Law Technology

Bulls and Bears: Lawyers Using Social Media - New Podcast

By Dennis Kennedy

Tom Mighell and I have recorded another episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and it's now available on the Legal Talk Network and on iTunes, with an RSS feed here. The episode is called "Bulls and Bears: Lawyers Using Social Media" (show notes website) and here's the episode description:

Depending on where you look, lawyers are likely to read or hear that social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, et al.) are either a tremendous waste of time fraught with ethical dangers or an essential tool for communication and a necessary part of every lawyer?s Internet presence. Are you falling behind or falling off the cliff? In this episode, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell will take a fresh look at social media for lawyers and try to sort through the various claims, draw a few conclusions and provide some practical pointers.

Tom and I have been resisting talking about social media and social marketing on the podcast. There's plenty of discussion out there, especially today. And we were never sure that we had uch new to add to the discussion.

However, I had just returned from doing three presentations (two on legal tech trends and one on web 2.0 and legal ethics) where I talked and answered questions about social media. I got to see a lot of lawyer's reactions to social media. Tom had also been to a recent conference where there were social media discussions.

In this episode, we decided to talk about our observations and take a "bulls and bears" approach to lawyers using social media. I played the "bear" role in the discussion, because I expect the use of social media by lawyers after the "early adopters" to happen much more slowly and to a lesser degree than I might have expected even a few months ago. We end our discussion with some of our favorite practical tips for lawyers wanting to use social media.

The episode is designed to surface some questions and start some conversations, so we hope it has that result.

In our audience questions segment (we always welcome your questions for any podcast), we answer a question about ethical and other policy guidelines for lawyers (and others) using social media. I actually try to summarize the high points of my recent panel presentation on Web 2.0 and legal ethics in about 60 seconds. Tom offers a set of excellent points on guidelines.

We end the podcast with our Parting Shots - practical tips you can use right away. I'm also surprised when people tell me that they go to my blog to read it rather than consuming the blog in a newsreader. I invite people not using Google Reader to try it as a way to consume their favorite blogs via RSS feeds. Tom talks about the new Google Sidewiki.

Give our new episode a listen and let me know what you think. Show notes are here.

And try some of the back episodes as well.

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

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Now Available! The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast social media social marketing ethics collaboration

Full post as published by DennisKennedy.blog on October 07, 2009 (boomark / email).