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"
Lawyers Seek to Grow Online Networks - http://twurl.nl/ob4ffz
Build Your LinkedIn Network with Open Networker - http://twurl.nl/r1gcly
The Powerful Networking Synergy of Martindale-Hubbell Connected and LinkedIn -
http://twurl.nl/f3prug
Social Media Lessons for Law Firm Marketers - http://twurl.nl/jlp5og
Medical Malpractice Lawyer Network on LinkedIn now feeds health news and articles from JDSupra - http://twurl.nl/k8wyys
New Trusts and Estates Law group on Martindale-Hubbell Connected - http://twurl.nl/f585lb
35 Must-Read Articles for Social Media Marketers - http://twurl.nl/ce3orr
Lawyer Marketing with Twitter - http://twurl.nl/ts3uxq
100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals - http://twurl.nl/lywgt2
Building Relationships with LinkedIn on The LinkedIn Lawyer blog - http://twurl.nl/4ca4r1
Putting a Price on Social Connections - http://twurl.nl/fxv7et
RT @kevinaschenbren - Model Law Firm Social Media Policy - http://twurl.nl/f7ff8k
The Legal Case for Web 2.0 - http://twurl.nl/rjiyd0
Find David Barrett on Twitter @barrettdavid
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The Powerful Networking Synergy of Martindale-Hubbell Connected and LinkedIn
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 -
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 -
Friday, April 3, 2009
Lawyers Seek to Grow Online Networks
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.
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
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
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
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