, go to the My Groups page and click the word "Settings" next to the group you wish to leave. At the bottom of the settings page click the text "Leave this group."

We would appreciate it if you would please take this action within the next 10 days. If you would prefer, after 30 days we will automatically keep the first 50 groups that you joined and remove the rest.

If you would like assistance removing yourself from groups, or if you have any other questions, please contact us at http://linkedin.custhelp.com or groups@linkedin.com.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you, but we hope you will continue to find value in LinkedIn and especially enjoy the new functionality of LinkedIn Groups that is coming soon.

Regards,
The LinkedIn team

ACTION REQUIRED: Group Limits

Dear David A.,
This is a follow-up to the email we sent on 8/4/08 regarding upcoming changes to LinkedIn Groups. Please note that your action is required by 9/12/08.

We regret to inform you that you have exceeded the limit of the number of groups you are allowed to be a member of. The limit, which applies to all users, is fifty (50) groups per user. We apologize that these limits were not in place earlier, but with upcoming enhancements to Groups, we are forced to put in these limits without exception. We're confident that these improvements to Groups, intended to spur communication and collaboration, will make the product more useful to you on a day-to-day basis.

We need to ask you to please get below the limit of 50 by leaving some of your groups. We have added a quick "Leave Group" link to the My Groups page for each of your groups. If you need assistance because you are significantly above 50 groups, customer support may be able to help streamline the process. Please email groups@linkedin.com for more information. Since this is a timely issue, we will prioritize any email with "Help Removing Groups" in the title until the deadline of 9/12/08.

If you do not take the required action by the deadline, we will automatically limit your membership to the first 50 groups you joined. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you, but unfortunately we are unable able to maintain the current level of groups.

Regards,
The LinkedIn Team

Lawyer Social Networking "Not Just a Craze"

2008-08-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Tom Kane writes in Legal Marketing Blog that participating in social online media like LinkedIn may now be what it means to "be online."

Using LinkedIn for Voir Dire

2008-08-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

R. David Donoghue of DLA Piper writes about "The Power and Danger of Using Social Networking Sites for Voir Dire" and reports that:

"It is no surprise that lawyers, either alone or assisted by jury consultants, research juror backgrounds, and use their research during voir dire and to inform their trial presentations, in particular opening and closing arguments.

Scratching the LinkedIn Surface

2008-08-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Lateral Attorney Report notes that "people are just beginning to mine the opportunities" of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn = Yellow Book + Relationships & Recommendations

2008-08-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

Venture Beat focuses on how the Recommendation feature can be used when lawyer shopping: "If you are searching for an attorney, for example, no point going to the phone book. You can click on the “services” tab at LinkedIn, then select “attorney” and see if anyone in your network as recommended an attorney in the field you’re looking" to find.

According to Mashable Social Networking News, LinkedIn has been the new Yellow Pages since 2006.

Mark Brooks adds that "trust follows the channels of social networks."

Should You Send Viewers to LinkedIn and Away from Your "Money Page?"

2008-08-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Duo Consulting reexamines the question "Should you put a link to LinkedIn on a biography page of a law firm website?"

Another example of how the benefits in using LinkedIn outweigh the potential drawbacks.

Getting More out of LinkedIn.com

2008-08-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

Arizona Attorney Marketing writes "I recommend that all of my clients join Linkedin.com ... I know a lawyer who picked up a case after just 5 days of being on Linkedin."

Martindale-Hubbell, LinkedIn and Online Networking

2008-08-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Martindale.com reports they have added LinkedIn connections within the attorney and law firm profiles, and that they are very excited to be working with LinkedIn.

Larry Bodine provides additional details and analysis on the collaboration.

Legal Watercooler includes a great conversation on the topic.

A Story of Capital Invested Wisely in LinkedIn

2008-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Placing Bets on Online Social Networking: A Story of Capital Invested Wisely in LinkedIn
By Renée Barrett

Strategically navigated, social networking can be an invaluable business development tool with limitless potential. But you have to give as well as get to grow your capital on these sites.

Skypecast Interview - Practicing Attorney: David Barrett and his use of LinkedIn

2008-08-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

Practicing Attorney: David Barrett and his use of LinkedIn "The Skypecast Interview."

Linked Intelligence on Linkedin Lawyers

2008-08-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

Linked Intelligence on Lawyers using Linkedin.

Robert Ambrogi's LawSites Notes The LinkedIn Lawyer

2008-08-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Boston lawyer media writer Robert J. Ambrogi covers this new and intriguing website opening and asks if a large lawyer network touches our inner child.

The LinkedIn and Twittering Lawyer

2008-08-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Law Librarian Blog provides a nice collection of recent news on the LinkedIn lawyering and Twitter lawyer marketing including news about The LinkedIn Lawyer.

Family Lawyer Reputation Damaged with False LinkedIn Profile

2008-08-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Today a after a quick look at my home page, a profile in my "people search" box (set to "lawyer") had a description that caught my eye -

"First Name Last Name"
Dishonest Lawyer at Unethical and Unprofessional Lawyer

I was unpleasantly surprised to read the profile -

Summary

This web page was established to show that "First Name Last Name" is a dishonest and unethical lawyer. She is under investigation by the State Bar for violations of the rules of ethics. "First Name Last Name" has lied in court documents and lied to a judge in court.

This web page was not created by "First Name Last Name", obviously.

Everything in this web page is true and correct. This web page was not established with the evil intent or malice. It is intended to be a public service to all.

I contacted the lawyer on the profile, as her photo and real name were used, and a link was provided to her law firm website.

She told me that the person who she believed put up the profile was a person who using this false profile as part of an ongoing campaign of online libel and harassment.

The harasser has falsely used the lawyer's name in order to get people to receive the connection, which is invasive of privacy and fraud. Further this harasser is defaming this lawyer with false information that there are State Bar investigations of her.

We are currently working with LinkedIn to have the profile removed.

Linkedin Learning Center - Attorneys

2008-08-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn provides a nice summary for a few ways attorneys can use LinkedIn here in their "LinkedIn Learning Center."

This learning center may not be exhaustive, but it contains useful information for beginners.

Uproar About New LinkedIn Group Policy

2008-08-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

The LinkedIn member uproar in response to the new group membership policy (see below) has been widespread, and reviewed widely. I frequently see twits and status updates complaining about the new policy.

As a LinkedIn member previously holding memberships in over 1300 groups, I can feel the pain expressed and well explained by Gary Pool as members are now working to comply with the new policy requirements by the deadline of September 15th. Gary's post is very informative and is a nice use of screen shots.

Chicago area estate planning attorney Laura McFarland-Taylor, Manager of the Estate Planning Lawyer Network group on LinkedIn, asks "why does LinkedIn want to limit the number of groups that you can join to 50? Will less popular groups be eliminated? Is the next step to limit the number of people you can connect with?"

Attorney McFarland-Taylor continues, "I’ve “met” a lot of interesting people through my various groups and I hated having to make the decision of which groups to leave. I created one group and manage another and I am not going to make an effort to create new groups, though I see a need in some areas, particularly in trademark and copyright law. I am definitely not spending as much time on LinkedIn – there’s no point spending time looking through people’s profiles for interesting groups or through the group directory since I can’t join additional groups."

Jason Alba blogs that he saw a huge storm brewing early. Despite the heavy handed way the policy was carried out, Alba believes "that more Group love is to come. It has to come, if you ask me, because Groups are far from functional. It’s funny to me that this has caused such a stir, considering there currently isn’t much value in joining Groups."

He of 27,000 LinkedIn connections - Super-networker Marc Freedman won the support of many when he articulated the recent outrage of many LinkedIn members with a long history of involvement on LinkedIn on Getsatisfaction.com

Marc notes that

"Respectfully this action by LinkedIn continues a long history of “improvements” that:
> remove features
> have no user input
> come with no information. There is no FAQ or forums for questions on this change.
> are poorly planned. We won’t provide your more info and you have a week to make changes or else.
> penalize innocent members
> show no respect to legitimate users’ time and energy by not grandfathering changes ..."

he continues and offers an alternative,

"I know of no established company, none as large as LinkedIn, and certainly none that are Web 2.0 and live and die based on user support that act in such a purely anti-user way.

It’s reasonable to:
> respond to user complaints
> set up a user-moderated forum for abuse
> improve your technology to set up a group application process and provide tools to group owners to facilitate better group management and reduce inappropriate memberships.

It’s poor practice to use the blunt instrument of limits that hurts users who have done nothing wrong."

Freedman further explains,

"... My world is no longer defined by real-world groups in my little town. It now includes my metro area, my country, the planet, and purely online communities. If I have an interest in 18th century coastal Chinese architecture or a specific product or web site, the Internet now enables me to find a group with like minded people. Just like this very site at getsatisfaction.com.

And many groups have several legitimate subgroups. My college has general, graduation year, and area of interest groups. Major cities have dozens of business and networking groups. I have literally hundreds of areas of interest.

There are dozens of legitimate career and job organizations, each of which offers me different programs, networkers, features, locations, discipline concentrations, etc. and so each gives me unique value."

There has been some defense of LinkedIn and even kudos to how LinkedIn has handled their response to the criticism. LinkedIn Director of Marketing Robert Leathern responds that "groups-related functionality is going to be an important part of LinkedIn's future."

Although The LinkedIn Lawyer is not pleased in a way, I have found the new policy to be an opportunity for improving my networking relationship with group members. The new policy has created the unanticipated networking activity of having to find a qualified member to pass along ownership of one or more of my 100 lawyer networking groups. Careful critics - it is really these human interactions, anticipated or not, created as a result of whatever website configurations there are that bring LinkedIn off of the laptop and into our real professional lives.

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Interview

2008-08-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

David and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly discuss common questions lawyers have about LinkedIn here.

Join Me on Facebook

2008-08-04T23:08:00.001-07:00

Facebook is a social networking website that has slight differences from LinkedIn.

I enjoy interacting with my LinkedIn connections on Facebook and getting to know them better and in a different way.

The LinkedIn Lawyer appears in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

2008-07-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

On the newspaper weblog, The LinkedIn Lawyer is noted in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article about the growing experience lawyers have with LinkedIn.

It is agreed that almost all lawyers have by now had some experience with an invitation to LinkedIn, Facebook or Plaxo from a colleague or a friend, if not a client or a business partner.

MLW indicates in the blogpost that LinkedIn found a business niche that will and has eased the apprehension lawyers have about MySpace and other social networking websites.

MLW may have it right, although I personally more often hear that LinkedIn has done more for lawyers than be the next interesting thing - that it has permanently transformed legal marketing.

For more content from David Barrett follow him on Twitter here.

I would like to join your group; my membership is pending approval

2008-07-21T10:55:00.001-07:00

The LinkedIn group membership process is a new one for many lawyers.

After some of the initial steps around making the decision to join a LinkedIn group, one finds and effectively navigates the group description and invitation acceptance button.

A LinkedIn user then waits to gain admission to the group, and the instructions tell the user that they may contact the group moderator for admission to the group.

To new users just how "automated" this group moderator contact is unclear, and a message with the subject "I would like to join your group; my membership is pending approval" opens for use.

It is important to remember that this "I would like to join your group; my membership is pending approval" message is just a regular email message to the person who happens to be the moderator of the group you're looking to join.

As such, you can:

- modify your email subject line to improve your networking effectiveness
- explain your qualifications for group membership
- explain any gaps between a stated, logical or obvious connection to your membership in a group and your current job description
- communicate directly with the moderator

and you really should:

- help the moderator identify you - include all email addresses, give a brief about who you are and why you should be admitted to the group.
- note what group you want to join (moderators often moderate more than one group)
- send only one email if joining many of the groups moderated by one person, listing all group admission requests on one message.

Conversation with a Closed Networker

2008-07-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Conversation between a Closed Networker Lawyer (CLN) and David A. Barrett.

CLN to DAB: I saw your posting of the ABC LinkedIn Lawyer networking group on the ABC Lawyer Listserv, and I would like to join.

DAB to CLN: Welcome CLN. I often see your posts on the ABC Lawyer Listserv, and I am pleased to have you as a part of ABC LinkedIn Lawyer Networking group.
As such, I would like to invite you to connect to my LinkedIn Network.
We can connect here –
http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com

CLN to DAB: (no response)

….. days later ….

CLN to DAB: Hello DAB, I would like you to add me to the XYZ Lawyer Networking group.

DAB to CLN: Welcome CLN, and thank you for your membership in the XYZ Lawyer Networking group.

Would you be interested to co-chair the XYZ Lawyer Networking group?

CLN to DAB: Yes, I would love to co-chair the XYZ Lawyer Networking group. Please tell me how.

DAB to CLN: Great CLN, I’m pleased to work with you. Many group co-chairs have their name and profile link on the group description page. Once connected, I can add you as a manager of the group and I can turn your profile link into a tinyurl suitable for posting in the group description page.

We can connect here –
http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com

CLN to DAB: (no response)

… days later ….

CLN to DAB: Did you add me as co-chair of the group?

DAB to CLN: Hi CLN, I still have not received your invitation to connect.

CLN to DAB: I must have misunderstood what you meant by connect, and frankly, I find it somewhat offensive that you have conditioned my co-chairing a group with connecting so I’ll pass.

DAB to CLN: (no response)

… days later … .

CLN to DAB: Add me to the 123 Lawyer Networking group, pretty please.

DAB to CLN: I’m pleased to have you in the group CLN.

You know I'm working on a book chapter / course on LinkedIn for lawyers, and I'm just curious about your unwillingness to connect.

Is it that other lawyers could pilfer your clients out of your connections? Did you know that you can make your connections hidden from view?

If you had a chance and wouldn't mind telling me about your LinkedIn philosophy I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

DAB

CLN to DAB: I think networking groups work best if people know and approve (think recommend) of those in their network. Therefore adding just every stranger who somehow finds you and asks doesn’t make sense to me. These sites should be focused on quality, not quantity.

DAB to CLN: I can see that, and such is a commonly held view among folks who are not open networkers. There seems to be a continuum as to how open or how closed members networks are managed to be. I would respectfully put you at the far end of the spectrum on the closed network side, as your unwillingness to connect while co-chairing a group is certainly a closed network example that will make my publication (without identifying you of course).

The other side of the what works best (i.e. open/closed network) coin is that websites like LinkedIn provide opportunities for exposure of your profile, product or service and the wider the exposure the better. More connections and more group memberships allow other members to find an environmental lawyer by using the advanced search people function on the home page.

I respect our difference of opinion, but to me and many others the recommendations section of our profile is different than the connections aspect of our profile.

You may also maintain an open network and start a closed group of "inner circle" connections you know well who you contact on and off the LinkedIn site, thereby getting the benefits of a closed network of people one knows well, and the exposure an open network provides.

Nice to get to know you, and thanks for the chat.

CLN to DAB (no response).

… days later …

CLN to DAB I would like to join the 456 Lawyer Networking group ….

(This is a fictional “conversation” created by drawing upon numerous conversations with multiple people. Identifying characteristics may have been changed so as to not publish without authorization.)

Is LinkedIn Where Your Clients Get Stolen?

2008-07-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have discussed the issue of lawyers connecting on LinkedIn where one lawyer had a personal network which included many client relationships.

Many lawyers are apprehensive to directly connect because of the potential that his clients will be raided by other aggressive legal business developers seeking to connect as "friends" on social media with developing rules.

If you know a lawyer who may be worried about this, it is possible to set your profile so that your connections can not see all of your direct connections, but can only your mutual connections (i.e. see LinkedIn profile of Barack Obama).

Have You Re-Named Yourself a LION?

2008-07-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

It seems that many attorneys privately cringe a bit and publicly worry about the appearance some of the group membership linking techniques and LinkedIn shorthand used by open networker members in the "name" field in their profile (i.e. Chancellor Dewey, Esq. LION, TOPLINKED).

Close observers see other growing networkers turning their name into a type of code email address. This approach attempts to open information to others willing to send invites while mitigating any email collecting spambots (i.e. Chancellor LION Dewey DOT Esq. Lion COM) with a certain je ne sais crois.

Many successful LinkedIn Lawyers attempt to balance the advantages and disadvantages memberships and philosophies open networking groups offer.

TopLinked sells a "private" account for an enhanced fee to allow members and supporters to participate without putting the word "TopLinked" in their name or headline field.

LION groups often ask that such appear on the profile, and indeed many networkers intentionally put such as their "name" in an effort to actively grow their own directly connected network. But you might be able to get away with not filing a motion for name change for Chancellor LION by simply being a member in many of the LION groups and leaving the tag off the profile. TopLinked on the other hand seems to police this rather aggressively.

You can just act like a LION - basically communicate that you're open to meeting new LinkedIn connections and give the means to connect (put email address on your profile) without even joining the LIONS or INVITE ME or worse.

Just as an aside, I have seen LION denote both "LinkedIn Open Networkers" and "Leading International Open Networkers" and there are many other variants (LIONS 500, FOR ALL THOSE WHO NEED A LOT OF CONNECTIONS NOW, Open Networkers, Libertines, etc.) on these groups to create multiple similar opportunities.

I had my email address in my name field for some time, and found the new spam during that time to be pretty minimal. If you want to worry about avoiding spam - set up a new dedicated email address for your LinkedIn profile and watch your group membership.

Avalanche of Lawyers on LinkedIn

2008-07-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Lexblog Kevin O'Keefe blogs that the number of lawyers on LinkedIn is like an avalanche and that the largest law firms have expanding LinkedIn company profiles.

What is Your LinkedIn Connection Philosophy?

2008-07-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

Are you an open networker?

We all have different philosophies about how we use LinkedIn, sometimes conscious philosophies and sometimes unconscious philosophies formed by our previous networking experiences.

As such, many of us fall on different areas of the spectrum from open to closed networkers.

"Open Networkers" go by many monikers on LinkedIn (i.e. LIONs, members of TopLinked, LinkedIn Open Networkers, Libertines, Leading International Open Networkers, to name a few) but basically members with this approach want to network with as many LinkedIn professionals as possible.

More On Directly Connecting for Legal Referrals

2008-07-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

Why do direct connections better enable legal client referrals?

Please let me provide you one example.

Say for example I see a question in the Law and Legal section (as I often do) in which a member is seeking a referral to lawyer ... let's say a medical malpractice lawyer in the New York City area.

I first look to my Medical Malpractice Lawyers group on LinkedIn (as I don't have the time to search all of my connections), and search through the group members for those in the New York City area. Chances are that I will find two directly connected lawyers and two members of the group who otherwise would be a match but are not directly connected.

With this information, I go back to the question in order to provide an answer and to complete the legal referral.

However, I can only suggest you as an expert if we directly connect.

If we are already directly connected, I encourage you to take one benefit your legal networking group membership provides - using your shared group membership to invite other lawyers or referral sources to directly connect to you.

The Personal QuickLink Invitation

2008-07-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

I would strongly recommend a Personal Quick Link Invitation for LinkedIn Lawyers.

As Lonny Guilden explains on the Quick Link signup website, many members find Quick Link useful only after our standard allotment of LinkedIn invitations (typically 3000) has run out.

However, I would advise that new LinkedIn users get a Quick Link right away. LinkedIn invitations are a valuable and quickly expended commodity, and as such they should be saved and protected. A Quick Link can be used much like an invitation, but is sent via email.

One of the hurdles networking lawyers need to overcome is the LinkedIn skills of their fellow lawyers. Using LinkedIn invitations only when absolutely necessary saves invitations for when a ease of online media use is critical for connecting. Many lawyers are not familiar with LinkedIn, and using a LinkedIn invitation may enable that lawyer to connect.

Why Create LinkedIn Groups?

2008-07-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn groups are used differently by members, but many of them help to fill a networking need or void of a vehicle to allow members with a commonality to join together.

Networkers can often "feel" the need for a new group by building connections individually, and getting a lot of positive feedback from the individuals involved.

When the group muse strikes - answer her!

"LinkedIn Legal Client" Referrals

2008-07-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, my "what are you working on" mentioned a suggestion to lawyers that connecting directly best enables LinkedIn legal client referrals.

A survey of the questions in the law and legal question and answer section will find many members seeking legal services right on LinkedIn, and simply asking something like "hey who knows a Shark Attack Business Lawyer in Boston?"

If another member knows such a lawyer, they can answer the question and by using your direct connection - provide a direct link on the answer to your LinkedIn profile.

2's and 3's just aren't in reach of the LinkedIn webpage used to answer questions and suggest experts.

Was it Good for You????? (psst. send a note)

2008-07-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

Don't just connect - even if you're busy send a note.

After your connection let LinkedIn return you to a page where you may quickly link to an internal LinkedIn message system, and send a brief note or introduction.

Be Careful - Connecting as a "Colleague"

2008-07-16T00:08:00.001-07:00

As you are building your networks, be careful about LinkedIn's own narrow definition of colleague.

If you haven't worked for the same employer, the colleague invitation is a bad match for you. If your invitation is accepted, your new connection will face a screen asking for information about her "new position" at your company, as the narrow definition assumes your company corner offices shared a view.

This error style screen makes your new connection unsettled .... "did I screw up ... did he screw this thing up for me ..." and causes unnecessary confusion.

Using a shared group membership or a member's email address (first choose "other" in order to get to the email address prompt) is a better means of actually connecting on LinkedIn.

Why Do Attorneys Fail to Include Contact Information on Their Profile?

2008-07-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Why?

"The World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network"

2008-07-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Working together with Toplinked #9 on LinkedIn Marc Freedman (25,000+ direct connections) helped me to understand that I was near the top of the list for most connections "law practice" on LinkedIn.

I believe Marty Rudoy is currently the most-connected "law practice" member of LinkedIn at 3500, and I have an email in to Attorney Rudoy to confirm this.

However, "The World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network" is a separate analysis entirely.

"The World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network" refers to how many lawyers are in my personal, directly connected network which currently consists of 3400+ members and 1450+ lawyers.

Why Join 1300 LinkedIn Groups?

2008-07-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Many LinkedIn groups allow members to network with professionals of other occupations than themselves as there may be a business or personal relationship among them.

Many members seek out potential connections or appropriate professionals using an approach that begins with members of a particular group, so people can search you better.

Group membership allows a vehicle for two LinkedIn members to connect, should it occur that other contact information is not available on the member profile.

Legal Networking Groups at MyLinkLaw.com

2008-07-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Working together Marc Freedman and David A. Barrett have created the largest online collection of lawyer networking groups on LinkedIn at http://MyLinkLaw.com

Group Search on LinkedIn

2008-07-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

This week LinkedIn added the long desired group search feature.

Group searches now allows LinkedIn members to find appropriate networking groups more easily, as members can utilize a "Google-like" keyword search (within their extended networks only).

Previously members had only good chance or the work of individually searching out the details of other professionals' LinkedIn profiles just in order to find existing and appropriate networking groups.

Jason Bailes LinkedIn group search using Google custom search is still useful, and skilled users would use both to keep up to date.

The great part about the official LinkedIn group search is that group membership seems to have drastically increased. Lawyers are not only joining legal networking groups, but they are using them to enhance many of the great features of LinkedIn.

Invitation to Connect on LinkedIn

2008-07-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

I would like to invite you to directly connect on LinkedIn -

http://davidbarrett.mylinkinvitation.com

Best,

David A. Barrett, Esq.
Boston, Massachusetts