DennisKennedy.Blog

Summer Vacation Tech and Browser Apps: New Podcasts

2013-05-31T11:18:28Z

Let me recommend two new episodes of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast in which Tom and I take a look at how technology can enhance your summer vacation and discuss the “other apps” – browser extensions, apps and plugins. These are are first two regular episodes after our blockbuster hundredth anniversary episode for the Legal Talk Network titled “Pardon Our 100th Interruption“.

Here are the show descriptions:

#102 – Summer Vacation Technology [LTN] [LTRC]

Summer and vacation seasons are approaching. Some prefer to completely disconnect on vacation, while others like to stay connected. Work aside, those who choose to stay connected can use technology to make their trips more manageable and stress free with travel apps, adapters, and travel-friendly cameras. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the intersection of technology and vacation, whether to connect or disconnect while traveling, and some of their favorite vacation and travel tech tips. In the second half of the show, your hosts will cover the accelerated speed of cloud-based interface updates and how to keep up.

This episode takes a very practical look at technology in the non-work context and shares lessons from Tom’s recent Mediterranean vacation. In the B segment, we vented a bit about how many of our favorite web services seem to be making major interface changes these days, often overnight and with no warning. You might have noticed the same thing. I’m not sure what we can really do about this, other than to be adaptable and resilient.

#101 – Taking Advantage of Apps and Plug-ins [LTN] [LTRC]

Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell enter the realm of apps and plug-ins. Also known as web extensions, browser apps, add-ons, and bookmarklets, these additions to web browsers are made to make your Internet browser experience more efficient. Learn your hosts’ favorite web extensions when browsing for leisure and for work, and how to manage your apps and plug-ins so they don’t slow down your browser speed. The second half of the episode turns toward Internet communication, more specifically, how Twitter users are creating hashtags to express their moods in posts and how this changes the meaning and use of the hashtag.

With all of the focus on smartphone and tablet apps (I’m actually speaking on that topic later today), you might overlook the world of browser apps (Google Chrome extensions, Firefox add-ons, and the like) and how they can enhance your Internet browsing experience. Tom and I explain how they work and suggest some helpful apps. I’ve been wanting to increase my use of these apps and got to take advantage of Tom’s expertise in this area. I suspect that you’ll find some helpful advice, too. In the B segment, we look at the cool trend in hashtags (on Twitter and, increasingly, elsewhere) to use hashtags to make comments and meta-observations in addition to the original use of self-categorization (#ifthatisthataword). I used to think that the 140 character limit made it difficult to say that I wanted to say, but now I find that that I have plenty of room to make a point and also use a hashtag to make a metacomment (#funnyhowthatworks).

Remember the podcast is now available at two places: the Legal Talk Network and the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. And it’s available in iTunes, where you can subscribe and have new episodes appear in iTunes automatically when they are released. As always, if you have ideas for topics or questions for us to answer on the podcast, let us know.

- Dennis Kennedy

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, the new book from Allison Shields and me, is now available (iBook version here). Our previous book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers is also available and also can be downloaded as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

The Kennedy-Mighell Report: Pardon Our 100th Interruption

2013-05-07T00:42:51Z

“Pardon Our 100th Interruption” is the title of the 100th episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast for the Legal Talk Network. Listeners who go back to the very beginning will know that there were six earlier episodes we did on our own that we like to refer to as the Lost Episodes since they are no longer available on the Internet or iTunes.

Tom and I decided to adopt the format of one of our favorite podcasts, ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, popularly known as “PTI,” for episode #100. When we launched the podcast in its current form, PTI was one of our models. The other model was the Slate Political Gabfest. If you know Tom and me, it should be no surprise that we took those models and ended up with something completely different.

In Episode #100, we used the PTI format to talk about a lot of legal technology topics in a short time.

The format also gave us a chance to respond to listeners who think that Tom and I should disagree more in the show. In a segment called “Toss-up,” we intentionally take different sides on several topics. It works well, except for Tom believing that he won every argument.

Here’s the show description:

#100 – Pardon Our 100th Interruption [LTN] [LTRC]

The Kennedy-Mighell Report has reached a milestone: Episode 100! As part of the celebration your hosts will bring you today’s legal technology issues in the format of one of their favorite shows: ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption. Hear how technology can make your business more efficient, highlights from the ABA Tech Show, the future of technology for lawyers, and more.

We had good time recording this episode and it was a fun way to celebrate episode #100. We’ve really enjoyed the reception and response our podcast has gotten over the years. Consider this episode our way of saying thanks.

And now we get started on the next 100.

- Dennis Kennedy

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

New Podcasts: Creativity within Constraints and iPads for Litigators

2013-04-12T01:18:19Z

Tom Mighell and I are getting ready to record the 100th Episode of our podcast, The Kennedy-Mighell Report, which is now appearing on both the Legal Talk Network and the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. And it’s available in iTunes.

We were pleased to meet some of our listeners at the recent ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago.

We recently released episodes 98 and 99 and I wanted to recommend them to you. Here are the descriptions:

#99 – Nourishing Creativity with Constraints [LTN] [LTRC]

Hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell are exploring a new social media outlet called Vine where users create videos, constricted to six-seconds in length. This inspired the discussion of nourishing creativity with a length constraint. Twitter limits users to 140 characters, Instagram allows only one photo per post, and Snapchat limits users to sending a photo for 10 seconds or less before it disappears from both the sender and the recipient’s device. On this episode of Kennedy Mighell report, your hosts will discuss how technology constraints can produce surprising results for lawyers, whether they participate in social media or not.

# 98 – The iPad for Litigators and Life After Google Reader [LTN] [LTRC]

Learn why iPads are a valuable resource in the courtroom for their portability, presentation capabilities, and legal apps. Hosts Dennis and Tom explain why litigators especially can benefit from an iPad and Tom’s upcoming book iPad in One Hour for Litigators. The second half of the show mourns the approaching death of Google Reader, the significance and utility of an RSS reader, and what other options are out there.

And remember that we end each episode with what we call our “Parting Shots” – a practical tip, link or other resource you can use after you listen to the podcast.

We’re happy to be back to regular podcasts. Look for a new episode every other week. Better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and have new episodes appear in iTunes automatically when they are released. As always, if you have ideas for topics or questions for us to answer on the podcast, let us know.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Two New Tech Columns: Law Firm Apps and Departure Policies

2013-04-12T00:44:07Z

My latest two ABA Journal tech columns are called “Apt to make apps? What you need to consider before jumping in” and “5 tech policies law firms should consider to prep for job departures.”

1. Apt to make apps? What you need to consider before jumping in

In this column, I did a little investigation into mobile apps (really, iOS apps) that law firms and lawyers had created so far. My research was not scientific or thorough, but it gave me an indication of what the typical person looking for law firm apps would find. I didn’t find a lot of these apps, but, to generalize, most fell into the megafirm category or the auto accident firm category.

Some of the apps look to be be useful, and some are underwhelming.

The exercise gave me something think about in how lawyers might create mobile apps and I try to draw a few practical conclusions and give some tips about costs and approaches to apps.

The money quote:

In some ways the current app environment is reminiscent of the early days of webpages in 1995 or blogging in 2002 or 2003, when there was a small number of early adopters among the legal profession. For some, moving to the Web or blogging was a rewarding and successful step. For at least as many, it was a move that did not make sense. And for the majority, their efforts did not make much of an impact.

While I don’t expect law firm mobile apps to become as ubiquitous as law firm websites, I’m intrigued by the ways law firms might take advantage of the apps platform.

Read the entire column at “Apt to make apps? What you need to consider before jumping in.”

2. 5 tech policies law firms should consider to prep for job departures

This column was suggested by a lawyer friend of mine in St. Louis when we had breakfast a few months ago. He mentioned that knowing what to do when a lawyer (or any staff member) left a firm was hard enough, but determining what to do about technology when someone left was really difficult. He talked about some of the approaches he had seen and taken and thought that the topic would be good for a column. I agreed.

I focused on five key policies, but want to emphasize how important it is to be flexible and have a good understanding of what is happening at the time and what is at stake.

This area struck me as one where lawyers were likely to be advising clients on appropriate employee manuals and policies, but not bother to implement them for their own firms. It’s also an area where manuals and policies can only take you so far. I vividly remember when the IT director at my then firm left a manila envelope with some notes and a “yesterday was my last day” letter on my chair for me to find when I came in in the morning.

The column focuses on some of the biggest issues (there are more, to be sure) and makes a few practical suggestions for each.

The money quote:

Common responses to the technology issues raised by a departing lawyer or employee can be ad hoc, chaotic and woefully incomplete, raising more problems than the firm solves.

If you haven’t given this subject some attention recently, there is no time the present to revisit it with fresh eyes.

Read the entire column at “5 tech policies law firms should consider to prep for job departures.”

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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The Return of Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast – Four New Episodes

2013-03-07T04:07:34Z

Tom and I have rebooted our podcast after a brief hiatus with four really good new shows, a second channel and what feels like a bright future for the podcast.

First of all, we’re grateful to Adam, Trent, Keoki and the team at the new Legal Talk Network for keeping LTN going and keeping our podcast in their lineup, with all the archives (and iTunes subscription feed) still available and a lot of fresh new ideas for the podcast. Check out what LTN is doing.

And we are also grateful to Josh Poje at the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center for helping us set up a second channel for the podcast at the LTRC site as part of a new legal technology podcast network.

What does that mean? Existing subscribers (RSS and iTunes) should be receiving the new shows automatically. New listeners will find the past four episodes and future episodes on both the Legal Talk Network and the Legal Technology Resource Center. Think of the new approach as a dual-channeled effort to get the podcast to new audiences. At both places, you’ll get the audio content Tom and I create, but in a slightly different wrapper (sponsorship, identifiers, etc.), depending on how you access the podcast.

We’ll be releasing new episodes every other week.

The new episodes are episodes 94, 95, 96 and 97. Observant readers will note that we are fast approaching episode 100 and plan to do a special episode in honor of that.

The new episodes:

#97 – The Internet of Things and Our Virtual Lives. [LTN] [LTRC]

In this episode, we discuss the idea of “the Internet of Things” and the implication of a world where more machines now connect to the Internet than people. Perhaps we have yet to see how much the Internet can do for us. I also talk a bit about my cool experience with personal genome sequencing with the 23andMe service.

#96 – Taking Control of Your Mobile Apps. [LTN] [LTRC]

In this episode, Tom and I confess to how many apps we have downloaded and installed on our mobile devices. I try to blame Tom’s iPad App in One Hour for Lawyers book for that. We talk about the growing need to organize and manage apps and then explain the basic ways to do that. We also answer a question about whether you should choose and iPad Mini or an iPad.

#95 – Digital Cameras in Law: Are Smartphones Enough? [LTN] [LTRC]

In this episode, we turn my recent failure to get a decent photo of two bears fishing salmon out of a stream near Lake Tahoe into a meditation on the role always-at-hand digital cameras in smartphones and devices can play in today’s practice of law. We have a lot of ideas and practical suggestions. We also answer a question on what are our best new presentation tips for 2013.

#94 – Top Legal Blogs & State of the Blawgosphere in 2013 [LTN] [LTRC]

In this episode, we are happy to be back to the podcast and discuss what seems to be a renewed interest in law-related blogging, my 2012 Blawggie awards, and our favorite law-related blogs. We have many new blogs for you to try if you don’t already read them. We also take the bold step of revealing our own 2013 technology resolutions.

To longtime listeners, we thank you for your patience and hope that you return to regular listening. To new listeners, sample a few episodes and consider subscribing.

We’re happy to be back. As always, if you have ideas for topics or questions for us to answer on the podcast, let us know.

And, if you will be at ABA TECHSHOW, consider joining Tom and me at a Taste of TECHSHOW dinner we will be hosting. Even if you don’t attend the dinner, make sure that you say hello at TECHSHOW and let us know that you listen to the podcast. We really enjoy meeting our audience.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

New Article: 13 Facebook Tips for Lawyers in 2013

2013-02-22T01:46:06Z

In perhaps the classic example of “I didn’t have enough time to write a shorter article, so I wrote a longer one,” I have a new article out in the February issue of the Law Practice Today webzine. It runs about 3,000 words and is called “Thirteen Facebook Tips for Lawyers in 2013.”

As the article summary says:

Still scared of Facebook? Come on, it’s 2013 already—can 1 billion users really all be wrong? Here are 13 tips to guide even the most reluctant late adopter on how to get the most of the most popular social media tool.

The article offers some of my observations about lawyers using (and, mainly, not using) Facebook, thirteen practical tips (anybody else notice that matching the number of tips to the year has upped the degree of difficulty for these types of tips articles?), and three simple action steps to get yourself going on Facebook.

The money quote:

There are many reasons lawyers probably should be using Facebook, but I’m not sure that convince many reluctant lawyers with those reasons. Instead, consider my view that there may be no better resource than Facebook to help you reconnect with people who were important in your life with whom you have lost contact.

I expect that Allison Shields and I will cover many of these tips in more detail in our upcoming presentation on LinkedIn and Facebook at ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago in April.You will also have the chance to talk about these topics with Allison and me at the Taste of TECHSHOW dinner we will be hosting on April 4.

Hope you find the new article helpful.If you want to dive even deeper into Facebook, you might consider reading Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, the new book from Allison Shields and me, which is also available in an iBook version.

What other tips do you have for for lawyers to make better use of Facebook?

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Celebrating the Tenth Blawgiversary of DennisKennedy.Blog

2013-02-15T12:08:19Z

Ten years ago (February 15, 2003), I launched this blog and it’s striking how much that has happened to me since can be traced to this blog.

The original post started with a reference to my favorite science fiction TV series, Babylon 5, and said:

And so it begins . . .
I realized the other day that I had first written about blogs well over a year ago. In fact, the rise of blogs was one of my 2002 predictions for legal technology in my annual legal tech predictions article. As I was working on updating my web site (http://www.denniskennedy.com), I finally decided that I had to have my own blog. Thanks to people like Jerry Lawson, Sabrina Pacifici, the Support Forum at MovableType.org, it’s finally here.

This blog, which I named DennisKennedy.Blog, was my early birthday present to myself in 2003 (my birthday is actually in two days, on the 17th). I saw it as a place to experiment with my writing and the best way to generate my own RSS feed (the feed was something I wanted much more than just a “blog” and blogging software was the easiest way to generate an RSS feed). Both of those reasons remain true today.

I also remember how, at the time, I had the feeling that whole blog thing had already happened and that I’d missed it. I’m always surprised by how much time it took me after I had started speaking and writing about blogs to launch my own blog.

One of the annual traditions on this blog is to have an extravagant blawgiversary (or blogiversary) celebration. Another thing I tend to do (which some have even criticized me for – little do they understand how close you can get to a blog after a few years) is to anthromorphize this blog.

I mention both things, because my blog has made it clear that it wants just a low-key, stay at home, no presents please blawgiversary for number 10. The blog is feeling a little introspective and contemplative on this occasion, as am I.

I will say, on my blog’s behalf, that it’s been a great ten years and we look forward to many more. There are so many people to thank and we appreciate all the readers over the years, especially those who have been reading since the beginning. We also want to give a big welcome to new readers.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

New Article: Manage App Overload on your iPad or iPhone with Folders

2013-02-14T03:42:08Z

My latest ABA Journal tech column is called “Manage app overload on your iPad or iPhone with folders.”

Most of us are starting to see a proliferation of apps, especially if you take advantage of the many free apps available. Sites like Apps Gone Free also let you know about pay apps that are free for a limited time. Before you realize it, you can have a lot of apps on your smartphones and tablet devices.

At that point, just finding apps can become an issue. You probably also wish that you could organize your apps neatly and logically.

However, accomplishing that is still not as easy as you might hope.

The column covers the basic approaches to app management – “on device” and “through iTunes.” I use iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) as the model. There are similar approaches for other mobile OSes.

There’s still plenty of room to improve app management. I’m looking forward to seeing those improvements, but, for now, it’s good to know that some basic approaches exist and will help you.

Read the entire column at “Manage app overload on your iPad or iPhone with folders”.

How do you manage all your apps?

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

New Article: Does Your Firm Have a Bring-Your-Own-Device Policy?

2013-01-23T02:51:37Z

My latest ABA Journal tech column is called “Does Your Firm Have a Bring-Your-Own-Device Policy?” The column is just a simple introduction to the two main approaches to the increasingly-common desire of employees to use work technology devices for personal purposes and personal devices for personal purposes.

The two approaches, not surprisingly, have their own acronyms – BYOD and COPE. BYOD stands for “bring your own device” and COPE stands for “company-owned, personally enabled.”

As I say in the column:

With BYOD, a separate, secure area for work data and activity is created on an employee’s personal device. In COPE, a separate area for personal data and activity is created on an employee’s otherwise securely protected work device. The concepts are simple, but the devil is in the details.

I go on to discuss the general concepts and some practical issues and questions involved in each approach.

Money quote:

The consumerization of IT is another example of how a standard technology brings up many issues about the culture of a firm, how to treat those who work for it, and the blurry line between work and home. Firms need to understand the main approaches and the vocabulary for the discussion because this trend is likely to keep gathering momentum.

Read the entire column at “Does Your Firm Have a Bring-Your-Own-Device Policy?”.

How is your firm or organization choosing between these two approaches?

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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New Article: Thirteen Mobile Collaboration Tips for 2013

2013-01-16T03:42:54Z

I have a new article out in the January issue of the Law Practice Today webzine. It’s called “Thirteen Mobile Collaboration Tips for 2013.”

As the article summary says:

The expansion of mobile technology continues to rapidly change how lawyers collaborate. To stay up to speed, think beyond gadgets and apps, and devote some time to thinking about how you can work better in the expanding mobile world. These tips will help.

The article offers practical collaboration tips that cut across a variety of platforms and are not limited to specific tools, technologies or brands. I tried to provide tips that would be useful to all – from beginners to advanced users – and give readers some questions to ask and issues to think about.

The money quote:

Get a solid understanding of where you are, find ways to help others work with you using a variety of tools and giving them multiple options, and make yourself someone people look forward to working with, no matter where you are or they are.

I expect that I’ll cover many of these tips in more detail in my upcoming presentation on mobile collaboration at ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago in April.

Hope you find the article helpful. What other tips would you have for improving mobile collaboration?

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

52 Books in 52 Weeks – 2013

2013-04-02T01:14:13Z

For the last few years, I’ve enjoyed reading the posts of several bloggers who are trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I’ve also wanted to find a good way for me to keep track of the books I’ve read. And it gives me a good reading target to shoot for.

Last year, I read 56 books.

I’m doing the same thing in 2013. My approach is the same in previous years – I’ll simply update this post from time to time throughout the year as I finish books.

I’ve enjoyed doing this challenge every year and hope you find the list useful. And I encourage you to take the challenge yourself.

As Bill Taylor says, “Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?” Challenging yourself to read 52 books is probably a good way to start to answer that question.

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

April

March

15. The March of Folly, Barbara Tuchman
14. The Aden Effect, Claude Berube
13. iPad in One Hour for Lawyers, Tom Mighell
12. Why Grow That When You Can Grow This, Andrew Keys
11. Mission to Paris, Alan Furst

February

10. Among the Islands, Tim Flannery
9. Spy the Lie, Philip Houston, Michael Floyd and Susan Carnicero
8. Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It, Geoff Dyer
7. Garment of Shadows, Laurie R. King

January

6. Naked heat, Richard Castle
5. Heat Wave, Richard Castle
4. Trust Me I’m Lying, Ryan Holiday
3. Death Without Company, Craig Johnson
2. How Music Works, David Byrne
1. Bruce, Peter Ames Carlin

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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When Will the Next Episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Podcast Appear?

2013-01-03T02:36:55Z

[Note: I’m going to continue running a Q&A series at through through January (and maybe much longer) on DennisKennedy.Blog. Details on how to submit your questions to me may be found at the end of this post.]

I am a fan of both your column and your podcast with Tom Mighell. I seem to recall that you and Tom published your podcast yourselves before moving to the Legal Talk Network. Have you and Tom considered going back to self-publishing the podcast? Alternatively, is there a chance the podcast could find a new home? – Mike Morse

The answer is: Yes, there is a 100% chance the podcast will find a new home.

Let me pre-announce that the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast (“a podcast on legal technology, with an Internet focus”) will soon return to regular production at its new home – the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. The podcast will be part of what will become a group of legal technology-related podcasts produced by and distributed through the Legal Technology Resource Center.

Tom and I are currently working on the next episode of the podcast, so we expect the relaunch to be soon, tentatively in early January.

There might also be some other announcements related to the podcast coming in the near future.

We were very sad when we learned that the Legal Talk Network had to stop production of our podcast and the other podcasts on the network, but knew that we wanted to continue. As I mentioned in my 2012 Blawggies post, the Legal Talk Network was very important in the history of law-related podcasting and it was an honor and a pleasure to be part of it. Moving to the Legal Technology Resource Center seemed like a perfect fit for us and we are pleased that we could put the relaunch together.

The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast has a long history. Tom and I launched it when we learned that we would be speaking about podcasting at the 2006 ABA TECHSHOW. We produced 6 episodes on our own. I refer to these episodes as the “lost” episodes because they were taken off the Internet and, until recently, neither Tom nor I could find backup copies. Fortunately, Tom recently found copies.

We did 93 episodes for the Legal Talk Network. I consider the episodes as some of my best work and thinking about legal technology, especially the episodes in 2012.

The mathematicians among you will realize that 6 + 93 = 99. We’[ve decided, however, to continue with the numbering of the current podcast and treat the first six as unnumbered “lost” episodes. That means the first episode of the relaunched podcast will be #94, giving us time to put together a special “hundredth show” episode.

We appreciate the patience that listeners and subscribers to the podcast have had as we make this transition, the nice notes we’ve gotten from people like Mike, and all the positive response the podcast has gotten over the years.

If you have suggestions for topics for upcoming podcast episodes or questions for us to answer on the podcast, let us know. The show notes page for the podcast is here. You can still find earlier episodes on the Legal Talk Network website and in iTunes. We expect that iTunes subscribers will not have to do anything to continue to get the new episodes.

If you have a question for me to answer, you may submit it for me through the usual channels – email at denniskennedyblog @ gmail . com, a comment left on the original post about the Q&A series, this post or a subsequent post, or through Twitter (@dkennedyblog), or whatever other way you want to reach me.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Will You Be Speaking at ABA TECHSHOW 2013?

2013-01-03T02:38:00Z

[Note: I’m running a Q&A series all the rest of December on DennisKennedy.Blog (details here).]

Will You Be Speaking at ABA TECHSHOW?

The answer is: Yes, I have been invited to speak at two sessions. I definitely want to make my return to ABA TECHSHOW after the blood clot in my leg last spring forced me to cancel my trip to ABA TECHSHOW 2012.

ABA TECHSHOW 2013 will be held April 4 – 6, 2013. If you are interested in learning practical ways lawyers can use technology better, it’s the place to be.

On Thursday, April 4, from 2:00 to 3:00, I’ll be co-presenting with Allison Shields a session called “Leveraging LinkedIn & Finagling Facebook: Building Relevance on Leading Social Media.” It’s on the Social Media Track and is labeled for an “Intermediate” audience. Here’s the description from the schedule:

LinkedIn is no longer just “the professional’s” social network any more than Facebook is just the “personal” social network. The volume of users and traffic requires that you market to both. Learn how to derive value from both of these essential platforms. Explore the differences, identify necessary information to complete profiles, and learn valuable insights into the best features. Review tools to maximize the benefits of these services, and acquire up-to-date information needed to customize privacy settings to avoid ethical pitfalls.

I wanted to be clear that I wouldn’t have chosen the word “finagling” to use in this title and am not quite sure how it’s being used, but let’s agree to use the word in the sense of one of its dictionary meanings: “to plan out usually with subtle skill or care.” Maybe we can get the title changed.

Allison and I plan to share as many practical insights and tips from our Facebook and LinkedIn “In One Hour” books as time will permit, so you should get especially good value from the the session.

The second session I’m scheduled for will be with Patrick Crowley and is simply called “Mobile Collaboration.” It will be on Friday, April 5, from 2:30 to 3:30. It’s labeled for an “Introductory” audience. Here’s the description:

Technology can cut the costs of working with others in a variety of locations, locally or abroad. Google+ Hangouts, Facetime, Google Drive, Cloud Connect, SharePoint and others can help you not just keep in touch, but collaborate with other lawyers in your firm, co-counsel, or clients in real time. Learn how you can utilize your mobile device to provide better service to your clients by sharing documents, developing ideas, and boosting your productivity whether you’re in or out of the office.

I have written a new article about mobile collaboration that is scheduled to appear in the Law Practice Today webzine in January. Mobile collaboration will be one of the hot topics in legal tech in 2013, so I’m excited to get the chance to speak at this session.

Although not yet finalized, I’m expecting to be co-hosting a Taste of TECHSHOW dinner event with Allison Shields with a social media theme and another with Tom Mighell, probably with a future of legal technology theme. Watch for the opportunity to sign up for the dinners on the TECHSHOW website.

Note that there is a mobile app for TECHSHOW available and you can follow Twitter posts about TECHSHOW by searching Twitter for the #ABATECHSHOW hashtag.

Hope to see you there. If you are a reader of this blog, please introduce yourself. I always enjoy speaking with readers of my blog.

If you have a question for me to answer in this series, you may submit it for me through the usual channels – email at denniskennedyblog @ gmail . com, a comment left on the original post about the Q&A series, this post or a subsequent post, or through Twitter (@dkennedyblog), or whatever other way you want to reach me.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Announcing the 2012 Blawggie Awards

2012-12-22T20:23:03Z

Welcome to the 2012 edition of Dennis Kennedy’s annual Best of Law-related Blogging Awards, affectionately known as the “Blawggies.”

The Blawggies, which honor the best law-related blogs as determined from my personal and highly-opinionated perspective, were first unleashed on an unsuspecting blogosphere in December 2004 and are an annual tradition here at DennisKennedy.Blog.

This ninth edition of the awards makes them the longest running annual awards list for law-related blogs selected by a lawyer named Dennis Kennedy living in St. Louis, Missouri. What was originally just a crazy idea turned into a bit of an institution in the world of law-related blogging.

I’ve included some explanatory and historical information about the Blawggies at the end of this post. As I’ve said before and explain in more detail at the end of this post, the Blawggies are not based on any popular votes, surveys or, God forbid, objective criteria. I choose the winners from only the blogs I read regularly. They are highly-opinionated choices made by me alone as I write this post.

Executive Summary.

Spoiler Alert In this era of short attention spans, many people, especially lawyers, do not like three thousand word posts such as this one. Even fewer like long introductions to long blog posts, or reading through commentary to learn the award winners. What follows is the executive summary list of winners. If you’d like to keep up the level of suspense, you’ll want to scroll quickly past the summary list. If all you really want to know is whether I mention you or your blawg, hit control-F (or command- F for Mac users) and search for your name or your blawg’s name.

Here’s the list of the award winners. I will encourage you to read the whole post for details and the runner-up choices, and my thoughts about the blawgs. And I definitely encourage you to add the RSS feeds to all of these blogs to your Google Reader (or other RSS reader) or “regularly-visited blogs” list.

2012 Blawggie Award Categories and Winners.

1. Best Overall Law-Related Blog – Jordan Furlong’s Law21.ca
2. The “Marty Schwimmer” Best Practice-Specific Legal Blog – Marty Schwimmer’s The Trademark Blog
3. Best Law Practice Management Blog – Steven B. Levy’s Lexician Blog
4. Best Law-related Blog Category – Law Librarian Blogs
5. The “Kennedy-Mighell Report” Best Legal Podcast – Lu Ann Reeb’s Legal Talk Network
6. The “Sherry Fowler” Best Writing on a Blawg Award – Evan Schaeffer’s Beyond the Underground
7. Best Law Professor Blog – Paul Caron’s The TaxProf Blog
8. The “DennisKennedy.Blog” Best Legal Technology Blog – Jeff Richardson’s iPhone J.D.
9. Best New Blawg – MoFo Tech Blog
10. Best Blawg Aggregator – Pinhawk Law Technology Daily Digest

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I encourage you to keep reading this post to learn about the winning blogs (and why I felt that they were winners) and about the runners-up.

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THE 2012 BLAWGGIE AWARDS

1. Best Overall Law-Related Blog – Law21.ca

Jordan Furlong’s Law21 blog was the runner-up in the “best overall” category and it just made sense to move it up to the top spot this year. As I said last year, Jordan covers law practice and the legal professions with insight, creativity and a willingness to challenge business-as-usual approaches. The typical post is a thoughtful, well-written meditation on the changing landscape for the practice of law. He makes you think. This year, Jordan has offered great perspectives on legal education and many of the trends lawyers and law firms must come to terms with – soon. Always a pleasure to read, I can’t recommend this blog highly enough.

Runner-up – Ride the Lightning – I’ve really enjoyed Sharon Nelson’s Ride the Lightning blog this year. Sharon’s a longtime friend of mine and I like the way her writing captures her voice. She focuses on computer security and ediscovery, but has branched out in privacy and other areas. Her post on digital estate planning got a lot of deserved attention and got many people thinking about that important subject.

2. The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Blog – The Trademark Blog

Perceptive readers will note that this category is named for Marty Schwimmer, whose The Trademark Blog, has long been my gold standard for what a practice-specific blog should be. As I thought about this category this year, I came to the conclusion that Marty’s blog really is the best practice-specific blog this year. Marty is one of the original lawyer bloggers (blogging for more than ten years) and The Trademark Blog continues to have great energy and wit, while providing great information about trademark and related issues and developments. It’s a great example of a blawg that can be enjoyed by those who don’t even practice in the trademark field. If you are writing a blawg, you’ll want to read Marty’s blawg to get ideas about how improve your blawg. If you have trademark questions or want to learn more about trademarks, you will quickly realize that Marty is the go-to-guy on trademark.

Runner-up – The Contracts Guy Blog – I wanted to recognize the good work of a fellow lawyer in St. Louis. Brian Rogers’ The Contracts Guy Blog is a great example of a niche practice blog that provides useful and practical information on a specific topic, in this case contracts law with a Missouri focus. Brian has a corporate law practice and, as an in-house counsel, I appreciate how his blog reflects the concerns of corporate counsel and business people. It’s another good example of how to create an effective practice-specific blawg.

3. Best Law Practice Management Blog – Steven B. Levy’s Lexician Blog

There are so many great law practice management blogs out there that it’s difficult for me to choose just one. However, Steven B. Levy’s Lexician Blog emerged as my winner. Steven focuses on the very important area od legal project management and incorporates his technology experiences and insights gained from working at Microsoft earlier in his career. This blog has the consistent posting of thoughtful and though-provoking material that I find so appealing. If you aren’t familiar with the legal project management trend, this blog is where you want to start.

Runners-up – Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Management Tips Blog; Allison Shields’ LegalEase Blog; 3 Geeks and a Law Blog; Adam Smith, Esq. – So many great blogs in this category and so many had great 2012s. I picked the four runners-up to highlight some of the best and give you a way to sample the great content and different approaches out there. I especially want to congratulate Allison, who was able to keep a steady flow of great posts going this year while writing two books with me.

4. Best Law-related Blog Category – Law Librarian Blogs

I use this category annually to highlight the blogs written by law librarians, a category that I don’t think gets enough attention. These blogs are places to find great information, help for finding information, links to great resources and just plain interesting insights into topics like knowledge management and our changing world of information. If you want to try just one, Sabrina Pacifici’s BeSpacific Blog provides a steady stream of links to great US government and other information. The Law Librarian Blog is a great starting place and there’s a great list of law library blogs here.

Runner-up – Non-US Law-related Blogs – I also use this category to remind people that blawgging is a global phenomenon. As longtime readers know, I’m a huge fan of Canadian bloggers. As I’ve said before, “If you only have US blogs on your reading list, you need to go global.” Diversity is a good thing. Why not start in Canada? The annual Clawbie awards will give you a starter list.

5. The Kennedy-Mighell Report Best Legal Podcast – Lu Ann Reeb’s Legal Talk Network

I was tempted to give The Kennedy-Mighell Report the actual award this year, but I knew that would embarrass Tom. However, I really thought our podcast had a great year, with many great topics. We’re on a short hiatus with the podcast, as I’ll explain shortly, but expect to announce the re-start of the podcast in the very near future.

This year’s award is an emotional one for me. As you probably know, Lu Ann Reed had to shutter the Legal Talk Network family of podcasts this fall (see Bob Ambrogi’s post about the last Lawyer 2 Lawyer podcast). I could not have enjoyed my relationship with the Legal Talk Network (and working with Lu Ann, Kate Kinney, Mike Hochmann, Scott Hess and others at LTN) any more and I’ll always remember the call I got from Lu Ann wanting to know if Tom and I would bring our podcast to LTN. LTN played a huge role in the history of legal podcasting and set a standard of professionalism that raised the bar for legal podcasts. Most important to me, Lu Ann was able to provide a platform to make legal issues accessible to lawyers and the public and developed a great list of podcasting talent. It was a sad day to learn about what was happening this fall, but what a body of work and a legacy. The archive is still available, so start downloading the episodes that interest you most. Lu Ann, you are the greatest.

6. The Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Blawg Award – Evan Schaeffer’s Beyond the Underground –

I’m a big fan of the pure writing ability of some of the best blawggers. I named this award after the legal blogger who had the biggest influence on my blog writing, Sherry “Scheherezade” Fowler (who hasn’t been a lawyer blogger for many years). This is my favorite of the Blawggies, my most-opinionated award, and the one I historically get most criticized for. The bottom line: I like the writing I like.

This fall, longtime blawgger Evan Schaeffer sent me a copy of his new book, How to Feed a Lawyer: And Other Irreverent Observations from the Legal Underground (Disclosure: link is through my Amazon Affiliate account and may generate income to me), which is a collection of some of his blog posts over the years and includes many of his classic blog series about traits of lawyers. The book is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was great to revisit those early posts and re-experience them.

It also made me think about how many of the early blawgger were/are excellent writers. Evan is a classic example. I often tell people that my blog was an “experiment in writing” where I could try new things. Evan always took an experimental and writerly approach and it’s fascinating to see the posts collected together and remember the buzz at the time when I would be reading these great posts on a regular basis from Evan. The Legal Underground blog (as it was formerly named) became quite popular, especially with law students. The humor in the posts is still very funny.

It’s also interesting to see how today the advice to bloggers is to stay on topic, think carefully about what you post, follow standard formats, keep posts short and the like. In the early days of blawgging, those rules definitely did not exist. Yet, blawgs became quite popular even though they broke all of today’s rules. Something to think about, no? You definitely have to check out Evan’s blog. And he’s another St. Louis blawgger.

Runner-up – Jane Genova’s Law and More – Topical, opinionated, wide-ranging, thoughtful and well-written, the Law and More blog is one that I just enjoy reading every day.

7. Best Law Professor Blog – Paul Caron’s The TaxProf Blog

The Blawggies have always had a spot for the best law professor blog. In part, it’s my little effort to bridge the great divide between practicing lawyers and law professors.

I have a repeat winner here and it’s a great blog to read as we approach the fiscal cliff. As I said last year, the test of a great blog is how it keeps me returning to it time after time because of its great posts when it’s outside my subject matter. The topic here is U.S. tax, but Paul ventures into the real word with regular, thoughtful posts. It’s a blog with an academic focus and a a real world impact. My greatest compliment: reading this blog makes me want to take a class from Paul. I hope he’s thinking about doing some online courses.

Runner-up – Legal Skills Prof Blog – Yes, I know, I’m involved in this one, but I don’t post very often, so I can pretend to be objective. This blog has great coverage of the current debate about what needs to be done with the current approach to legal education and what law schools are doing in the area of skills education.

8. The DennisKennedy.Blog Best Legal Technology Blog – Jeff Richardson’s iPhone J.D.

I own an iPhone, an iPad (that will probably go to my wife or daughter soon) and an iPad Mini. I enjoy reading Jeff Richardson’s iPhone J.D. every day. It’s another of example of how a blogger can cover a niche topic and become a “go to” resource. Jeff does a great job of covering the iOS waterfront from the perspective of the practicing lawyer. Jeff provides news, tips, apps and hardware recommendations and more.

Runners-up – Tie, V. Mary Abraham’s Above and Beyond KM; Ron Friedmann’s Strategic Legal Technology; The TechnoLawyer Blog – Again, a category with lots of great choices. Ron’s blog won this category last year. We have similar interests in and perspectives on legal technology and he’s great at posting about issues that intrigue me, like outsourcing, strategy and bigger issues. I have long been interested in knowledge management and Mary’s blog has done an excellent job this year of covering KM and related topics, with coverage of tech conference, too. It’s another great example of a blogger posting thoughtful and thought-provoking content on a regular basis. The TechnoLawyer Blog covers technology issues from a practitioner’s perspective with a focus on practical and helpful material. It’s also the external portal for you to enter all of the great resources at TechnoLawyer.

[Note: I used to give my own blog this award every year, in part because of the attribution issue I talk about in this post and in part because I thought some of my blogging friends got a laugh out of it. They did, but others didn't, and, instead, I started the tradition of naming the award for my blog rather than having my blog win it. I still get some criticism for that, and my friends laugh even more at that. Or maybe they just like to laugh at me.]

9. Best New Blawg – MoFo Tech Blog

Last year, I was disappointed that I didn’t have a new blawg to highlight. This year, I have a winner and a runner-up, so there seems to be new life in the blawg world. I did notice an increase in law firm group blogs this year and Tom Mighell certainly did not run out new blogs for his Blawg of the Day feature.

This year’s winner is the MoFo Tech Blog from the Morrison & Foerster law firm. Again, this choice reflects my own subject matter interest, but it’s also a good example of a group blog from a prominent law firm on a specific niche, in this case technology law. I like the coverage of the technology industry, intellectual property issues and much more. However, I especially like the name of the blog. It seems that many lawyers and law firms have doubts about what names they can use, whether they can use pictures of judges, court houses or dogs on their websites and whether and how they can use social media. There’s a general concern about what kind of “professional” image lawyers and firms must project. Amidst all that, Morrison & Foerster brands to the “MoFo” name and strides boldly across this part of the legal ethics and discipline landscape like a, well, like a mofo brandishing the MoFo brand. I admire that. And I admire their tech blog, too.

Runner-up – Law Technology Today The Law Technology Today blog is a new blog that I’ll be a small part of (one post a month) from the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center. I’m also on the LTRC Board. Hmm, perhaps I’m a little biased on this choice. Josh Poje got the blog launched and we’ve assembled a stellar cast of legal tech experts to contribute regular posts. This blog should become a must read for anyone interested in the use of technology in the practice of law.

10. Best Blawg Aggregator – Pinhawk Law Technology Daily Digest

Here’s a daily email newsletter in which Jeff Brandt highlights three or four blawg posts on legal tech and summarizes and comments on them. Jeff’s comments are witty, perceptive and generally great, and I enjoy reading them everyday. His eye for selection is also great. In a world where no one likes to get more email, this free email newsletter is one that you will want to have.

And there you have it – the 2012 Blawggie Awards.

I wish I could give awards to all the blawgs (and blogs) I like, but this post is already long enough (another Blawggie tradition). Once again, I encourage you to create your own awards (although I’d prefer that you not call them Blawggies – that makes me feel that you don’t read my blog).

When it really comes down to it, the Blawggies are really my way of saying thank you to the blawgs I enjoy most. There are times when blogging can seem like a thankless pursuit, so remember that all bloggers welcome a thank you from readers from time to time.

Some Background on the Blawggies.

The Blawggies are not based on any popular votes, surveys or, God forbid, objective criteria. They are highly-opinionated choices made by me alone, based on my experience, expertise and likes and dislikes gained from nearly ten years of blogging and from reading blogs voraciously for a good number of years before that.

The reactions to the Blawggies have traditionally run the gamut from “who does this guy think he is?” to “if he’s so smart about blawgs, why didn’t he give my blawg an award?” to “who is Dennis Kennedy?”

I used to get some criticism for giving myself awards or naming awards after me on this list (in fact, I still do), but, as I’ve explained before, most of the reason for that stems from my longtime experience of seeing lists I made republished without attribution or linkbacks. Adding myself to the list is a way to make sure that someone finds his or her way back to my work if the list is “repurposed.”

I’ve always wanted to do three things with the Blawggie awards:

1. To highlight the law-related blogs I read and like and to say thank you to those who write them.
2. To direct my readers to the law-related blogs I enjoy.
3. To prompt others to give their own awards so I can learn about other blogs I should be reading.

From the beginning, I expected that many bloggers would pick up on the idea and write their own awards posts. After all, there is no barrier to entry for posting your own awards. I thought that I could then get great recommendations for blogs to add to my reading list from other awards posts in much the same way you can get great recommendations for new music to listen to from the “best of the year” posts by music bloggers that appear at this time of year.

As I’ve said before, “When you realize that there is no reason that you can’t simply post your own awards, you move you from merely blogging to becoming a Blogger with a capital ‘B.’”

The best response to my list is to post your own list, although I do invite your comments and discussion about my list.

The Blawggie-winning Criteria.

I like blogs with (1) consistently useful content, (2) a generous and helpful approach, and (3) a combination of commitment, personality and talent, with an emphasis on good writing. In other words, I like blogs that compel me to read them on a regular basis.

The awards necessarily reflect my many biases and personal preferences, which are far too numerous to list here.

It’s very important to remember that the awards also reflect the blawgs I actually read. While I read a lot of law-related blogs, the number of blawgs I read continues to decrease and the number of non-law-related blogs I read increases. Also, the blawgs I do read are concentrated in my areas of interest and day-to-day focus.

I’m a transactional lawyer, who focuses on information technology law, legal technology and law practice management issues. For better or worse, I’m simply not familiar with most litigation-oriented, criminal defense, regulatory or other specialized blogs. You get the idea.

A Word about the Name “Blawggies.”

Among the historic documents of law-related blogging are a series of emails in which Denise Howell (@dhowell), blogging pioneer and coiner of the term “blawg,” and I had on the question whether “Blawggies” (as well as “blawgger” and “blawgging”) should be spelled with one or two “gs”. As a result, I’m pretty confident of the correct spelling, although I’m seeing more of the single “g” approach lately.

I use the word “blawg” in the sense of “law-related blogs.” I find “lawyer blogs” or “legal blogs” to be limiting and inaccurate for what I want to cover.

All best wishes for 2013.

Dennis

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

What Tech Gifts Do You Recommend for Techie Lawyers (and Others)?

2012-12-20T02:14:15Z

[Note: I’m running a Q&A series all the rest of December on DennisKennedy.Blog (details here).]

What Tech Gifts Do You Recommend for Techie Lawyers (and Others)?

The answer is: Normally, I don’t make these kinds of recommendations, leaving that task in the excellent hands of people like Reid Trautz, who has posted the latest edition of his annual gift guide for lawyers.

However, there is one item that I see as the must have for techie lawyers, especially those who travel a lot. It’s perfect for all of my friends who speak regularly on legal tech and have so many gadgets and chargers that their hotel rooms look like they are decorated with Christmas lights.

Here it is.

Ok, admit it, I made you laugh. However, I really do think a sleep mask is great for travel.

Before I give me some of my general thoughts, let me recommend the gift guide that Allison Shields posted, which links to a number of tech gift guides, including the 2012 Holiday Tech Toys podcast from Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway, an annual tradition.

Here are a few of my thoughts.

It’s difficult to give (or receive in some cases) tech gifts, especially as tech has become so much more personal. For example, I’m really liking my iPad Mini and would thoroughly recommend it, if it fits your use case. However, giving it as a gift is tricky because the amount of memory that makes sense will vary from person to person. It’s nice to get an iPod, iPad or other device, but if it doesn’t have enough memory or isn’t in the color you want, it’s not quite as nice as you hope it would be. It’s best to determine what your gift recipient really wants, which takes away the surprise element.

Headphones are another example of a tech gift where people have certain ideas and requirements in mind. I have a collections of headphones and earphones, each of which has a specific use. That said, I’ll put in a good word for the MEElectronics M6-BK-MEE Sport Noise-Isolating In-Ear Headphones with Memory Wire that I use when I work out. Great price, good sound and they stay in my ears well and block out music and other sounds in the fitness center where I work out.

I tend to take a practical approach to tech and I think that approach works really well for tech gifts. For the techies on your list, I’d suggest the practical stuff, things like cables, chargers, connectors and the like. You really can never have enough, especially if you speak and travel. External hard drives and higher capacity USB drives will always be appreciated – you can’t have too many.

For the tech speaker on your list, the hottest thing among speakers is using an Apple TV and Airplay so you can present wirelessly with an iPad. They’ll be happy to see an Apple TV.

A gift card to buy some apps is another good idea.

Not surprisingly, I also recommend one or more of the reasonably-priced “In One Hour” books from the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section. I’ve ready many of them and you can pick topics that interest your gift recipient. I especially like the ones of LinkedIn and Facebook, but I might be a little biased.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Would You Explain #gas and #bikeride?

2012-12-19T04:11:15Z

[Note: I’m running a Q&A series all the rest of December on DennisKennedy.Blog (details here).]

Would You Explain #gas and #bikeride?

The answer is: Yes, I’d be happy to explain my use of #gas and #bikeride on Twitter and Facebook. They are good examples of what are known as hashtags.

If you follow me on Twitter (@denniskennedy) or are a Friend of mine on Facebook (you know who you are), you will occasionally see updates from me that look like:

#gas – Webster Groves, MO Circle K – $2.95, regular
or
#bikeride – today, 15 miles

I’ve been doing this for several years, as I’ll explain, as a Twitter experiment. They all start out as tweets on Twitter. After I linked my Facebook account to Twitter, they are automatically posted to Facebook as updates as soon as I tweet them on Twitter.

So, what do they mean?

First, we need to talk about “hashtags.” Hashtags are a Twitter phenomenon, although they are used in other places as well. See the Wikipedia explanation of hashtags.

Hashtags serve several purposes. I’ll illustrate this using Twitter as my example.

The most interesting purpose, at least to me, is they represent a form of self-organization to facilitate the search of tweets and an informal form of tagging. People found that if they put a # symbol (pound sign or hash) at the front of a word (or set of words), it became much easier to use Twitter Search to find tweets that were intended to be related to a topic. The hashtag term provided a focused subset of tweets intended to address a specific topic. Many hashtags grow organically and arise out of events (#hurricane, #earthquake, #tsunami, et al.). In a short time, people will include the hashtag in tweets as they post news, resources and other information about the event or topic. The hashtag term produces more “on topic” tweets and reduces “noise” that you get with searches on the term itself.

To see how this works, do a quick Twitter search on “bears” and then on “#bears.”

This usage of hashtags is fascinating in the case of breaking events, and can help you evaluate “news” you get critically. These types of hashtags can relate to almost anything (sports teams, TV shows, bands) and they tend to develop a quasi-officialness. If you want to see comments and participate in the conversation while watching a TV show, you’ll want to search on #topchef rather than top chef.

A second purpose of hashtags is the “official” or promoted form of hashtag. It’s an extension of the idea of the first use I described. A great example is a conference where the conference organizers will encourage people to use the official hashtag (e.g., #abatechshow) rather than other variations. You might have even noticed ads that include a reference to an official hashtag. These hashtags work in the same way to help people use the search function to find relevant tweets.

A third purpose of hashtags is a kind of “meta” usage. In these cases, the hashtag is used as a comment, often ironic, about the contents of the tweet. For me, this harkens back to the early days of HTML when people would use non-functioning HTML tags to make comments (e.g., comment). Hashtags can be used in a similar way – #joking or #sarcasm. There are some classic hashtags that express frustration or other emotions – #FAIL. Some hashtags can get very meta and comment on the tweet – “thingsnobodywouldsay.” In other words, they attempt to add depth and nuance to a 140 character form of expression. It’s interesting stuff.

Which brings me to #gas and #bikeride.

The original source of #gas for me was Marty “The Trademark Blog” Schwimmer. We had been talking about the “Internet of Things” and how people might act as sensors or nodes for certain types of data that could be collected and aggregated via Twitter. Marty suggested that people around the country (or world) could tweet the price of gas, use the #gas hashtag when they did so, and then we all could use the Twitter search function to see what prices were elsewhere, see patterns, track changing prices, et al.

I loved this idea and told Marty he was brilliant. Interestingly, Marty convinced me to do this, but didn’t convince himself. For quite a few years, I’ve tweeted gas prices when I’ve filled up my car. When I connected Twitter and Facebook, these #gas tweets populated my Facebook updates, generally confusing my friends. I should have, and probably will, decouple my Twitter account from Facebook, but haven’t done so yet.

However, I’ve found that the #gas posts have an interesting effect. I went to ABA TECHSHOW a couple of years ago, In the first hour I was there, four or five people told me the gas prices in their area and comment on relative prices by geographic region. I’ve also had people locally tell me that they’ve saved money by remembering the price I’d posted and avoiding higher prices elsewhere.

#bikeride is a simple idea. I wanted to keep a record of the mileage I’d ridden for myself and share it with a few friends. I decided to experiment with the hashtag on Twitter as a way to do that and noticed that other cyclists used the same hashtag.

I post my mileage after I ride and sometimes make a note about weather or route. Again, it starts in Twitter and automatically goes to Facebook. #bikeride is actually something that has outlived its usefulness for me as a tracking tool because I use an iPhone app I really like called Endomondo to record and store my rides.

I keep doing the #bikeride tweets, however, because they also have had an interesting effect. I’ve found other friends who ride bikes. I’ve had people tell me that I’ve inspired them to start riding. I’ve had people ask me advice about buying bikes.

Anyway, that’s the long answer. Both are hashtag experiments. Both have had intriguing results. I’m curious whether others have had memorable results from using hashtags.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Will You Be Writing a 2012 or 2013 Legal Tech Trends Article?

2012-12-14T01:06:21Z

[Note: I’m running a Q&A series all the rest of December on DennisKennedy.Blog (details here).]

Will You Be Writing a 2012 or 2013 Legal Tech Trends Article?

The answer is: No. Well, maybe if someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, I’d think about it, but I still think I’d say no.

I get this question fairly often around the end of the year. It used to be an annual tradition for me to write an article summarizing the most important legal tech trends I found in the preceding year or make predictions about the next year. I’ve drifted away from that practice for a number of reasons:

1. Tom Mighell and I typically cover this topic in an episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast (an example). In fact, we’ve already talked about covering this topic in an upcoming episode.

2. I had gotten into the habit of matching the number of trends to the year (12 Trends for 2012?) and the number of trends simply got to be too large for me to attempt. (See my 2008 article)

3. Too many of the people I respect in legal tech said either that the trends are really the same as the previous year or that there was nothing really eye-openingly new. For example, I’m not sure that saying predictive coding or technology-assisted review in e-discovery is really something that would not have been said for the last several years. It doesn’t really feel new to me. Social media? Cloud? Those topics have been around for quite a while. I’m reluctant to write an article that simply says some things I’ve mentioned before are still around and haven’t made much progress.

4. I don’t really have a regular writing outlet these that makes sense for an article like that, and it would be a very long blog post (even by my standards).

With a couple of possible exceptions, legal tech seems like a sleepy area lately. The agendas for legal tech shows (with the exception of tablets and apps) look a lot like they did a few years back. Those observations, unfortunately, would make for a rather sleepy legal tech trends article. It’s more fun for me, and more interesting for you, that Tom and I cover the topic in the podcast format rather than that I write an article.

I am, however, definitely interested in what others see as the hot, significant trends and whether people disagree with my overall assessment.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Will There Be Blawggie Awards in 2012?

2012-12-13T03:16:20Z

[Note: I’m running a Q&A series all the rest of December on DennisKennedy.Blog (details here).]

Will there be Blawggie Awards in 2012?

The answer is: Yes, I think so. In fact, I’m pretty sure there will be. Probably on the usual date: December 20. I suspect that I’ll have a smaller list of awards and less-expansive commentary than in the past, but you never know.

I started the Blawggie Awards for best law-related bogs back in 2004. 2012 will be the 9th edition of the Blawggies, making them, as I like to say, the longest-running set of awards for law-related blogging presented by a lawyer blogger named Dennis Kennedy located in St. Louis, MO.

I started the Blawggies because I wanted to acknowledge the blogs I read every day and really liked, and I wanted to see if you could just announce your own set of awards on your blog and people would take them seriously. Blogging is about experimenting.

Over the years, the Blawggies have become something of an institution. As I’ve often said, the reactions to the Blawggies have varied greatly, with a common reaction being “Who is this guy and why does he think he can give awards?” On the other hand, the Blawggies have actually inspired some other annual legal blogging awards. One of my goals with the Blawggies has always been to help people find great blogs to read.

I occasionally get asked if someone can nominate a blog (OK, surprisingly, it’s often their own they have in mind) for consideration for the Blawggies. Unfortunately, the main criterion for the awards is that I actually read the blogs on a regular basis, so the idea of nomination doesn’t really make sense. However, I don’t mind if you mention some law-related blogs in the comments that you think are especially good and that you’d like to bring to the attention of readers of this blog.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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It’s Q & A Time for Rest of December at DennisKennedy.Blog

2012-12-12T02:08:04Z

One of my longtime traditions at DennisKennedy.Blog is answering audience questions. This approach lets me catch up publicly on questions from readers I get by email, comments and otherwise and encourages current readers (like you) to ask their own questions.

It also gives me starting points for new blog posts. It’s been a little difficult for me to get back into the rhythm of blogging after the death of my mother last month (thank you everyone who sent their condolences and a big thank you especially to Rev. Bill Haworth at the Garrett Presbyterian Church ) and I’ve had a lot of other things going on as well.

Blogging has had to take a bit of a backseat lately, although I haven’t totally disappeared – some new articles from me that have appeared lately include: Talkin’ Tools: Smartphones, Tablets Walk the Walk, ‘Facing’ It: It Can Be Worth It to Join the Social Media Giant and, with Allison Shields, When lawyers ‘like’ Facebook: Using the site to attract and maintain clients. I’ve also been posting on Twitter and elsewhere on social media.

So, I’ve decided to run a new round of the Q & A format for this blog until at least the end of the month (perhaps longer, if the approach is popular).

The approach is simple. I’ll dip into the questions I’ve already gotten throughout the last few months and readers like you may submit questions for me through the usual channels – email at denniskennedyblog @ gmail . com, a comment left on this post or a subsequent post, or through Twitter (@dkennedyblog), or whatever other way you want to reach me.

As a general matter, I would expect the questions to be about legal technology and related topics (including blogging and social media, law practice management, and future of law practice), but feel free to ask about anything. I also hope others use the comments section to have conversations around the questions and answers.

As usual, I reserve the right not to answer all questions or, more likely, to answer an easier version of the question you ask me. Historically, I haven’t included names of the questioners and probably won’t this time either, but, if you are OK with me using your name, let me know that in your communication with your question.

It should be fun. Let me know what’s on your mind.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Law Technology Today Post – LinkedIn Endorsements

2012-12-01T00:49:56Z

The ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center is now part of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section and I’m on the LTRC board this year. We have some great plans and be sure to keep an eye on LTRC over the next few months as we launch some new initiatives.

One of the things I’ll be doing is contributing at least one guest blog post each month to the Law Technology Today blog, which I recommend subscribing to in Google Reader or your other favorite RSS reader if you have any interest in legal technology at all (which you must, if you are reading this blog).

My first guest post appeared today and it’s called “‘Liking’ Your Connections with the New LinkedIn Endorsements.” Not surprisingly, it’s about the new LinkedIn “Endorsement” feature that makes it it easy to acknowledge the skills of your LinkedIn connections. I like the new feature so far. Check out the post to see why.

There will be a stellar cast of guest bloggers on Law Technology Today, so I definitely recommend it to your attention and to your regular reading list.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Evelyn Kennedy (1936 – 2012)

2012-11-05T22:13:44Z

My Mom, Evelyn Kennedy, passed away this afternoon after a long, courageous and inspiring battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Your thoughts and prayers for our family would be appreciated.

A picture from last July:

American Parkinson Disease Association

Michael J. Fox Foundation

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Will Lawyers Always Be Late Adopters? – New Podcast

2012-10-25T00:53:30Z

I’ve seen and heard a couple of things recently about lawyers using (and not using) technology that left me shaking my head. Tom and I decided that gave us a good reason to talk about whether lawyers are really late adopters of technology in the newest episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal Talk Network. This episode is called “Will Lawyers Always Be Late Adopters?.”

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and receive new episodes automatically. The show notes site for the podcast is at TKMReport.com.

Here’s the description for this episode:

EPISODE #93

#93. Will Lawyers Always Be Late Adopters?
Lawyers are known as notorious late adopters of technology. Is that a fair characterization? Of course it is. What makes lawyers so cautious about new technologies? Will lawyers always be late adopters? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss some recent experiences that have reinforced the idea that lawyers are late adopters, the reasons people do and do not adopt new technologies, and practical ways for lawyers to think about moving to new technologies. Podcast here

In large part, this episode was inspired by a picture a friend posted of a computer in a law office running a DOS program. We had also seen two recent blog posts about technology adoption that we thought made some good points about technology adoption: Michael Sampson’s “Why is New Technology Not Adopted?” and Jared Spool’s “Why People Adopt Or Wait For New Technology.” I highly recommend both posts and we discuss them in the podcast and offer a few observations of our own. If you are interested in legal tech, I think you’ll enjoy this episode. We hope it starts a few conversations.

If you haven’t listened to the podcast before or in a while, give this one a listen and then subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

If you have topics you’d like us to cover on the podcast or questions we can answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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My ABA Journal Tech Columns

2012-10-12T02:03:43Z

Someone recently asked me if all of my monthly American Bar Association Journal articles are collected in one place.

They aren’t, but I wanted see if I could create a link to saved search that would, as a practical matter, let people see them all in one place. (Here’s the link.)

When I did that, I noticed that I am fast approaching 5 years of writing the column. It first appeared in November 2007.

I remember how excited I was to get the call from Ed Adams about taking over the tech column. It’s a great list of topics that the columns have covered and my editor, Reg Davis, has been, if I may use the word, awesome to work with over the years.

The idea of the column is to write in a very practical way about a useful technology audience in a way that potentially appeals to all lawyers who read the ABA Journal. That can be a challenge, to put it mildly, but I always have fun writing the column. I’ve also enjoyed the comments most of the columns have generated. Well, except maybe the comments taking me to task for not covering everything about a topic in the 600 words I have to address the topic.

Anyway, here’s a link to a saved search that will take you to all the articles I’ve written for the ABA Journal (link).

I’ve been vowing to update the list of all my articles over the years, but I haven’t made much progress. However, you can go to the “Articles” category archive on this blog to find many of my articles. I’ve also been toying with the idea of putting together a selection of my best articles and blog posts as a low-priced or free ebook. Let me know if you might have any interest in that so I can gauge the potential interest and audience.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Living in a Public Beta – New Podcast

2012-10-12T01:32:16Z

Does it seem lately like you’re the subject of more and more technology experiments? Tom and I discuss a topic many people have been wondering about lately in the newest episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal Talk Network. This episode is called “Living in a Public Beta.”

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and receive new episodes automatically. The show notes site for the podcast is at TKMReport.com.

Here’s the description for this episode:

EPISODE #92

#92. Living in a Public Beta
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about what many see as Apple’s stumble with its maps application in iOS 6. Bryan Wolfe on AppAdvice.com recently asked “Did I Miss The Memo From Apple Making Us All Beta Testers?” From operating systems to software to apps to web services, we often find that new products and services don’t’ quite feel finished. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss changing expectations in a world of fast and frequent software releases and updates, the challenge for lawyers wanting stability with their technology, and ways to cope with what feels like living in a giant public beta test. Podcast here

Bryan Wolfe’s post raises some interesting questions about our expectations about software and web services, our expectations about completed versions, the evolution of software, need for upgrades, and today’s software development methods and processes. Tom and I don’t have any definitive answer (although I felt like I used the word “tolerance” quite a few times). It was a fun episode to record and we hope it starts some discussion. As always, let us know if you have questions or comments.

If you haven’t listened to the this one a listen and then subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

If you have topics you’d like us to cover on the podcast or questions we can answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Twitter Talk – My Latest ABA Journal Column

2012-10-09T02:30:19Z

My latest ABA Journal tech column is called “Twitter Talk: Its Search and Trends Can Keep You Up to Speed.” The column provides some practical pointers on ways lawyers can benefit from using Twitter without the need to learn how to “tweet.”

In my experience speaking to lawyers, Twitter is the social media platform lawyers have the most difficulty seeing where the value might be. In this column, I focused on the non-tweeting side of twitter – search and trends.

I cover the basic details and highlight ways lawyers have used and might use Twitter search and trends. I’ve long used these tools and have always found them valuable. I always encourage lawyers to experiment with search and trends before they write off Twitter as something that makes no sense for them. You should do that too – you might be surprised at how much you can learn by using Twitter without actually tweeting.

Money quote:

Even if tweeting does not make sense for you, Twitter Search and trends as monitoring tools might.

Read the entire column at Twitter Talk: Its Search and Trends Can Keep You Up to Speed.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, the new book from Allison Shields and me, is now available. Our previous book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers is also available and also can be downloaded as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

“Legal Tech Surveys Say . . .” – New Podcast

2012-10-12T01:33:02Z

Tom and I talk about two recently-released surveys of legal technology on the newest episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal Talk Network. This episode is called 2012 Legal Tech Surveys Say . . ..

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and receive new episodes automatically. The show notes site for the podcast is at TKMReport.com.

Here’s the description for this episode:

EPISODE #91

#91. 2012 Legal Tech Surveys Say . . .
We hear a lot of stories about lawyers using (and not using) technology. It’s always been difficult to get good data on what is actually happening in the ground. The release of results from two major annual surveys about the use of technology by lawyers gives us some data to assess trends and draw conclusions. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take a look at highlights of the 2012 ILTA / Inside Legal Technology Purchase Survey and the 2012 Legal Technology Survey Report from the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center, the trends the surveys show, and some practical implications of the survey results. Podcast here

A tip of the hat to JoAnna Forshee at InsideLegal and to ILTA for putting together the 2012 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey and to Joshua Poje of the ABA for his great summary of ten highlights of the 2012 Legal Technology Resource Center survey. Tom Mighell and I will be serving on the Legal Technology Resource Center’s board this year, so I’d appreciate hearing any feedback or ideas you might have for the Legal Technology Resource Center.

If you have topics you’d like us to cover on the podcast or questions we can answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

If you haven’t listened to the podcast before or haven’t listened for a while, give this one a listen and then subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Also, as a follow-up to my recent post about the webinar on Facebook for Lawyers I presented as part of Avvo’s legal marketing webinar series, here’s a link to the replay of that webinar.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Facebook for Lawyers Webinar on September 27

2012-09-20T01:40:49Z

On Thursday, September 27 (at 10:00 AM Pacific; 12:00 PM Central; 1:00 PM Eastern), I’ll be speaking on “Facebook for Lawyers” for an hour as part of Avvo’s Free Legal Marketing Seminars series. You can sign up for the webinar here.

Here’s the description:

Facebook is rapidly approaching 1 BILLION users. Now the largest – and most active – social media platform in the world, long gone are the days of it being a network for college kids. Instead individuals, professionals and businesses alike use the site to connect with each other and share information every day. Increasingly Facebook profiles and pages are also showing up in search results. But what does this all mean for the legal industry? Lawyers may understand how Facebook works, but are hesitant to participate for a variety of reasons. Others are excited to jump in, but aren’t sure where to start or what it will take to be successful. In this webinar Dennis Kennedy, lawyer and co-author of the new book Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section, will provide attendees with strategies, lessons and tips for using Facebook to achieve personal and professional goals.
Lawyers who attend this webinar will learn about:
- How to determine if Facebook is right for you and your practice
- How to set up a personal and a professional Facebook presence
- The ever-evolving security and privacy settings
- Content creation, making connections and growing your network
- Facebook’s latest announcements and advanced features

I’ll cover some of the main topics and themes of the new book, Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, Allison Shields and I wrote, including quite a few of the practical tips in the book. The webinar will be appropriate for Facebook beginners, although I’ll touch on a number of topics and strategies for more advanced users. Also, while the focus will be on use of Facebook by lawyers, I think that the potential audience extends beyond lawyers.

If you plan to attend the webinar and have any questions or topics you’d like me to address, let me know. Register for the free webinar here.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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LinkedIn for Legal Professionals and Other Recent Podcasts

2012-09-12T01:32:58Z

It’s time to get caught up on recent episodes of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal talk Network.

In our most recent episode, Allison Shields was our guest to talk about LinkedIn for Legal Professionals.

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and receive new episodes automatically. The show notes site for the podcast is at TKMReport.com.

If you have topics you’d like us to cover or questions we can answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

RECENT EPISODES (#86 – #90)

#90. LinkedIn for Legal Professionals

Lawyers consistently tell us that LinkedIn is the social media platform that makes the most sense for lawyers and other legal professionals. They like the professional and business focus of LinkedIn as compared to the “personal” focus of Facebook and other platforms. However, lawyers also always tell us that they wish they could use LinkedIn better than they do now. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell and special guest Allison Shields discuss the new book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, how lawyers can make better use of LinkedIn, and some practical tips lawyers and others can implement right away with LinkedIn. Podcast here

#89. Technology-enhanced Television

As rumors of a game-changing new Apple TV begin to swirl, we wonder whether technology will start to change the way we watch television. Or maybe it already has. Does technology always need to have “productive” uses? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell turn to a “non-serious” technology topic for the end of summer, explore ways technology, especially tablets, can enhance your TV viewing experience, and find some surprisingly serious conclusions about where technology is taking us. Podcast here

#88. Putting the Web to Work for You

Have you ever wanted one action on the Web automatically trigger another action? For example, if you post a tweet, it automatically becomes a LinkedIn or Facebook update or if you star a blog post in Google Reader, it automatically gets added to your Evernote account. IFTTT (If This, Than That) is a web service does exactly that. In this episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss web automation and IFTTT, how it might make your life a little easier, and the role this type of service might play for the busy lawyer. Podcast here

#87. I’ll Tumblr for Ya

While Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter draw the lion’s share of social media attention, there are many other social media platforms available to lawyers. Tumblr, Pinterest and Foursquare are just a few of the alternatives. How can you evaluate which of these tools might be worthy of your time and effort? On The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell survey the lesser-traveled landscapes of the social media world, identify some tools that might make sense to some lawyers in some scenarios, and speculate about the future of specialized social media tools. Podcast here

#86. The Lost Art of the Online Discussion

For many years, we used email and listservs for private and public discussions. Today, the last thing we want to do is add a high-volume email list to our overloaded email inboxes. Yet, we still have the need for discussions of all kinds. What are good ways to have discussions using technology today? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss today’s options for discussions, how to select the right forum for discussions, and whether we can improve the quality of the discussions we have with others. Podcast here

If you haven’t listened to the podcast before or haven’t listened for a while, give one or more of these a listen and then subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Lex Port 2012 – Legal Tech Conference in St. Louis

2012-08-29T02:49:42Z

Lucas Boling of the Missouri Bar called me a few months ago to discuss an idea he had to put on a low-cost continuing legal education seminar on legal technology topics inspired by the ABA TECHSHOW. I thought it was a great experiment to try and Lucas and the great people at the Missouri Bar have outdone themselves in putting together a conference called Lex Port 2012.

I understand that the registrations have already exceeded expectations, but there’s plenty of room for more to attend. So, if you happen to be in the St. Louis area September 13 – 15, I invite you to join us at the Ameristar in St. Charles, MO for what looks to be a great set of educational sessions and a chance to meet other St. Louis area lawyers interested in the application of technology to the practice of law. The value is excellent – up to 10+ CLE credit hours (including 1.5 ethics hours) for $179.

The agenda is also excellent with a great variety of topics and local and national speakers, including speakers and sessions from TECHSHOW 2012. Attendees have a lot to choose from.

I’ll be speaking at three sessions.

On Friday, September 14, at 3:40 PM, Marc Matheny and I will present:

YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU: YOUR MOBILE OFFICE
Would you like to practice law from the beach or while on an extended trip overseas? Is it safe and ethical to do that? Two practicing attorneys who’ve done just that describe the mobile office technology they use including tablets, SmartPhones, and the essential hardware and software to comfortably conduct business remotely in a solo/small firm environment. The approaches they’ve used can be implemented in a virtual or home office setting or almost anywhere outside of a traditional office setting.

On Saturday, September 15, at 8:50 AM, I’ll present:

LINKEDIN FOR LAWYERS IN 50 MINUTES
Do you have a profile on LinkedIn? Do you know how to effectively harness the power of the largest online professional network to boost your practice? This practical program will show how to use features of LinkedIn that go beyond simply adding connections. Learn how to make this social media tool work for you in your practice.

And, on Saturday at 11:00 AM, I’ll join Melissa Glauber and Lucas Boling for:

60 APPS IN 60 MINUTES
Over 700,000 iPhone and iPad apps, more than 600,000 Android apps, and 100,000+ Windows Phone apps — with so many choices, how do you find apps relevant to your practice and your busy life? You will not want to miss this fast paced session that highlights 60 of the best apps for the legal professional.

There’ll be exhibitors, giveaways (including Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers and LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers books), networking opportunities and a great chance to meet other lawyers in the St. Louis area who are also interested in legal technology.

Help us make Lucas’s idea into a successful experiment (and experience). Hope to see you there!

Registration and other information can be found here.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The Arrival of Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers

2012-08-28T02:33:41Z

When I got home from work this evening, I found a package that had been delivered today. I opened it and found:

A closer look:

Yes, the new book from Allison Shields and me, Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, has arrived. For me, my books only really seem real when I get my personal copies in hand.

This book is our “sequel” to LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, which was published earlier this year. In fact, what I mainly remember about the publication of the LinkedIn book was how fast the deadline for the first draft of the Facebook book was approaching.

We’re quite pleased with the way Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers turned out, although we stretch the concept of “in one hour” well past the breaking point. You’ll get a lot of value in this book. I did prove that it is possible to read the main section of this book in one hour, but I’m a really fast reader.

I believe that the book is still technically in the pre-order period and is available with a 15% discount as a pre-order. We’re excited about this book and think you will be, too. If your firm or organization might consider using the book for social media training efforts, let me know and I can put you in touch with our publishing contacts for info about volume discounts. If you might be interested in a review copy (and have an audience that will appreciate the review), let me know. And, of course, don’t forget about LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers.

Although, frankly, I expect the only book Allison and I might consider next would be “Resting Up after Writing Two Books in Less Than a Year in One Hour for Lawyers,” I have grown fond of the “in One Hour” format and I think it has a lot of potential. I’ll be the Vice-chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s Publishing Board this year and would be happy to hear any topics for an “in One Hour” book that you know that you would definitely buy.

Here’s a link the ordering page for Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers – I hope you enjoy the book.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available and also as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.