Reba Kennedy.Lawyer.Writer.

Tips for Regular, Fast Blog Posts – Personalizing the Informational Blog

2012-01-16T13:14:00.000-06:00

Blogs are not one size fits all, and while there are blogs that are very personal in nature, there are others (like this one) that are more informative in nature. Many law blogs wear the informational hat, for example.
Which doesn’t mean that they can’t bring a personal touch to their informational blog, although most of these bloggers don’t want to start writing posts about their football team’s latest victory or where they are taking the kids on vacation this summer.
Here are some tips on how to infuse an informational blog with some of your individual personality (which readers do like to see):
1. Books.
Post regularly on books you have read and recommend to others. Easy to do, the fastest way to do this is just insert the image of the book with a link to Amazon or BN or Powells or whatever and title the post “I Recommend This Book” or “Recommended: [insert title']”.
2. Photos.
Post photos regularly, with a short caption beneath them. Choose pix that you have taken, or grab something from the public domain. Images are great for informational blogs, both visually and from an SEO perspective (Google likes this). Try tying the image to your blog’s theme or to related news.
A public domain photo of Abe Lincoln on President’s Day, for example. Another: your photo of the old historic building downtown right before it was torn down. With that one, your title could simply be: Acme Building, 1932-2012. Something like that.
3. Quotes
Post quotes that you like on a routine basis. There are sites that organize quotes, in case you cannot remember the exact wording. These can be words of wisdom or they be related to your blog’s theme or set of topics.
The text of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech could be placed on your blog for MLK Day, for example.
How often?
Not more than once a week, I would suggest. However, having one of these quick posts on a weekly basis brings a two post a week blog to the three post a week blog, and that can be a big difference to readers and to the search engines.

More on Shield Laws: Will Congress Pass the Free Flow of Information Act – And Will This Hurt Bloggers?

2012-01-12T13:33:00.000-06:00

More on bloggers and the extent to which legal protections provided to traditional journalists will be extended to them: right now, there is a bill moving through the House of Representatives that seeks to extend establishing journalistic protections in the law to only those writers who write "for a substantial portion of [their] livelihood or for substantial financial gain."

This might cover some non-traditional journalists. It’s not going to cover lots of other bloggers who are crusaders or whistleblowers or other bloggers who are collectively being labeled “citizen journalists.”

New Jersey has ruled that its shield law can cover these citizen journalists. So has California. Will the federal shield law be deemed to be less welcoming to these activist bloggers?

From the bill’s summary description:

Prohibits a federal entity (an entity or employee of the judicial or executive branch or an administrative agency of the federal government), in any matter arising under federal law, from compelling a covered person to testify or produce any document related to information obtained or created as part of engaging in journalism unless a court makes specified determinations by a preponderance of the evidence, including determinations that: (1) alternative sources have been exhausted; (2) the testimony or document sought is critical to the investigation, prosecution, or defense of a crime or the successful completion of a noncriminal matter; (3) disclosure of an information source's identity is necessary to prevent an act of terrorism, harm to national security, imminent death, significant bodily harm or to identify a person who has disclosed a trade secret, individually identifiable health information, or certain nonpublic personal information; and (4) the public interest in compelling disclosure of the information or document involved outweighs the public interest in gathering or disseminating news or information. Allows a court, in making the last of those determinations, to consider the extent of any harm to national security.
Defines "covered person" as a person who regularly gathers, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes information concerning matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or substantial financial gain, including a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such a person. Excludes from that definition foreign powers and their agents and certain terrorist organizations and individuals.
Requires the content of compelled testimony or documents to be limited and narrowly tailored.
Prohibits this Act from being construed as applying to civil defamation, slander, or libel claims or defenses under state law.
Exempts certain criminal or tortious conduct.
Applies this Act to communications service providers with regard to testimony or any record, information, or other communication that relates to a business transaction between such providers and covered persons. Sets forth notice requirements. Permits a court to delay notice to a covered person upon determining that such notice would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation.

It’s entitled The Free Flow of Information Act of 2011.

You can track it here.

Can Bloggers Be Protected Like Traditional Journalists Via State Shield Laws? Recent Court Rulings Say No.

2012-01-09T13:15:00.001-06:00

While we were all enjoying the holiday season from Thanksgiving to the New Year, another opinion came down regarding defamation suits against bloggers that bloggers everywhere may be interested in reading. It's the third case of which I'm aware where state shield laws are used as a defense by bloggers sued by defamation: Oregon isn't as blogger-friendly as New Jersey or California.

Oregon Shield Law - No to Bloggers

The latest ruling is an opinion that came down from a federal trial judge presiding over a defamation case filed against an blogger up in Oregon, and it’s an opinion issued right before trial began against blogger Crystal Cox.

Read the Oregon federal judge’s ruling here.

In the Oregon case, U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez heard Cox’s argument that as an “investigative blogger” she was protected by the state’s shield law from revealing her sources to requests for their identity from plaintiff Obsidian Finance Group. Cox’s claims had a confidential informant as the cornerstone of her claims which she published on her blog.

Judge Hernandez ruled against Cox. His rationale? Shield law is limited in its application to “traditional media” and blogging isn’t traditional media.

Cox, he opined, had no traditional education in journalism. She had no street creds from a “recognized news entity.”

Result: the crusading blogger risks a huge defamation judgment against her to the tune of $ 2.5 million.

New Jersey Shield Law - Maybe to Bloggers

If you’re following this stuff, this opinion may sound familiar. There was a similar stance taken by the Supreme Court of New Jersey regarding their state’s shield law and online forum posts by another “investigative blogger.”

Read the New Jersey Supreme Court opinion regarding bloggers and their state shield law here.
In the New Jersey case, Washington State resident Shellee Hale argued that she investigates and reports on corruption in the online adult entertainment industry, although admittedly she is not a traditional journalist (no journalism degree, no connection to a “recognized news entity”).

Hale was sued by Too Much Media, LLC, a company that makes “adult entertainment” related software, for defamation and false light for comments about the company that she posted online in a forum. Hale argued she was protected by the New Jersey Shield Law and lost - although the opinion was a victory for bloggers, overall. (To read her posts as well as the lengthy opinion giving four bases for its decision, go to the opinion itself.)

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s rationale? From the opinion:

New Jersey's Shield Law provides broad protection to the news media and is not limited to traditional news outlets like newspapers and magazines. But to ensure that the privilege does not apply to every self-appointed newsperson, the Legislature requires that other means of disseminating news be "similar" to traditional news sources to qualify for the law's coverage. We do not find that online message boards are similar to the types of news entities listed in the statute, and do not believe that the Legislature intended to provide an absolute privilege in defamation cases to people who post comments on message boards.

California Shield Law - Maybe to Bloggers

Meanwhile, the California courts have also ruled on the application of shield laws to the publications of bloggers. In O'Grady v. Superior Court, a California appellate court ruled several years ago that its state shield law could encompass the work of non-traditional journalists, or citizen bloggers.

From O'Grady:

We decline the implicit invitation to embroil ourselves in questions of what constitutes "legitimate journalis[m]." The shield law is intended to protect the gathering and dissemination of news, and that is what petitioners did here. We can think of no workable test or principle that would distinguish "legitimate" from "illegitimate" news. Any attempt by courts to draw such a distinction would imperil a fundamental purpose of the First Amendment, which is to identify the best, most important, and most valuable ideas not by any sociological or economic formula, rule of law, or process of government, but through the rough and tumble competition of the memetic marketplace.

Here’s something to think about: if Cox had been interviewed on television, or by a “traditional journalist” for a printed publication with an online presence that is a “recognized news entity” and told her tale – would her confidential source be protected by the shield law? I think so.

Sources of Info for Your Blog Posts: Site Organizing News by State

2012-01-04T08:02:00.000-06:00

Here’s a site that I recommend to my clients for their blogging and which I’ve used myself for several years now: US News by State.
It not only provides news stories that are breaking in the various states, it also lists the larger cities or metropolitan areas within those states. That’s great but it gets better than that: within these lists, the various news stories (hyperlinked to their sources) are provided outlet by outlet.
For example, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the top news stories are listed (with time and date) for:

Dallas Business Journal
Dallas KTVT
Dallas KXAS
Dallas WFAA
Fort Worth Star Telegram (three versions)

There’s also a search feature.
Of course, not all media sources are included here. The Dallas Morning News is absent from the above list, and it’s a major player in that market. If I were writing about something dealing with Dallas or Fort Worth or the surrounding area, you betcha that I would also go and check out the latest at the Dallas Morning News site.
What Do You Do With the News Stories?
Once you’ve got a list of news stories, then you’ve got a springboard for your next post. It’s great because it’s local and local coverage is excellent for most blogs. Especially law blogs.
However, for any blogger, news stories can be something that you can hyperlink within your post as you discuss something relevant to that post.
For instance, I coauthor a blog with Terry Lenamon that deals exclusively with the death penalty. In the Fort Worth Star Telegram today there is a story by Anna Tinsley entitled “Texas still top state for the death penalty.”
I will read this story for a possible link within a post on Terry Lenamon on the Death Penalty. Terry’s not in Texas, so it would serve only as a secondary link – Texas lead in the death penalty stats is a bigger story in Fort Worth than in it is Miami. This story may be helpful to fuel the fires for how Florida ranks in the death penalty, what Florida’s Powers that Be are doing in 2012 about the death penalty, etc.
You get the idea.

Could Evernote Help You As You Write Your Blog Posts? I Think So.

2012-01-02T16:06:00.001-06:00

A software guru that I respect recommended Evernote to me last month as a time-saving bit of software and I’ve been working with it for around a month now.
I like it, maybe you will too. You’ve got to like the price: the basic version is free.
So What is Evernote?
Evernote is software that you download onto your hard drive and it pops up in your internet search engine: IE, Firefox, Chrome, whatever. There’s also a little icon on your desktop; all this coordinates to provide you a platform for organizing stuff you find on the web. You can save different things: the url for the webpage; an excerpt or article on that page; or you can store the complete page from its banner ads to its boilerplate footers.
Of course, it also works on your phone and your other stuff too. Sync smart.
For the description the Evernote folk provide, go here.
What Have I Found? It’s Easy and Fast, and There’s a Size Limit for the Free Version
I’m still trying out all its bells and whistles but I know Evernote is a keeper, and for those who write blog posts regularly, I think it’s a good tool to have in your toolbox, too.
I’m not using the notes feature, but I have been routinely clicking on the green elephant to save stuff that I find on the web that I want to use in future blog posts for myself as well as forwarding to clients for their consideration in their posting.
For example, I don’t have a lot of interest in blogging about the latest developments in the legal battles involving Florida’s disgraced attorney, David J. Stern and his foreclosure-focused law firm, but I have a client that is very interested in this stuff. When I read an interesting article about the latest acts that the Florida AG was undertaking, I thought this might good for my client and quickly hit the elephant button. Saved the url.
Zip zip.
No bookmarking. Hate to clutter my bookmarks with this stuff.
No notes either on paper or on my PC’s sticky notes or on my iGoogle page.
I was back surfing almost immediately.
Bottom line, I am finding Evernote fast and easy to use for saving web stuff that I might want to use later. The little button is the big help.
For more on Evernote, check out their descriptions of its various functions as well as watch their cool videos on things like Evernote Clearly, Evernote Food, Evernote Hello, Evernote Peek, and other freebies they offer.
For what other users think as well as techie experts, check out the reviews of Evernote on CNET and AppBrain.
Oh, and Evernote was one of the top apps recommended by the New York Times last year – if you want to read old news.

Why I Use Google Scholar In My Blog Posts

2011-11-14T12:23:00.001-06:00

The more I use Google Scholar, the more I like it. I think you will, too. I always use Google Scholar, for example, to hyperlink cases or statutes or law review articles in blog posts because:

1. it's free;
2. it's easy for readers to access (no subscription hurdle);
3. it's reliable;
4. (best of all) within the document, Google Scholar hyperlinks citations for ready reference; and
5. there's a Shepardizing of sorts provided, too.

For example, click here to check out New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) on Google Scholar. Nice, huh?

Can Book Reviewers Be Sued for Bad Reviews? Yes. Amazon Reviewer Sued by Self-Pub Author for Libel under British Law After French Award for Criminal Libel, and U.S. Precedent

2011-11-11T11:21:00.001-06:00

The New Yorker's Book Bench is spreading the news about a lawsuit filed across the pond against an Amazon reviewer as well as Amazon.com and Richard Dawkins by the self-published author of a book entitled, "The Attempted Murder of God: Hidden Science You Really Need to Know."

It's filed under British libel law and the first hurdle appears to be something akin to a Rule 12(b) motion under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure -- and it will be interesting to see what Great Britian does with this attempt to get money damages out of someone who wrote a thumbs down review of a self-published book uploaded for sale on Amazon.

Laura Owen has written a nice summary piece on this reviewer libel suit over at PaidContent, entitled "Self-Published British Author Sues For Libel Over Bad Amazon Review.."

Book Reviewer Found Guilty of Libel in France for Bad Review

Think this is nuts? Well, if this plaintiff had been following the news out of France, then maybe he is being crazy like a fox. Seems that a plaintiff suing for "criminal libel" under French law for a bad online review won -- got a nice chunk of change in an award, too.

Among the defendants: the editor of the European Journal of International Law, New York University Law Professor Joseph Weiler. Notice that an American book reviewer and noted law professor is being sued for damages in France, and he's posting about his courtroom experiences online.

Wow.

Could this happen in the United States? Should American Book Reviewers Worry About Being Sued for Damages by an Author for a Bad Book Review?

In the United States, authors have already sued reviewers for allegedly destroying their writing careers by giving bad reviews of their work. I haven't done extensive legal research on this, but I am aware of a landmark case where the New York Times got sued by an author named Dan E. Moldea for a review it published by NYT sports writer Gerald Eskenazi.

That case, really cases, sets a standard for review - there are two relevant opinions here:

Moldea 1: Moldea v. New York Times Co., 15 F3d 1137 (D.C. Cir. 1994)

Moldea 2: Moldea v. New York Times Co., 22 F3d 310 (D.C. Cir. 1994)

Interesting thing about Moldea: upon appeal from a district court dismissal of the case as being without merit, the appellate court initially recognized a cause of action for damages based upon a bad book review -- then, the court changed its mind ... finding that the book reviewer cannot be sued as long as the review is (Moldea, 22 F3d at 315) :

rationally supportable by reference to the actual text he or she is evaluating.

From the Moldea 2 opinion (22 F3d 311-312, 315-316):

After careful consideration of the Times' petition for rehearing and Moldea's response to that petition, we are persuaded to amend our earlier decision. The original majority opinion was generally correct in its statement of the law of defamation. Unfortunately, that opinion failed to take sufficient account of the fact
that the statements at issue appeared in the context of a book review, a genre in which readers expect to find spirited critiques of literary works that they understand to be the reviewer's description and assessment of texts that are capable of a number of possible rational interpretations. While there is no per se exemption from defamation for book reviews, our initial resolution of this case applied an inappropriate standard to judge whether the Times review was actionable.

In light of our reconsideration of this case, we hold that the challenged statements in the Times review are supportable interpretations of Interference, and that as a matter of law the review is substantially true. Accordingly, we affirm the District Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Times....

We believe that the Times has suggested the appropriate standard for evaluating critical reviews: "The proper analysis would make commentary actionable only when the interpretations are unsupportable by reference to the written work." Petition for Rehearing at 8 (emphasis added). This "supportable interpretation" standard provides that a critic's interpretation must be rationally supportable by reference to the actual text he or she is evaluating, and thus would not immunize situations analogous to that presented in Milkovich, in which a writer launches a personal attack, rather than interpreting a book. This standard also establishes boundaries even for textual interpretation. A critic's statement must be a rational assessment or account of something the reviewer can point to in the text, or omitted from the text, being critiqued. For instance, if the Times review stated that Interference was a terrible book because it asserted that African-Americans make poor football coaches, that reading would be "unsupportable by reference to the written work," because nothing in Moldea's book even hints at this notion. In such a case, the usual inquiries as to libel would apply: a jury could determine that the review falsely characterized Interference, thereby libeling its author by portraying him as a racist (assuming the other elements of the case could be proved).

Our decision to apply the "supportable interpretation" standard to book reviews finds strong support in analogous decisions of the Supreme Court, all decided or reaffirmed after Milkovich. These cases establish that when a writer is evaluating or giving an account of inherently ambiguous materials or subject matter, the First Amendment requires that the courts allow latitude for interpretation."

So, what is the bottom line?

It looks like book reviewers can get sued in the United States, but they will not be found responsible for damages as long as they adhere to the "supportable interpretation" standard (and again, this isn't a legal research project here -- the laws may have changed, I may not have everything here). So, they can get sued here and have to pay a lawyer. For writing a bad review.

However, in Europe, Americans may also face damage claims for harm alleged to have been caused by their bad book reviews - and maybe the results are different under that nation's law.

Being sued in another country sounds strange, far-off, and not too big of a deal right? Well, considering the impact of the internet, nope. For example, I have folk reading this blog from all over the world - Google actually provides translation if people in Poland or Italy or Japan or Korea want to read what I have written.

The web has made our world different. Do you need to worry about being sued for your reviews? Does this information change what you write on your blog or in a review on Amazon or any other online site?

Things to think about.

Google Offers Google ThinkInsights: Here's an Infographic Example

2011-11-09T13:20:00.002-06:00

Google tweeted about "Think Insights With Google" today and I went to investigate. There's a lot of stuff there, you might want to go surf around there for awhile. This infographic, for example (zoom to enlarge):

Google Alerts, Social Mention, and Spiral 16: Tracking Topics and Trends on the Web

2011-11-07T18:37:00.000-06:00

Hopefully, you are aware of Google Alerts, a tool provided by Google, for free (as always) that notifies you when your name, your product, or just about anything under the sun is being discussed online. Google Alerts will let you know if your name has made the local news, for example, or if your daughter's soccer team got mentioned for winning regionals.

There are other sites that can help you keep track of things, too - Google isn't alone out there. Here are two for you to try:

1. Spiral 16

2. Social Mention.

Both of these services provide similar information to Google Alerts, but they target social media and they give more info to you than just links. Check them out, they are useful tools for you.

How? Names are just one thing to search. I have alerts set up, for example, under the phrase "death penalty" because I co-author a blog on capital punishment. (FYI, I also have an alert set up for that topic at Google Scholar, it's proven to be very helpful, too.)

Righthaven Update: US Marshalls Are Now Seizing Assets

2011-11-02T13:03:00.001-05:00

Quick update on Righthaven: yesterday, a federal judge signed the writ of execution for defendant Wayne Hoehn against losing plaintiff Righthaven, and the U.S. Marshalls are now authorized to take Righthaven assets in order to satisfy a $63,000+ judgment.

For details on Mr. Hoehn's case and what's going on here, check out my earlier Righthaven posts.

It's a good day for bloggers everywhere.

Freelance Writer Who Blogged While Sitting on Illinois Wrongful Death Jury Found Not to Have Compromised Jury Integrity and $4.75 Million Award Stands. For Now.

2011-11-01T16:13:00.001-05:00

It should not come as a surprise to many that the juror who blogged about her experiences while on an Illinois jury gave defense counsel a solid basis for appealling the $4.75 million verdict that came down against a commuter railway in a wrongful death case brought by the widow of a blind man who died, she alleged, as a result of the railroad's negligence.

Some, however, may be surprised to find that the juror's blogging about her days on the jury, for a total of six posts, did not result in a reversal: on September 30, 2011, the Illinois appellate court ruled that her actions didn't sway the jury or compromise the integrity of their deliberations. (Read the opinion here.)

Who was this blogger? Eve Bradshaw is a self-described freelance writer based in Chicago, 50 years old and a mother of three, who sat on an Illinois jury and wrote about it, in a series of posts for her Blogger blog The Green Room, which she has been publishing for several years.

Read the posts in question, or read Mrs. Bradshaw's blog in general, and you'll find a nice person. Her posts about what was going on during the trial aren't smoking guns of jury tampering or jury evildoing; there is nothing sinister here, which was important to the appellate court.

Nevertheless on appeal, the defendants argued that jurors should have been interrogated to determine whether or not the blog posts had impacted their deliberations, especially since the posts contained descriptions of communications between the jurors themselves. It wasn't a winning argument -- however, part of that result springs from the content of the posts themselves (see, e.g., paragraph 63 of the opinion).

It's not over: the appellate court decision could get taken up to the Illinois Supreme Court, and with almost $5 million on the line, I'm betting the defendants will do so. (There are other points of error here as well; a subsequent appeal seems pretty much a given.)

Now, here's what I'm thinking: first of all, what the heck? As a lawyer, no I don't think that jurors should be blogging about what is going on -- no more than they should tweet about it, chat over coffee at Starbucks about it, or discuss anything with a member of the media. At most, I might be willing to consider the posts being saved as drafts ... but to publish them while the trial is in process? Scary stuff for a lawyer, juror blogging.

I don't think any communication by a juror about the trial process should be condoned, period. It's a slippery slope to find blogging different than, say, chatting with a reporter, no matter the content of the posts themselves. If Mrs. Bradshaw had voiced these communications to a reporter who then published them in the local newspaper, would we have the same result?

That being said, it also makes me wonder about the additional responsibilities this places upon trial attorneys because if I were still litigating, you can bet your bottom dollar I would have a paralegal assigned to monitor every juror to insure there was no web chatter - be it Twitter, Facebook, or now, personal blogs.

Seems to me that some will argue that okaying this blogger's posting means that lawyers now have a duty to monitor juror blogging (and to discern that they are or may be blogging) since the blogging itself has been found acceptable. That's probably true even if there's a jury instruction not to blog (or tweet, etc.).

Taking off the lawyer hat and putting on the writer one, I have to wonder about the risks here. First, to blogging itself. Blogging is such a stepchild; a journalist reporting the day's events in the courtroom is one thing. Posting about jury experiences while you're on the jury and sworn to protect its integrity doesn't do much to uplift the reputation of bloggers in the eyes of the traditional media.

Second, to the blogger. Consider the potential personal risk of ciivil liability here -- what happens to the blind man's widow if the Illinois Supreme Court goes the other way and reverses that $4.65 million award because of six blog posts? What happens to the blogger then?

Scary situation up in Illinois.

blogs, lawsuits, blogging, liability, trials

What is Google Panda and Why You Should Care, and How Much, About Panda's Power over Your Site or Blog

2011-10-31T18:32:00.001-05:00

This past week, one of my law firm clients had a problem with a guest post they were providing on another blog. Seems that company had heard of Google Panda and was so scared of Google Panda that they refused to publish the guest post unless one paragraph within the post was rewritten -- it was quoting from the law firm's blog, and they were terrified that Google would penalize their site for duplicate content.

Of course, this is ridiculous. However, it was easier in time and money for my law firm client to rewrite a paragraph than argue over SEO, so there was one problem solved. However, all this hoopla has me hearing more and more terrorized, trembling comments from colleagues and clients about the very scary Google Panda and what it means .....

So, here goes.

First of all, what the heck is Google Panda?

Google Panda is a change in the algorithms used by Google to decide which site gets ranked first, second, third, etc. in the results list it provides to your search request. This began months ago; there was a recent Panda update in October 2011 that some consider to be pretty big.

Short version: the top secret mumbo jumbo that Google uses to decide who gets top billing got revamped.

Why do this? Google tries to explain in a February 2011 blog post, pointing to a desire to move "high quality sites" up in the search results and "reduce" the ranking of "low quality sites." Low quality sites specifically including those that copy content from other sites ... and here is where some big reactions have come. Some pretty big and established sites saw themselves fall in ranking at Google.com. What the heck was going on? So, Google provided "additional guidance" on how Google searches and ranks web sites in May 2011.

Google suggests that you look at your site from their perspective, and ask yourself the following questions:

Would you trust the information presented in this article?
Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
How much quality control is done on content?
Does the article describe both sides of a story?
Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

From what I know at this point, Google Panda will still get some more tweeks, and in the long run, Google is always going to be trying to better itself -- to make sure that you don't find another search engine preferable to Google. It looks like Google is trying to thwart content mills that just copy stuff from other sites and republish them as their own, you know the sneaky ones that I mean; however, sites that do things like publish press releases are getting hit here, too, and that's not fair (e.g., PR Newswire).

Some reputable sites are facing a 60% loss in web traffic after Google Panda - and that's money either in sales or jobs or marketing or something, folks. Sixty percent is a huge hit, and it's not hitting those sneaky, yucky, content copying sites -- it's hitting respectable, longstanding sites that are understandably peeved. For many folk, being angry and fearful of the Google Panda Power is justified and I hope they get their trains back on the track soon.

However, Google's position is understandable and if you are writing for the web with the intent to add value then I don't think Panda Power is something for you to lose sleep over. I learned today from David Naylor that Google Panda isn't named after the cute bear but after a Google engineer named Navneet Panda. I like David Naylor's two cents worth on Google Panda: ask yourself two questions and stop worrying about it. The questions? Go read Naylor's post to find out.

And, if you really want to learn all about this, Search Engine Roundtable has done a video on Google Panda (including the October 2011 updates) which you can watch on YouTube. It's ten and half minutes, if you've got the time.

google, blogs, blogging, google panda, seo

Bloggers and Anonymous Commenters Sued for Defamation by Cooley Law School

2011-10-17T11:34:00.001-05:00

Defamation claims against bloggers may be on the rise, and it may be that lawyers, law firms, and law students are providing an online prototype for others interested in suing bloggers for alleged defamatory conduct. Seems that a story that has been brewing on the web for months now just got some big, national exposure today as the National Law Journal (and Law.Com) have published an article entitled, "Ripping a critic's mask off: A law school fought to learn the secret identity of an ex-student blogger," written by Karen Sloan.

Blogger Rockstar05 and Anonymous Commenters Sued for Defamation by Cooley Law School

In the National Law Journal piece, readers are given a blow-by-blow of Thomas M. Cooley Law School's ongoing litigation against an anonymous blogger publishing under the moniker of Rockstar05 and three other anonymous defendants (at least two of which are those leaving comments to Rockstar05's post, with another leaving a comment at the Huffington Post), a suit filed by the law school asserting the school has been defamed by the defendants via the words that they wrote online. The law school is also suing a New York law firm, one of its partners and another lawyer working there, for "trolling" websites under the guise of investigating a class action while "...posting false and defamatory statements about Cooley on various public websites." Complaint in Cause No. 11780, pp. 1-2 (full copy here).

Rockstar05 is fighting against his or her name being revealed; there's a gag order in place right now on Rockstar05's identity, although Cooley's counsel knows who Rockstar05 is (and so does Karen Sloan of the NLJ, who interviewed Rockstar05 for her article). What did Rockstar05 do, exactly?

Rockstar05, according to Cooley's complaint, wrote a post entitled, "the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Scam," which can be read in its entirety as Exhibit B to the Cooley pleading (full copy here).

Public Citizen Has Filed an Amicus Brief in the Cooley Law School Case, Arguing Application of Dendrite Int'l.

Also contributing to the national import of this growing story is the amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief filed by Public Citizen, a nationally-known consumer rights group. In its brief, Public Citizen argues for the First Amendment rights of anonymous bloggers, citing to Dendrite International Inc. v. Doe No. 3, et al., where the New Jersey courts have defined a set of guidelines for trial courts "...faced with an application by a plaintiff for expedited discovery seeking an order compelling an ISP [ internet service provider] to honor a subpoena and disclose the identity of anonymous Internet posters who are sued for allegedly violating the rights of individuals, corporations, or businesses...."

Among the standards set by Dendrite Int'l, the burden of the plaintiff to establish:

... that its action can withstand a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to R. 4:6-2(f), the plaintiff must produce sufficient evidence supporting each element of its cause of action, on a prima facie basis, prior to a court ordering the disclosure of the identity of the unnamed defendant.
Finally, assuming the court concludes that the plaintiff has presented a prima facie cause of action, the court must balance the defendant's First Amendment right of anonymous free speech against the strength of the prima facie case presented and the necessity for the disclosure of the anonymous defendant's identity to allow the plaintiff to properly proceed.

This is a big deal - and while Michigan isn't required to follow New Jersey, the opinion is well thought out and does recognize the free speech interests at stake when bloggers are sued for what they have written.

October 24th Hearing On Merits of the Defamation Suit

Right now, there is a setting on October 24, 2011, where the law school's law suit against Rockstar05 and the John Doe defendants will go forward. More and more eyes are watching this case, and there is some commentary already that by filing this suit, Cooley has actually given the controversial words a lot more exposure than they would have had otherwise, by filing this lawsuit.

For details on the suit, you can read the press release by Cooley as well as the petitions that have been filed (pdfs available for reading and downloading at the Cooley Law School site).

For more commentary, consider:

Professor Turley, who points out the Pandora's Box of discovery that Cooley Law School may have opened for itself.

Florida Bar's Advertising Rules Are Found Unconstitutional by Federal Judge

2011-10-04T11:29:00.001-05:00

Details are given in an article in today's Wall Street Journal entitled, "Florida Court Strikes Down Limits on Lawyer Advertising," concerning the opinion released last Friday by the Honorable Marcia Morales Howard of United States District Court for the Division of Jacksonville.

The federal judge has held that the Florida Bar violated the First Amendment rights of Florida attorney William Harrell Jr. when it deemed Mr. Harrell's advertising message of "don't get less than you deserve," as "manipulative" and therefore in violation of state solicitation rules.

How much will this decision impact Florida attorneys? Maybe not so much: right now, amendments to the Florida Disciplinary Rules await approval by the Supreme Court of Florida.

To review the rules in place for Florida attorney advertising, go here.
To review the rules that were proposed this summer for Florida Supreme Court approval, go here.

Tags for Your Blog Post or Tweet - Finding Popular Tags to Boost the Chances People Will Find and Read What You Wrote

2011-10-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

Once you have written your post or tweet, you might want to consider indexing what you've written so others can find it. On Technorati, for example, the most popular tags can be found, listed alphabetically, at Technorati's Tag Index.

What is Technorati? It's a site that collects information placed in blogs and then creates indices of the information as well as rankings for the blogs within its system (which total in the millions). If your blog is not listed at Technorati, then you need to get cracking and get your blog in Technorati's sights. It's a big deal.

For Twitter, tags go by the name "hashtags" and you can find a listing of popular hashtags at Hashtags.org - but this site is different than Technorati's Tag Index. Here, you enter a hashtag, and the site returns with information on how popular it is ("trending"). Look at the percentages on the left: if they're low or nonexistent, then choose a different word for your hashtag. (For more on how Hashtags.org works and why it's a big deal, read the informative article provided by TwitterTipsCentral, "Where To Find A List Of Twitter Hashtags ".)

Tip: Create Your Own Index of Tags

And, remember that tag. No need to reinvent the wheel. If you regularly publish items dealing with dogs, or beer, or recipes, or speaking Klingon -- whatever your focus -- collect the most popular tags for that topic and save them. Make your own list of tags for your use, as a ready reference.

Why should you care about tagging? Read my earlier post, "Twitter Tip: What is a Hashtag?" for details on why tags are a good thing.

hashtags, twitter, tags, technorati, tagging, tips, blogs

Blogger Sues Blogger for Copyright Infringement: Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood vs The Hollywood Reporter

2011-10-02T12:43:00.001-05:00

Nikki Finke reports on the comings and goings of the Hollywood biz at her blog, Deadline Hollywood, and I've read her for years -- she has been instrumental in making blogs more respectable as a legitimate news source. Nikki Finke's background as a journalist - working at Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Observer, in addition to having her writing appear in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post means that she had top of the line journalistic credentials when she jumped over into the blogging arena.

Nikki Finke's decision to become a blogger is important to all bloggers, and in doing so, she undoubtedly felt a lot of backlash from the traditional journalists who do not consider blogging to be respectable as a news source. That's a rabbit trail topic - something to discuss in more depth on another day.

Point here is, I'm not the only one who admires her work, apparently.

Over the past few weeks (or maybe months), Finke has been posting about her battles with The Hollywood Reporter and her claims that her stuff has been popping up without authorization over at THR, which is another blog. Today, I read on Reuters that Finke's filed suit: "Deadline blogger sues The Hollywood Reporter."

Among her claims (and by "her" I mean Finke as well as her parent company, both plaintiffs in the litigation), an allegation that source code was swiped from Deadline Hollywood. That's plagarism, 21st Century style.

Finke goes on: she's also alleging that there has been theft of "intellectual decisions" in what she follows in her blog posts. As bloggers understand all too well, posts go up minute by minute (almost as fast as tweets) when there is a big story -- and deciding what to post and when is a big thing when you're publishing a blog. Blogging will get more consideration and exposure as a venue for words, and news, and opinion, because of this lawsuit - if for no other reason than everyone's got to catch up with what exactly Nikki Finke is alleging is the harm that has been done and how it happened.

Once again, Nikki Finke may be helping bloggers everywhere gain more respect for the medium - this time, not on the screen, but in the courtroom.

blogs, copyright, nikki finke, deadline hollywood, blogging, journalism

Lawyers Should Know Ethics Rules and Social Media Policies for Blogs and Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook): Bar Regs and Other Social Media Guidelines

2011-09-26T12:56:00.000-05:00

Individual bar associations across the country may or may not have regulations governing social media on their books: social media moves fast; the process of creating new rules to govern the practice of law within certain jurisdictions, not so much.

Obviously, lawyers should know their own bar rules and regulations, since they are bound by the ethical rules applicable to their jurisdiction(s). That's not the only attempt at corralling online communications on the web, however.

Social Media Policies and Guidelines Established for Private Companies and Public Entities

Attorneys should be aware that social media policies and online communication guidelines are being set up by many different types of entities now; savvy lawyers will be aware of those internet rules and regulations that may apply to certain clientele - as well as those of a competing law firm (e.g., the April 2011 social media guidelines established by Baker & Daniels).

For example, there are social media policies in place for the States of Delaware, Oklahoma, and North Carolina as well as big corporations like Ford Motor Company, FedEx, and Coca-Cola. Many more have been collected for review by Chris Boudreaux at SocialMediaGovernance.com, an excellent go-to site for those interested in learning more about the evolving trends in controlling social media today.

Lawyers and Ethical Rules, Social Media Guidelines

Does the attorney have to know these social media guidelines? No, the lawyer will not be controlled by these policies; however, he or she should be able to explain why they disagree with a particular guideline if a client, potential client, or referral source asks about it after reading the lawyer's blog or social media tweets, pokes, etc. Having access to this information when creating an internal set of online social media guidelines as part of law firm policy will also be very helpful.

Does the lawyer need to know about ethical rules? Yes, they do need to know what their local and state bar associations have defined as acceptable online communications. Lawyers and law firms should be aware of the ethical rules and regulations that apply to their online activities: they may be disciplined for violating them (e.g., reprimand, suspension).

In some states, a broad brush is applied to blogs, Twitter accounts, and pages on LinkedIn, Facebook (and now Google+) where the governing body attempts to regulate these new marketing avenues using the same solicitation rules already in place for things like web sites and direct e-mail communications. Comments and guidelines to existing ethical codes need to be monitored.

For example, the State Bar of Texas has tried to keep up with the rapid changes in social media by issuing an "interpretive comment" to work in conjunction with Part 7 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

Another example: the State Bar of Florida, which has passed specific regulatory language that applies specifically to the growing use of social media by attorneys and law firms. Shown below is the Florida Bar's Guideline for Networking Sites, note how Florida goes into detail about such things as LinkedIn professional pages and Instant Messages:

Guidelines for Networking Sites

Approved by The Standing Committee on Advertising (February 9, 2010)

Networking sites accessed over the Internet have proliferated in the last several years. There are numerous networking sites of various types. Some networking sites were designed for social purposes, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Notwithstanding their origins as social media, many use these social networking sites for commercial purposes. Other networking sites are specifically intended for commercial purposes, such as LinkedIn. In a networking site, a person has the capability of building a profile that includes information about that person. That profile is commonly referred to as the individual’s “page.” The individual chooses how much of the information on his or her page, if any, is available to all viewers of the site. Some individuals provide access to no information about themselves except to those other individuals that are invited to view the information. Others provide full access to all information about themselves to anyone on the networking site. Others provide access to some information for everyone, but limit access to other information only to those invited to view the information. Additionally, some individuals set their pages to permit posting of information by third parties. Networking sites provide methods by which users of the site may interact with one another, including e-mail and instant messaging.

The Standing Committee on Advertising has reviewed the networking media, and issues the following guidelines for lawyers using them.

Pages of individual lawyers on social networking sites that are used solely for social purposes, to maintain social contact with family and close friends, are not subject to the lawyer advertising rules.

Pages appearing on networking sites that are used to promote the lawyer or law firm’s practice are subject to the lawyer advertising rules. These pages must therefore comply with all of the general regulations set forth in Rule 4-7.2. Regulations include prohibitions against any misleading information, which includes references to past results, promises of results, and testimonials. Regulations also include prohibitions against statements characterizing the quality of legal services and visual or verbal portrayals that are false, misleading, manipulative, or confusing. Lawyers and law firms should review Rule 4-7.2 in its entirety to comply with its requirements. Additional information is available in the Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation on the Florida Bar website.

Invitations sent directly from the site via instant messaging to a third party to view or link to the lawyer’s page on an unsolicited basis are solicitations in violation of Rule 4-7.4(a), unless the recipient is the lawyer’s current client, former client, relative, or is another lawyer. Any invitations to view the page sent via e-mail must comply with the direct e-mail rules if they are sent to persons who are not current clients, former clients, relatives, other lawyers, or persons who have requested information from the lawyer. Direct e-mail must comply with the general advertising regulations set forth in Rule 4-7.2 as well as additional requirements set forth in Rule 4-7.6(c). Information on complying with the direct e-mail rules is available in the Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation and in the Direct E-Mail Quick Reference Checklist on the Florida Bar website.

Although lawyers are responsible for all content that the lawyers post on their own pages, a lawyer is not responsible for information posted on the lawyer’s page by a third party, unless the lawyer prompts the third party to post the information or the lawyer uses the third party to circumvent the lawyer advertising rules. If a third party posts information on the lawyer’s page about the lawyer’s services that does not comply with the lawyer advertising rules, the lawyer must remove the information from the lawyer’s page. If the lawyer becomes aware that a third party has posted information about the lawyer’s services on a page not controlled by the lawyer that does not comply with the lawyer advertising rules, the lawyer should ask the third party to remove the non-complying information. In such a situation, however, the lawyer is not responsible if the third party does not comply with the lawyer’s request.

Finally, the Standing Committee on Advertising is of the opinion that a page on a networking site is sufficiently similar to a website of a lawyer or law firm that pages on networking sites are not required to be filed with The Florida Bar for review.

In contrast with a lawyer’s page on a networking site, a banner advertisement posted by a lawyer on a social networking site is subject not only to the requirements of Rule 4-7.2, but also must be filed for review unless the content of the advertisement is limited to the safe harbor information listed in Rule 4-7.2(b)(1). See Rules 4-7.6(d), 4-7.7(a)(2) and 4-7.8(a).

[Updated by the Standing Committee on Advertising on May 11, 2010.]

Righthaven RIP: Assets Being Seized, Rumors of Righthaven Bankruptcy Roam the Web

2011-09-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

Righthaven's going down, and going down fast: today the news is that creditors are seizing assets of Righthaven, Inc. - the company that struck fear into many a blogger's heart as it filed copyright infringement lawsuits throughout Nevada and other states (South Carolina, Colorado) without so much as a cease and desist notice letter.

Righthaven is reported to be considering bankruptcy even as I type this.

There's more. Attorney Todd Kincannon is reportedly mounting a class action lawsuit against Righthaven, Inc. If you believe that you may have been harmed by the actions of Righthaven, Inc., then Mr. Kincannon wants to chat with you.

What did Righthaven do? It bought the copyrights from various media sites and then sued websites and blogs for violation of federal copyright laws (see my July 2010 post for details, "Profiting from Copyright Infringement - New Vegas Company Sues Bloggers After Buying Media Copyrights.")

What happened next? After over 250 of these suits were filed (some reports are that they've filed over 275 cases), federal judges started acting. The suits were blown out of court for things like standing problems. (See, "Righthaven's Days May Be Numbered: Federal Judges Are Ruling Against Standing and More.")

And, Righthaven started losing cases. In the asset seizure making news now, Righthaven defendant Wayne Hoehn is seeking to enforce a federal court order that orders Righthaven to pay Mr. Hoehn $34,000 as reimbursement of the legal fees that he had to pay to defend himself against their copyright lawsuit.

Righthaven whined to the federal judge, the Honorable Philip Pro of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, asking him to stay the award because having to pay Mr. Hoehn right now might force Righthaven into bankruptcy. Judge Pro was not swayed; the order stands.

So, right now, federal marshalls will be executing on Righthaven assets to meet that $34,000 award and Righthaven may be filing a bankruptcy petition (where the automatic stay might temporarily stop the marshalls).

For all things Righthaven, check out the excellent website that is monitoring all this: RighthavenLawsuits.

Does this mean no more copyright infringement suits? I doubt it. I don't know that "copyright trolls" will have a big future - but those that own the copyrights are free to sue for federal copyright law violations. Righthaven was acting as a middleman, in a way: buying those rights and then suing based upon them.

Take out Righthaven, what have you got? No more middleman. If it is cost-effective to sue for copyright violations, then owners will do so. Maybe Righthaven's aftermath will be that they will be more inclined to file.

Anonymous Comments: Should You Block Them From Your Blog?

2011-09-12T13:30:00.000-05:00

Anonymous comments did not start with the World Wide Web; they've been around for centuries and they've always been a headache at times. For an interesting read about anonymous comments, check out the Online Journalism Review's article on traditional journalism's take on anonymous commenting -- you'll learn a lot: for instance, did you know that Benjamin Franklin wrote many an anonymous comment under the psuedonym "Silence Dogood"?

The position of many print publishers is this: if someone wants to have their words published in their publication, then the publisher feels that the writer should have the cojones (yes, I'm in Texas) to put their name right up there with their comment. Of course, the publisher's lawyers have pointed out that there may be legal consequences to the words printed in the publication; therefore, having the ability to find that potential co-defendant if the comment proves litigious is important to the legal team.

I get it. And I'm still in favor of allowing anonymous comments on your blog (or blawg).

Here's why: technology being what it is today, right now there are all sorts of hurdles to leaving a comment on a blog or newspaper or online magazine. Just this past week I experienced the following:

I had a devil of a time trying to leave a comment to a Typepad post - I was requested to sign in via Twitter or Facebook or Google to leave the comment, or alternatively leave my name and address (for the blog's growing email marketing list). If I used Twitter, I was asked to agree to allow the platform to post its own tweets on my Twitter feed. That's right. Their stuff. On my Twitter feed. Without my prior looksie. I was left with two options, well three: (a) agree to be on their mailing list; (2) allow the platform to be my Tweet-partner; or (3) not leave a comment. Surprise: I didn't leave the comment.
A client in Florida wanted to put a comment at one of the top Florida newspaper's online sites. Same platform issue. After much time (that we both could and should have dedicated to other things), her comment was left on the news article -- and now, she is watching her Twitter feed, to see what they are going to do (and I hope she's got her finger on the Application Approval button at the Twitter settings page).

In social media today (think Klout), you want to have comments on your blog (or blawg). You want to make it easy for readers to communicate with you. Sure, there's a spam issue and yes, there will be times when a comment is troublesome. I'm not recommending that bloggers ignore the contents of the comments and monitor what's being written by readers.

However, it is just too darn easy to surf away if the blog (or blawg) puts up a hurdle for the reader to jump in order to write a short thought or two about the post. Who wants to spend all that time and effort just to leave a little message?

I know I don't. I leave anonymous comments when it's too much burdensome to get through the blogging platform's hurdles ... maybe I will leave a signature within the comment itself. If I remember. For something like, "thanks for sharing this" I may not.

Bottom line:

blocking anonymous comments doesn't help your reader (or your social media dialogue, if that is the terminology that floats your boat) and may alienate some of them, since it's the fastest and simplest way of leaving a comment online.
forcing readers to allow third party access to things like their Twitter feeds just to have the joy of leaving a comment on your blog is just plain disrespectful and manipulative and wrong in my humble opinion, and I'm sure I'm not alone here.
blocking anonymous commenting is not going to prevent you from getting troublesome comments: it's just as easy for troublemakers to create online pseudonyms with fake online email accounts, etc. as it was for Ben Franklin to sign "Silence DoGood" to his letters long ago -- you're not stopping the dedicated writer who doesn't want to leave his real name.
in the event of a huge lawsuit, techies may well be able to track down the source of the comment anyway: how anonymous that writer really is in today's technological world is debatable.

Considering Book Covers: Different Needs for Print and EBook

2011-09-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of getting a series of books published and it's crazy how many details there are in what appeared to be a pretty simple path. One thing that has been a bigger stumbling block than I had planned for: the ebook cover.

How the image appears in a thumbprint on Amazon's website is very important, and has very different demands than an eye-catching book cover on a shelf or table at the local brick and mortar.

Very Different.

Here's a great blog post that not only discusses these differences but gives some nice covers as examples, with a critique of them:

15 Ebook Covers: Success and Failure in the Kindle Store by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer.

Grading My Own Papers: Top Results In Google that Hold Over Time

2011-09-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

On August 30, 2011, I was asked by a national legal marketing agency to provide them with some details on what I achieve in Google results, and while I explained that I cannot violate confidentiality by providing statistics from ghost-coaching clients or ghostwriting clients I could - and did - provide them with the following:

1. Performance example of writing style/content from blog that I write with Terry Lenamon

Terry Lenamon on the Death Penalty

This blog was holding at Google page rank of 5/10 with only 8 posts per month until our summer 2011 hiatus (now we're at 4/10).
Google Everything search: death penalty | Google rank: 4 / 26,900,000 (first blog shown in results)

2. Examples of holding top search results in Google from my four personal blogs (posts chosen at random):

Reba Kennedy.Writer.Lawyer.

Google Everything search: lawyer writing blog | Google rank: 8 / 30,400,000
post example: Google Everything search: authenticate twitter evidence | Google rank: 1 / 1,990,000| post written: 02/28/2011 (eight months old)

Backseat Lawyer

Google Everything search: lawyer blog | Google rank: 12 / 90,000,000 (still in the first page of results)
post example:Google Everything search: jose baez | Google rank: 3 / 6,790,000| post written: 01/15/2009 (2 years, 8 months old)

Rebecca Kennedy's Blog

Google Everything search: fiction writing blog | Google rank: 10 / 129,000,000
post example: Google Everything search: thriller vs. mystery | Google rank: 1 / 13,200,000 | post written: 11/24/2006 (4 years, 10 months old)

Everyday Simplicity

Google Everything search: simplicity blog | Google rank: 2 / 20,600,000
post example: Google Everything search: tips for surviving a depression | Google rank: 3 / 3,580,000| post written: 11/28/2008 (2 years, 10 months old)

Righthaven's Days May Be Numbered: Federal Judges Are Ruling Against Standing and More

2011-07-13T11:46:00.001-05:00

More than one federal district judge appears to have had enough with Righthaven's strategy of buying copyrights from various media sources (usually in Nevada) and then suing for copyright infringement under federal law without so much as a form cease and desist letter. (For details on the Righthaven plan of action and its early success, read my prior posts on the subject.)

The worm turns.

Federal judges setting in more than one state don't seem to think that Righthaven is doing the right thing, apparently. Standing has been found wanting. Fair use has been found. Copyright has been determined not to be at issue in the first place.

For a nice recap of these various court opinions, read David Kravets' article in Wired's June 20, 2011 issue, "Righthaven Loss: Judge Rules Reposting Entire Article Is Fair Use."

Today's news: Righthaven isn't paying attorneys' fees.

This morning, TechDirt reports that Righthaven is avoiding paying around $3000 in attorneys' fees to a defendant even though it's been ordered to do so by a federal judge. The company has asked the court for a 30 day stay ... doesn't sound smart, but we'll see what happens.

Lawyers: Please Stop Stealing News Video for Your Firm Web Site, and YES You Are, Too....

2011-07-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, thankfully ... because if I have another client conference where I have to explain this simple fact to a lawyer this week, I may start pulling my hair out. And I like my hair, I don't want to do this.

So, I'm going to rant here on my blog instead, and here goes:

When an attorney is interviewed by a reporter and that interview gets uploaded as a video on the reporter's website -- usually, a local television station's web site, or that lawyer is quoted extensively in a publication -- usually, a daily newspaper serving his local community, then it's understandable for that lawyer to be excited about this and want to share this great news.

And not just with his family and friends, of course. This is great exposure for the attorney: he's been acknowledged as an expert in whatever the topic of the interview was - from the Mets vs. the Yankees to the future of class action lawsuits in view of the 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Wal-Mart and AT&T. Whatever.

Clients should know about this, right? Sure. And, referring attorneys should be aware of this, right? Yes.

However, this interview cannot simply be taken from that online website and stuck on the law firm web site or blog without gaining the permission of its owner, the publication that's uploaded it onto their site.

No. No. No.

Too many lawyers do this, and they should know better. If they are sued for copyright infringement, that law degree is going to be a big fact used by the plaintiff that they did know better.

And yes, sometimes you will have to pay for the use of the video or article. How much will depend upon the publication. There are times where the publication waives that charge, I've seen this happen more than once.

However, they're the ones who have to waive it. You have to get permission, simple as that.

And if you think I'm being picky (and yes, I've been accused of being picky and it's true, I am) then think again. Web sites are being sued without so much as any prior notice (e.g., cease and desist letter) in more and more parts of the country for just this sort of thing.

Go read my posts regarding Righthaven if you're interested.

In the meantime, STOP stealing those news stories where your name is mentioned by just sticking them on your web site or blog. Stop. It.

Okay, rant over.

Whew.

Lawyers Write Blogs About All Sorts of Things - The Evolution of Lawyer Blogs

2011-06-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

The word "blog" is actually a contraction of the phrase "web log," and back in the day, folk wrote web logs or journals, usually writing about personal diary-like topics: day's events, family life, etc. As the internet grew in popularity and technology got more user-friendly, it cost less in time and money to start a web log.

People took notice. Business minds pondered how these logs, or journals, could be revamped to sell products or services. News junkies started blogs to share scoops (think Drudge Report). Educators thought of ways blogs could provide learning opportunities and ways to share information over the web. Political pundits started blogs to share their views (e.g., Little Green Footballs). Families figured out how blogs could connect loved ones in all sorts of locations, even in war zones. The list goes on.

In the midst of this, there were lawyers who started blogs with a personal touch. They opined to their colleagues about pending cases, new legislation, the state of the law - and of the legal profession. Some were more analysis-oriented than others, but it was usually a single attorney writing a short blog post (article on a web log) several times a month, or week, or day, like Howard J. Bashman's How Appealing where he's been writing "the Web's first blog devoted to appellate litigation" since May 2002.

Then the idea hit for business development via a web log or blog. We began reading more about "blawgs." Law firm web sites were no longer cutting edge; now, blawgs were the new trend. Law firm marketing strategies began to incorporate blogs into their rainmaking plans in much the same way that Web 2. 0 campaigns do now (i.e., the use of Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn).

Blogs for lawyers and law firms diversified. The intended readers of lawyer-generated blogs are varied: some are targeting potential clients, some are targeting referring attorneys, some are seeking to support an issue or to build public awareness about it.

Some blawgs consistently give opinion, some never do. Some blawgs are funny, some are serious. Some deal with the law, and some don't.

Lawyers Who Blog About Things Other Than Law -- Ten Examples

For example, here are a few blogs appearing on the web today that are written by lawyers that have nothing to do with legal issues:

Appalachian Trail Hike 2010 -- coverage of hiking the Appalachian Trail " ... from the perspective of a lawyer, an ivy grad, and a city chick," via a blog on the Blogger platform (together with videos on MySpace, photos on Picasa, etc.), hiking from Georgia to Maine in one year's time. There's a documentary now, too.
Nathan B. Hannah, Attorney -- periodic posts on jazz from a lawyer "who'd rather write music commentary." Wish he'd write more - what's there is good stuff.
Ironlawyer -- an attorney posts about preparing for an Ironman competition with her husband - they completed a half-Ironman in May 2011. Hopefully, there will be more posts after they recuperate.
Paul's Travel Blog -- with periodic blog posts, this lawyer dedicates his travelogue to "...discuss[ing] a bit how a legal education changes your general behavior, decreases your appetite for certain kinds of risk. Now, it is true that the profession probably draws the risk-adverse simply because a legal education is seen as a "safe" field for moderate professional and economic success.... Yes, I believe that law school and law practice have made me a more cautious, risk-adverse person."
Instapundit -- Glenn Reynolds is a law professor at the University of Tennessee who publishes a political blog as part of "Pajamas Media," whose personal passion is pondering "...the intersection between advanced technologies and individual liberty." Instapundit has been on the web since 2001.
Black Coffee and a Donut -- two sisters who are both attorneys have dedicated their blog to their foodie passion, and have a great food blog with very nice photos covering local restaurants as well as food finds during their travels (which do include Paris, of course). Recently covered in the Baltimore, Maryland Daily Record.
Everyday Simplicity -- my own blog, begun in January 2006, where I post regularly on issues of living a simplicity lifestyle, which includes issues like going green, downsizing, career change, recipes, cleaning tips, and being more frugal.
LeffStyle -- former NYC entertainment lawyer blogs on interior design with lots of photos, who educates readers not only on design, but designers. Chic and fun.
Michelle's In Cambodia -- as a lawyer who moves overseas to Cambodia to teach English and have adventure, Michelle is as much a photographer as a writer and there are many wonderful photos uploaded here on her blog documenting her journey as well as her periodic posts.
ProFootballTalk - an all-things-football blog, hosted by NBC.com as of June 2009, with lawyer Mike Florio as its editor; Florio also contributes posts to its "Daily Rumor Mill," with news tips as well as his viewpoints on all things pro football. It's not known how much Florio got paid by NBC when he sold his blog to them, but he's remained at its helm as editor since the sale.

Tip on Finding the Time To Write That Blog Post

2011-06-14T19:50:00.001-05:00

Blog posts are more than tweets or likes - you have to find a topic and spend some time writing at least a paragraph or two. This is true when you're writing a personal journal type of blog. If you're writing another kind of blog -- informational, research-oriented, etc. then it means even more involvement.

Which I discuss with my lawyer clients regularly because if it isn't a panic on finding something to write about, it's about finding the time to write the post (let's not even get started on the comments). Here's something that helps: a timer.

That's right. A timer. Any old kitchen timer will do, as will the one on your phone or your watch (ahem). However, here's one that I really like because it appears onscreen at the bottom of your window: FocusBooster.

FocusBooster is free. It's a part of a larger time management technique that you may find helpful (many do) but for now, I have to say that downloading FocusBooster and having that little timer bar counting down the seconds as you are typing away keeps you ... well ... FOCUSED.

It alarms at 25 minutes. Then you get a 5 minute count. Once that dings, you've got to restart FocusBooster.

The beauty of FocusBooster is that if you play your cards right, you'll hit that green square and get going, and before 25 minutes are up, voila! Another post on your blog.

Try it. According to Lifehacker, it's the most popular software of its kind out there right now.

5 More Tips on Finding Things to Write About in Your Law Blog

2011-06-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

Last fall, I wrote a guest post for Scoop, JD Supra's blog, that gave attorneys tips on finding topics for blog posts. I won't repurpose that content - if you want to read those tips, go check out "5 Tips for Finding Things to Write About in Your Blog Posts or Legal Articles" over at JD Supra's blog.

This time around, I thought I'd discuss themes and scheduling. Magazines, for example, work in the long-term and not only do they have their publications scheduled months, if not years, in advance they also have annual theme issues (e.g., the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue; Time's Man (or Woman) of the Year; People's 50 Most Beautiful).

You can do this, too. Here's what I mean:

Five Tips for Finding Things to Write About in Your Next Blog Post

1. Tie your practice area to a theme and write your posts around that theme for a certain period of time. For example, tax attorneys might take six weeks near year-end and write a series of posts dedicated to issues surrounding tax strategies, charitable deductions, pending tax legislation, etc. Stagger the posts over the last two months of the year. Plan for it.

2. Have certain "annual" blog themes. Hurricane season starts June 1st every year, and here in Texas as well as the rest of the Gulf Coast, we are well aware of it. Personal injury blogs could calendar that date and each year write a series of posts that deal with hurricane preparation, how to file a claim, warnings that homeowner's coverage is not the same as flood insurance, etc.

3. Consider pending legislation and what will happen when/if it passes and write a series of posts on the new law(s). For example, Florida recently did a big whammy on its state budget by gutting a lot of state oversight agencies. Conservationists are upset; developers are excited. Posting a few short articles on what has happened and what it means is good for blog readers and it also provides the lawyer with a solid base of reference links along with an ability to demonstrate his or her legal acumen by explaining what the new statutes mean to the rest of us.

4. Look at what is going on in your world, bite the bullet, and write about it. Get personal and share with your reader. Is the tanking economy causing your staff to start talking about car pooling, or are you seeing more people bagging their lunches now? Write about this. Here in San Antonio, for example, there is a growing number of thieves who are stealing pedigree dogs out of homes. Heartbroken pet owners are offering huge rewards ($4000 was on a Reward poster at my local taco house last week) no questions asked. Makes me angry. If I were writing an animal law blog here, I'd be writing about that trend.

5. Create a blogging calendar and block out themes that correspond to your practice areas. Personal injury could split the year with two months on Med Mal, two months on Wrongful Death, etc. Then, within those themes, search for news stories (local is better) that correspond with the theme of that time period. And, don't forget to link to the news story and do not cut and paste from it. Use your words, and use the link as your support.

CAPTCHAS: What Are They, and Are They Worth the Trouble?

2011-05-23T11:23:00.001-05:00

CAPTCHA stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart," and I use them on my blogs. Whether or not you choose to use them on yours is a different matter.

What is a CAPTCHA?

It's that annoying little gizmo that asks you to retype a random series of numbers and letters into a little box, to show that you're human and not some spamming computer. They even have a little audio icon, so you can hear the series if the scramble is too hard to read (which lots are, I've noticed).

There are different kinds of CAPTCHAs, with differing levels of complexity. Older ones are nicer and less problematic than the later versions.

Should You Use CAPTCHAs on Your Blog?

I do. Some don't: they argue that the balance between Spam-Fighting and making their blogs comment-friendly means not having a CAPTCHA. They worry that a CAPTCHA costs them comments.

Personally, I think it depends on the blogging platform - not all CAPTCHAs are the same. Check yours out. If it's a problem, then consider pulling it.

For example, Typepad (a popular blogging platform) has CAPTCHAs that bother me. One writer-friend loves Typepad, and I like to comment on her blog every once in a while. However, I'm doing this less and less because it's such a hassle. What's going on?

There's an added burden to her CAPTCHA of requiring me to sign in via one of my social media accounts before I can leave a comment. Time-consuming. That alone stops me. And this is a friend: what if I don't want the blogger to know who I am, because I'm worried about uninvited enewsletters, etc.? Anonymous commenting is not only faster for me, but protects me from this mess.

What about Anonymous comments? That's for a different post on a different day.

Finding the Time to Blog or Tweet: 30-Minute Social Media Marketing by Susan Gunelius Helps You

2011-05-16T12:45:00.004-05:00

30-Minute Social Media Marketing by Susan Gunelius (available on Kindle) gives several excellent examples of implementing a social media strategy on a daily basis with a relatively short time commitment.

Read the book, and you've got the ground rules - along with lots of links to check out, tips to try, and tricks to streamline things. The 80/20 Rule is great. The Quick Tips throughout the text are good.

If your goal is to invest long-term in a social media marketing plan, or if you are just getting your feet wet at Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, this book is worth your investment of time and money.

There are two limitations, though: first, times are changing so fast that some of the information is already dated. Of course, this isn't the writer's fault, but it does limit the usefulness of the book.

Second, I question some of the times within the schedules here - particularly for the newbie. There are nifty schedules here, ready made for you, and that is a wonderful idea. However, take for example Chapter 22's sample 30 Minute Marketing Plans where one plan has a mere 5 minutes allotted to write a post including an image.

Me? I’m thinking 5 minutes to tweet (start to finish) seems reasonable - write the tweet, gather your hashtags, shorten the URL, edit as needed to meet that 140 character limit - but a quality blog post?

I dunno about that. Hasn't been my experience with my clientele - or with me. Still, tweaking and personalizing these schedules to fit the individual is an obvious need here. Doesn’t mean that what’s provided here isn’t a great help.

I recommend this book.

Notepad is a Great Kindle App

2011-05-02T18:28:00.002-05:00

Notepad is a note taking tool for Kindle. It only costs 99 cents, and it's worth much more than a buck.

Why is Notepad so good?

It's fast. It's roomy. It's great when you're reading in your e-reader and you want to note something - whether it's from the book, or whether it's got nothing to do with the text you're reading.

Here's an example. It's long past midnight. I'm reading along in Grisham, and suddenly the thought pops up that I need to check that FedEx delivery: did it arrive? When was the deadline again?

Of course, Notepad is just as ready for you to jot down items for the grocery list or your calendar (anniversary, birthday) as it is something work-related.

Why is this better than the notepad in your nightstand drawer?

Notepad via Kindle allows you to take these notes and put them on your computer (and vice versa). Plus, if you don't have that pad and paper next to the bed, Notepad means you don't have to get up and search for stuff.

It's proven to be handy for me in my writing and I think you might find Notepad useful, too.

Crashes Happen and the Cloud Can Save You - Like It Did Me

2011-04-27T18:14:00.006-05:00

This month, my wonderful new laptop with all its fancy bells and whistles along with the very latest in security software was attacked by a creepy little horrid virus that Shall Be Unnamed.

This evildoer was crafty and circumvented all my protections - even to the point where it would successfully reinfect my machine after I had jumped through all the hoops to get things cleaned up.

You know the drill. You can imagine the time involved here.

Everything is better now, and I'm back on my regular work schedule. The thing that I want to share - now that the danger has passed and I'm out of Panic Mode - is a lesson learned: it was wise to have everything backed up to a remote location. Very wise.

It was also very wise not to have email stored on the hard drive. (Well, copies were, but you get the idea.)

I had become arrogant, having escaped any kind of computer crash for several years. I've realized that in today's world it really is only a matter of time before you'll get zapped. Plan to be attacked now, and you'll be glad you did.

FYI - my security software? Norton.

LinkedIn, Yes; Facebook, No - TechRepublic's Toni Bowers Casts a Vote

2011-04-15T12:19:00.000-05:00

I don't like Facebook and I don't use Facebook. I don't recommend Facebook to friends or clients, and if you want to go into all the reasons why, then write me and I'll jump up on my soapbox and explain.

I'm not alone in this. Just Google "I hate Facebook" and surf for awhile.

Or don't. Opt for this: over at TechRepublic today, Toni Bowers writes a nice, short article on her take on this issue in "LinkedIn is Facebook's mature older sibling."

And have a great weekend.

IE 10 is Coming. And I Just Downloaded IE9 (With Its Kinks)

2011-04-12T18:00:00.002-05:00

This past week, I upgraded to Internet Explorer 9. Then, almost immediately thereafter, ZDNET reported that Microsoft was sending out IE9 as a Windows Update, so I wasn't exactly ahead of the crowd here. Still, I was somewhat techno-proud. You know what I mean.

Which, of course, meant that the inevitable time-eating kinks would pop up. This time, I discovered that IE9 had a problem with secure sites. I had to use Firefox to enter various client blogs and things to edit, optimize, fiddle, etc. Annoying. Fixable.

Today, I learn that IE9 is so shortlived that we're already being told to get ready for Internet Explorer 10. That's right. Ten. It's only been four weeks, Microsoft! Four weeks!

PCMag has all the details, along with screenshots from Microsoft describing how really and truly great IE10 is going to be.

Now, I admit: IE9, so far, is nicer than IE8 (or 7, or 6, or whatever). (The experts agree.) I particularly like the increase in space for me. I just hate the Kink Hurdle.

According to PCMag, it's gonna be a little bit of time before I have to worry about IE10 - but geez. They could have waited a little bit before making this big announcement.

It's like going out and buying your swanky new car, and then two weeks later the car maker unveils that your make and model will have a whole new design next year. You feel so old news.

Sigh.

Getting Stuff Done: Learning Your Distractions and Taking Control of Them

2011-04-03T10:32:00.002-05:00

This isn't news, but I've discovered that working as a writer is so very different from working as a lawyer. For example:

The deadlines are much more self-imposed (e.g, daily word count).
It's a solitary endeavor (no high heels. Heck, no shoes ...).
I can work most any place (home, Starbucks, a park bench).

Which means that very quickly, I've learned how much willpower I've really got -- and I've discovered powerful, subtle temptations that regularly keep me from meeting my word count. The fridge, the TV: sure - but it's much more than that. It's a pattern of distractions that is undermining me.

Psychologists Study Willpower. Duh.

I went surfing around the web, and discovered psychologists study willpower. Who knew, right? Which is wonderful: I want to know what they've found, and incorporate it into my daily routine.

Is there a secret weapon against procrastination? Against stopping to watch TV and get a snack every afternoon, at the exact same time? That @#$#$@#$ Ina Garten show is on every weekday afternoon at four. Damn her.

Metcalfe and Mischel Study - 1999 (pdf here)

One thing I found was a study done in 1999 [1] that divides willpower into two motivations: hot and cold. Hot motivators are fueled by fear and anxiety (which brings back memories of impending filing deadlines from my lawyer days) as well as good stuff. Hot motivation is controlled by outside stimuli that spark your reaction. The study labels hot motivation as the "go" system.

I think that I have a lot of hot motivation. This is not sexy at all.

Cold motivators are different. Cold motivation is the "know" system in the study's vernacular. It's your willpower, baby.

Fortunately, I can look back over my past successes and comfort myself that I apparently have quite a bit of cold motivation, too. Whew.

The Psychology Behind Distractions

To get the job done, I can't fall prey to all the distractions that tempt me away from my task at hand. As I write this post, I'm fighting a war against distractions. External and internal, they've been categorized.

The neighbor's dog barking is external. The thought of making a fresh pot of tea now rather than later is internal. An image of the Veggie Sub on Flatbread from Subway floats through my mind. These can all veer me off my path - no!!! I have to ignore them, and keep typing.

In their study, Metcalfe and Mischel describe what I'm doing right now as exercising my willpower. Wo Nellie. Good for me.

Willpower, Self-Control: What It Is

Of course, they describe this in their psychological way: what I'm doing is exercising my ability to inhibit my impulsive behavior in order to fulfill my commitment to myself, which right now is to get this post written, finalized, and published.

In the long-term, that willpower might be labelled "self-control." In the Bible, self-control is a gift given to us by God [2]. In the study, they delve into self-control (over the long haul) as having three characteristics:

it's mental and intellectual (not emotional);
you have more as you age, hopefully - self-control is a sign of maturity (babies don't have much if any of this); and
(warning Will Robinson!) self-control is vulnerable to stress.

Stress is Kryptonite to Self-Control

So far, so good. All of this makes sense to me. I'm still looking for information that I can use as tools to help me get all my stuff done. I found some.

1. Planning is Very, Very Important

They tell us that for self-control to be powerful, you have to rely upon the tools of planning as well as memory, which work together to "...keep the goals in mind while pursuing them and monitoring progress along the route." So that old adage, "those who fail to plan, plan to fail," appears to have a scientific support, right?

For me, this means that I need to get a better handle not just on my daily to-do list, but on my one-year plan, five-year plan, even ten-year plan. It will help me get the things done today that I need to do.

It's true: when I don't have my task list at my side, I am easily distracted. It's just sad how easily I'm distracted, in fact -- and I won't even admit to the ridiculous things that have successfully tempted me away from my keyboard. My purchase history at QVC speaks for itself.

2. Actions that Reduce Stress Are Also Valuable

The study also recognizes that stress can sneak in and weaken your resolve. It's easier for those hot motivators to win if you're weak. No news there. So, it comes back to avoiding stress. Really? Grrrr.

Find some stress reduction techniques that work, they suggest. Plan for stress and be ready to beat it. This I can do.

For me, walking the dogs comes to mind immediately. Even a short walk is good -- gets me out and moving for a bit and provides the added stress reduction of watching how happy the pups are to do this. There's nothing so fun as seeing your dog jump up five feet in the air at the question "wanna go for a walk?" -- never gets old.

3. Hooray!! Rewards!!!

Get this: the researchers not only suggest rewards, they've got two kinds. I'm really pumped now. There are the Large Late Rewards (LLRs) and the Small Early Rewards (SERs). I cannot tell you how much I love this. However, there's bad news with the good news: it appears that a small reward now may turn into a distraction. You gotta be careful about giving yourself rewards.

For me, I find that giving myself little rewards when tasks are done (particularly ones that I despise) seems juvenile, but it works for me. So sue me, I'm immature in my mature assertion of self-control. Sometimes they are things, sometimes they are things I get to do.

The Large Late Rewards are the Big Deals. You get that article published, for example. The researchers report that those should have big treats to go with them, or you'll get waylaid by distractions -- you'll find a reward for yourself in television, ice cream, tequilla, something ... if you don't consciously acknowledge your major achievement.

What I'm Taking From This -- Plans and Rewards

Okey dokey. From this, I'm going to stop and take the time to go over my business plan, my marketing plan, etc. as well as set up a list of real rewards, tied to goals being met. Much more formal than my usual approach, but this makes sense to me. (Businesses do this, too: bonuses, profit sharing, etc., and I may incorporate some of their tactics to my writing world.) And after I get this all done, I'm going to go get a Frap ... as my reward.

[1] Metcalfe, J., & Mischel, W. (1999). A hot/cool system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of willpower. Psychological Review, 106, 3-19.

[2] 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV ("...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.")

Follow the Lawsuits Being Filed Against Web Sites, Bloggers for Copyright Infringement by Nevada's Righthaven

2011-04-02T12:00:00.003-05:00

I've posted in the past about Righthaven, and how they are building up quite a business by buying copyrights and then suing (without notice or cease and desist letters) for violations of federal copyright laws. Go here to read about them.

Recently, I discovered a website that is tracking Righthaven's activities. RighthavenLawsuits is not affiliated in any way with the company that has become a professional plaintiff. Here, from the RighthavenLawsuits site:

This website is dedicated to gathering together and posting for Righthaven Defendants and the public information about Righthaven LLC -- the Las Vegas “technology company”that has been filing copyright infringement lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (and South Carolina and Colorado) against numerous unsuspecting website owners (almost always without notice) for copyright infringement of news articles originally published in the Las Vegas Review Journal (and Denver Post) and purportedly assigned to Righthaven (sample assignment here) which subsequently registers the copyright to such articles with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to then file suit in federal court.

This web site appears to be current and comprehensive. Interesting to me: since my post in July 2010, the company has expanded its activity into South Carolina and Colorado. What will happen next? Will Righthaven's tenticles creep into other states - or will other companies pop up in these other states as direct competitors to Righthaven? Money talks, you know.

William Safire's Rules of Great Writing

2011-03-31T12:21:00.002-05:00

I love these Great Rules for Writing by William Safire, since they each exemplify the rule itself. Fun stuff:

Do not put statements in the negative form.

And don't start sentences with a conjunction.

If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.

De-accession euphemisms.

If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

-- QuoteGarden

Setting Up EMail Alerts: Try Google Alerts and TweetBeep

2011-03-30T13:42:00.000-05:00

Alerts. They are easy to set up and you want to have a few set up -- but what are they? Alerts are where software automatically discovers new web content that includes a particular word or phrase and sends you an email to let you know that something new has appeared.

It's easy enough to do. Have your name, your firm name, a topic of interest (e.g., "death penalty" or "american idol"), etc. set up with an alert system and then sit back and wait for the emails to arrive.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts will automatically let you know when new stuff appears within its search results. For details, go here.

TweetBeep

TweetBeep searches Twitter and alerts you as you have requested - exclusively within tweets. To learn more, go here.

Twitter Tip: 140 Is Less Than You Think -- Leave Room for the Retweet

2011-03-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Once again, I'm chatting with a client who is learning about Twitter and getting comfortable with writing substantive messages that are only 140 characters long. She's a little frustrated about that number, because she thinks it's a bit deceptive. And she's right. There's lots less room to move here than 140 would suggest, since at the outset that number includes the spaces between the words.

That's right: the blanks are included in the tally.

So from the start, the 140 character count doesn't leave everything for letters and numbers and commas and whatnot.

Then you must shorten the links so they will fit. The urls are often longer than 140 characters from the git-go.

Now, even less than 140 in the count, right?

Next, you've got to add the hashtags. This helps people find what you've shared. Hashtags are important (more on them later).

That number is plummeting, isn't it? No wonder it's R for "are" and U for "you" ....

Now, it's time to remember the retweet. If you don't, then you're making work for someone who is doing you a favor already by sharing your tweet with their followers.

Easy way to envision this need is to retweet some tweets for yourself. Go to Twitter, or whatever third party app that you're using to tweet, it doesn't matter. Just find a tweet that you want to retweet. Now, retweet it. Do it again; heck, do it several times.

Let's assume you retweeted USA Today. See how the retweet takes up more space, since you're getting the "RT @USATODAY" in the message, too? Did you go over 140 with your retweet, so you had to take the time to cut something before Twitter would accept it?

Know how much your retweeted name uses in the count.

Here's the tip: cut the word count off your tweet before you publish it, to accommodate that character count. Twelve characters are used in "RT @USATODAY." Fifteen (15) characters/spaces are taken up by "RT @rkennedy" - yours may be more or less. Remember to accommodate your tally in your tweets. Helps those who retweet your message to do so fast and easy.

Note: this doesn't appear when you are tweeting directly from the Twitter platform. The retweet appears as a little green cap over the top left corner of your tweet box. However, if you go and read your retweet in another venue, you'll see the "RT @USATODAY" at the start of your retweet.

Getting and Holding in Top Three of Google Search Results: More on Same

2011-03-15T19:03:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to post quickly on one more example of how I achieve and hold top spots in Google search results - because I like that I can do this and because it's nice to have these examples for clients to have, too.

Today, I just surfed for "Charlie Sheen Lawsuit" and discovered my week-old post at Backseat Lawyer (where I have no regular posting schedule, as you can see by the archives) remains in the top three search results at Google (everything search) at no. 3 out of 10,300,000.

My post is 3rd out of 10,300,000. That's nice.

Here's the screen shot -- which admittedly is hard to see via the blog -- but trust me (or Google it yourself) that the results show my little post ranking higher than ... well, all the media outlets (much less blogs, etc.) except two. ABA Journal, NY Daily News, Hollywood Reporter fall lower on the first page, let's not even bother with subsequent pages.

Who are the two that rank higher than Backseat Lawyer? TMZ and Radar Online.

TweetDeck Users, Third Party Apps: Did a Twitter War Start Today?

2011-03-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

I spend lots of time counseling fellow lawyers on how to effectively and efficiently use Twitter - both for personal use and for professional business development. Once they get going, they usually decide to flip from going directly to their Twitter page (http://www.twitter.com/) to tweet, opting instead for more user-friendly sites that are not owned by Twitter ("third party apps").

The most popular of these is TweetDeck (at least, that's what I'm hearing). TweetDeck is cool. TweetDeck also lets you do other things besides tweet -- you can connect with LinkedIn and Facebook from TweetDeck, too. Handy for lots of folk.

However, there is news for all you TweetDeck lovers. Appears that TweetDeck has been purchased by UberMedia, and Twitter isn't happy with UberMedia.

Twitter Has Thrown Down the Gauntlet Regarding Third Party Applications

Why? For one thing, Twitter may not like the latest feature offered by TweetDeck: Deck.ly, which lets you post longer tweets. Deck.ly gets you around that 140 character limit. Which, some may argue takes away the very raison d'etre of tweeting - but hey. It's here.

You can all the details on today's post by Neal Wiser, "The End of the 140 Character Tweet and Its Repercussions."

Other applications that may be impacted by Twitter's new warning include:

For more information on Twitter's relationship with third party apps, because it's not just TweetDeck we're talking about here, check out these recent articles too:

Wired Magazine, "Twitter Clamps Down On Third-Party Clients," by Mark Brown.
PC Magazine, Twitter to Devs: No New Third-Party Apps," by Leslie Horn.
PC World, "Twitter to Third Party Clients: Drop Dead," by Harry McCracken, Technologizer.

What's Going On Here?

Personally, one big hitch for me in tweeting from my Twitter home page is its inability to allow me to easily shorten urls. Time waster that Twitter should have solved long ago. Maybe I wouldn't mind tweeting from Twitter itself if they made it as easy for me as other developers have done with their free apps.

Apparently, Twitter is waking up to the competition doing a better job, sniffs some money to be made, and is trying to grab those profits. Fine, let them duke it out.

I'm not loyal to any third party app. I will go with whomever provides me the best service -- which translates into FREE and FAST. I'm not going to dedicate much time from my day to tweeting, and neither are my clients.

Bottom line, compete. Go for it. However, Twitter better not mess with blocking what's already working for us.

The Bluebook - Proper Federal Citation

2011-03-03T09:46:00.000-06:00

The University of Pennsylvania provides the Bluebook online - you must pay for a membership to access. Tips, however, are provided for free. They are organized into five (5) areas (below) and with a bit of background knowledge, you may feel comfortable that you've found your answer after perusing the BlueTips archives for a bit:

Cases

Citation Structure

International Materials

Quotations

The Internet, Electronic Media, and Other Nonprint Resources

What about Texas' Greenbook?

Gotta buy it - it's offered by the Texas Law Review.

10 Tips for Writing Blog Post Titles: Blawg Titles are Important for Both Google and Your Reader

2011-03-02T18:07:00.000-06:00

When you are writing your blog post, it's tempting to let all those creative juices flow that must be contained when writing briefs, memos, motions, and the like. Emotional titles. Catchy titles. Puns. What to title your short blawg article - for all the world to see - can be very, very fun to ponder.

You are Writing for Two Readers: Human and Machine

However, you have to remember that you are writing for two readers: (1) the human (whether it is a client, colleague, a perspective client, or the public at large) and (2) the search engine robots or spiders that crawl the web looking for content. If you don't satisfy the bots, then there's a strong likelihood that many of those humans will never find what you've written. (For more on these bots, read my earlier post, "How Search Engines Work - Part 1".)

Incorporate Search Engine Optimization in Your Blog Post Titles

Your goal becomes writing a title that interests the human while simultaneously pleasing Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Here are a few tips to help you accomplish this:

write the title last - after your post is in its final form;
consider the theme of your post and determine the ONE word or phrase that describes what you've written;
place that word or phrase at the beginning of your title;
use vocabulary in your title that can be seen in your first paragraph (second, if you must);
don't make your title too short, have a 5-7 word minimum;
don't make your title too long, keep it under 20 words (some will argue this is too long, but I have found success with a longer title, 20 word limit);
avoid the "&" sign in your titles for coding reasons (see how the amp was automatically stuck in here by my blogging platform?);
avoid all caps since many veteran social media readers interpret capitalization as YELLING AT THE READER;
search Google and Yahoo for the topic of your blog post and see the top results - don't steal their work, but consider their titles and ponder what they've done that has put their post in the top positions; and
don't italicize or bold-face your title.

Tweets as Evidence: Authenticating and Admitting Twitter Tweets and Facebook Pokes

2011-02-28T15:21:00.000-06:00

The State Bar of Texas has been offering continuing legal education for awhile now on how attorneys can use tweets as evidence. That's right: the 140 character tweets (or retweets) that millions are publishing on Twitter 24/7, and sharing with more and more followers, will be appearing in the future as evidence for jurors to consider in their deliberations.

Next month, a replay is being offered by the Texas Bar of a Summer 2010 presentation entitled "Authenticating Tweets: Use and Admission of Social Networking Evidence," where attorney John Browning of Dallas shared with his fellow Texas lawyers all about not only authenticating tweets but getting them admitted into evidence under both state and federal law. (Of course, we all know that authentication and admission are two different hurdles ....)

It also looks like Mr. Browning will be covering more than just Twitter - the outline of his speech references Facebook pokes, as well as a general discussion of social media as fodder for discovery and evidence in civil cases. He should know: John Browning has also written a book on the legal ramifications of social media entitled The Lawyer's Guide to Social Networking: Understanding Social Media's Impact on the Law published by West in December 2010.

Of course, this isn't news to some. Paris Hilton faced having her tweets used by Las Vegas prosecutors in the drug charges she faced last year. But then again, Paris Hilton is always trendy right?

For more on authentication and admissibility of social media:

AVVO - Reviews to Consider B4 You Claim Your Profile

2011-02-21T18:12:00.003-06:00

AVVO.COM is a lawyer rating site - maybe you've seen it. However, before you include your name - or that of your law firm - on Avvo, consider the following 5 (+1) issues:

1. Avvo is on the Ripoff Report.

2. Last year, New York HR attorney Charles Krugel gave an in-depth review of the site - it's worth your time to read.

3. Read the Wikipedia article (I know, I know) and find, among other things, info regarding a lawsuit filed against the service (which reviews both doctors and lawyers) where the plaintiffs alleged that Avvo.com is a sham since its review system isn't scientfically sound -- and where the case was dismissed not because of the allegation that the ratings are bogus, but on 1st Amendment Free Speech grounds. The Judge ruled that assuming arguendo that they are bogus, they are constitutionally protected nevertheless. (Justia has Browne et al v. Avvo here, pleadings and opinion, if you're interested.) Since then, fyi, there's been another suit filed (in 2010, out of Florida - read the pleading here).

4. There's a search engine optimization strategy here that lawyers (and doctors) don't recognize is part of the Avvo.com agenda - details explained here by Barry Hurd, and you need to read his comments, too.

5. Debra Bruce of Lawyer-Coach, Inc. provides a good summary of the Avvo controversy here, in a pdf available online from the State Bar of Texas.

Here's my suggestion -- before you jump into Avvo, go read the reviews of lawyers and law firms in your community. You may find some shocking results ... as Ms. Bruce points out. Consider the raison d'etre of this site: to build ranking on the web. Avvo.com is focused upon building its own site authority on the web, and lawyers who sign up benefit from dovetailing with them. Read Hurd's discussion of this for details.

6. And, one big reminder: it's important to check with your State Bar to insure that any Avvo listing is okay with them.

It may not be -- remember, there are testimonials on the site and that's a big no-no in many states (at least for lawyers). Earlier this month, the Broward County Bar Association discussed this in their latest meeting ("AVVO Testimonials on Florida Attorney Profiles") and the latest from Florida is that lawyers there can "claim" their Avvo profile, but they cannot solicit testimonials for the site - tho Florida allows these testimonials to appear.

And nope, I don't know the answer to the question "how can the Florida Bar enforce this distinction?" Your guess is as good as mine on that one.

ISSN: Registering Your Blog with the Library of Congress

2011-02-16T14:07:00.000-06:00

What is an ISSN? Why should you bother? It's like an ISBN for your blog.

From the Library of Congress:

An ISBN or International Standard Book Number is the book counterpart to the ISSN. It is a national and international standard identification number for uniquely identifying books, i.e., publications that are not intended to continue indefinitely. A publication can have both an ISSN and an ISBN. This situation occurs most commonly with books in a series and with annuals or biennials. The ISBN identifies the individual book in a series or a specific year for an annual or biennial. The ISSN identifies the ongoing series, or the ongoing annual or biennial serial. ...

The ISSN can be thought of as the social security number of the serials world. Just as an individual's social security number is used in many automated systems to distinguish that person from others with the same or similar names, the ISSN distinguishes a particular serial from others with which it might be confused. The ISSN also helps library patrons, libraries, and others who handle large numbers of serials to find and identify titles in automated systems more quickly and easily. ...

There is no charge for the assignment of the ISSN, or for the use of an ISSN once assigned. (However, the Library of Congress incurs substantial costs to staff and maintain the U.S. ISSN Center. Additionally, the Library of Congress is assessed a considerable fee to belong to the ISSN Network.) ...

There is no connection between Copyright and ISSN. Having an ISSN does not confer any Copyright protection, nor does sending a serial to the Copyright office eliminate your need to send the U.S. ISSN Center a sample issue of a serial for which you were given a prepublication ISSN. ...

Getting an ISSN for a title does not confer any exclusive rights to that title. Nor can titles be copyrighted. The best way to protect a title is to register it with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

To register your blog online with the Library of Congress, go here.

One more thing: thanks to Lynn Viehl at Paperback Writer for the head's up.

Look for My Article on Privatization Trends in the Upcoming Issue of the Florida Defender

2011-02-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

The Florida Defender is published quarterly by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

I'm honored to have my article, "The Vital Necessity of the Office of the Florida Public Defender: Resisting the Temptation to Privatize," where I share a byline with Terry Lenamon, published in a periodical noted for its contributors and for its scholarly readership.

Look for it in the Spring 2011 Issue of The Florida Defender.

How to Cite Websites as Primary Sources: Library of Congress Provides Fast Reference to Chicago, MLA

2011-02-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

The Library of Congress offers a fast and easy to follow reference resource for proper citation under either Chicago (Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., sections 17.270, 17.237) or MLA (MLA Handbook, 6th ed., section 5.9.2).

Jump from the Library's overview page to its nice, short itemization of Chicago or MLA.

For example, from here you can find how the Chicago Manual of Style references proper citation to online legal documents and government publications as a primary source in your work (Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., sections 17.270, 17.270):

1.Creator’s last name, first name, middle initial (or filmographer’s name if no director is specified, but indicate role).
2.Author’s last name, first name, middle initial (if given).
3.Title of document (subsection is placed in quotes, followed by title in italics).
4.Format (omit if it is a printed page).
5.Publisher city: publishing company, copyright date (include as much information as possible such as page numbers).
6.Source (From Library of Congress in normal font), Collection name with dates (in italics).
7.Medium (software requirement needed to access source).
8.URL (use bibliographic record URL or shorter digital id if available at bottom of bib record).
9.Accessed date (in parenthesis).

Testing Windows Live Writer With This Post

2011-02-04T19:07:00.001-06:00

Well, I’m trying out Windows Live Writer here, not sure if I’m going to like this or not. Another ribbon on the top – geez louise!

However, the ability to type here and then have the post automatically placed into the blogging platform might help me be more efficient, and perhaps help me to post more often.

Checking links now. Here’s my simplicity blog.

One thing – I cannot choose categories here – no indexing of posts with this remote function. Wrong: after I published this post and returned to WLW, a window popped up with my Labels Index list. So, you can choose the Blogger categories with Windows Live Writer.

Well, that’s enough text. Let’s see how this looks as a published post.

Technorati Tags: windows live writer,blogging,software

My call: I like this. I may end up liking this a lot.

Using Hyperlinks in Your Blog Posts

2011-01-28T14:19:00.000-06:00

Hyperlinks (see my earlier post to learn what these are) connect you with other places on the web. Which is good. Google likes this, so does Yahoo and Bing.

More than that - readers like this, and so do the folk who are responsible for the places you are sending your readers to via these hyperlinks.

It's not as direct an introduction as Twitter, but trust me: I know who links to my blogs because I have stats that give me this information. You probably check your stats, too, right? Ever go see who has been sending traffic your way? (For details on Trackbacks and Pingbacks, go here.)

I've built blog rolls based upon the sites that have had the courtesy of linking to my blogs. I've emailed these bloggers, or placed their blogs in my readers, etc. I've returned the favor and linked to posts or articles they've written within my blog posts.

Of course, it's important to do this in a professional and responsible manner. Some don't and you know who they are.

One easy and smart use of hyperlinks for lawyers: link the case name to the actual opinion at the court's website. I do this as a standard practice at Terry Lenamon's Death Penalty Blog -- saves time, and lots of those readers want to read the full opinion (and the dissents).

Blogging Tip: Who R U Writing 4? Build a Profile of Your Readers and Write for Them, Not You

2011-01-26T13:40:00.001-06:00

I consult with attorneys on how to write blog posts. Their blogs may be firm blogs or they may be personal blogs covering any number of personal interests. One thing ribbons through lots of these chats, though: lawyers tend to focus on the issue and not on the reader.

Which is fine, it’s what good lawyers do. Take issues and break them apart. Dogs getting every bit of meat off the bone.

Problem is: readers may not care. Or maybe they care about the issue, but they don’t want to read in depth about it. They may surf right on by your great blog post.

Here’s the thing. You want to connect with your readers. To do that, you need to know who they are.
Thing about who you want to read your blog on a regular basis. What other sites would they be visiting during their day? Go read their content.

If you’re really dedicated here, then build a profile – one or more. Ponder demographics (I’m thinking here of law firms who are blogging as a marketing strategy) if you want to get serious. If not, just make a short list of characteristics that your readers will share. Moms. Divorcees. Bankers. Investors. Brokers. Foodies. Whatever.

Google Scholar Keeps Getting Better as a Free Legal Research Tool

2011-01-20T14:26:00.000-06:00

Google Scholar has been around for several years now, and I've been monitoring it as a free, online legal research tool. As you'd expect from Google, they keep building upon this product and their latest tweak involves allowing you to perform searches within specific jurisdictional databases. Search their entire federal database, or search within one appellate circuit. Limit your search to a particular state. You get the idea.

How good is Google Scholar -- and how up to date?

Well, today I was working on a blog post with Terry Lenamon on the Texas case where a state district judge wanted to hold an evidentiary pretrial hearing on the constitutionality of Texas' system of capital punishment, and how the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals slapped him down (at least for now).

I found the opinion (actually there are two) on the court's official web site. However, on a whim, I just checked the Google Scholar Advanced Search and yep. There they were. Both opinions.

So, Google Scholar is good, and getting better, but not great. Yet. But if I were Lexis or Westlaw, I'd be worried.

What are Hyperlinks?

2011-01-19T16:58:00.001-06:00

If you want to be technical, there are different types of hyperlinks: absolute, relative, internal, external, etc.

Let's not get technical.

Let's just go over the absolute basic information that you need to know if you are writing a blog - or adding content to your web site. Hyperlinks help you provide better content and you should use them.

What is a hyperlink?

A hyperlink is a bit of text that appears in a different font color, letting the reader know that clicking on that text will allow them to go to another website that provides information about the text itself.

Insert them into your post by blocking the targeted text and then finding the word "link" or an infinity sign (or sideways 8) in your blogging platform's palette; click on this hyperlink icon and a window will appear, allowing you to insert the url for the hyperlink.

Why hyperlinks are helpful:

Hyperlinks can provide support for your post (e.g., you reference source material, and hyperlink to its website).
Hyperlinks can save time (instead of providing the recipe, just link to where it can be found on the web).
Hyperlinks can build traffic for you (assuming that you are linking to sites or blogs that have traffic which may find you via the hyperlink).
Search engine optimization benefits from hyperlinks; for how that happens, go read the posts here that discuss how Google, etc. search and rank.

Stand Up While You Are Reading This

2011-01-13T15:39:00.001-06:00

Like many of us, I spend way too much time setting in a chair, staring at a screen. I'm learning that this is bad for your body. I'm discovering that doctors (and researchers) are investigating the many ways that this may detrimentally impact our health - even if we have a routine exercise schedule and consider ourselves to be physically fit.

It seems that the simple act of sitting for an extended period of time is bad for our internal organs, as well as our joints, etc. Answers? Regularly moving - standing, stretching, moving every thirty minutes or so is being discussed.

So are standing desks. Check out this cool standing desk setup here.

It may take me awhile to get there, but I think a standing desk might be a nice thing to own. I'm gonna check into it.

Twitter Tip: What is a Hashtag?

2011-01-11T15:26:00.001-06:00

Organize your tweet according to its topic(s) within your tweet by using a hashtag (#) - which is the number sign found on your QWERTY keyboard above the number 3.

Using this symbol (without a space) allows you to place your tweet into a Twitter stream that is filled with other tweets sharing that same topic.

For example, #Facebook in your tweet will place it amidst countless other tweets that are discussing that social networking site in some way.

Why should you care?

Hashtags help driving trending topics -- when breaking news is happening, the hashtag symbol allows all sorts of folk who don't follow each other to share information.
Hashtags will help you find tweets that you find interesting on Twitter.
Hashtags will help strangers (and new followers) find you.
Hashtags will help your tweets appear in Twitter Search.

You can put your hashtag anywhere within your tweet. Most folk (like me) stick them on the end. For examples, just go surf around Twitter for a bit.

Writing Old School - Penmanship and the Fountain Pen

2011-01-06T13:38:00.000-06:00

I love my keyboard, don't get me wrong, but I still enjoy writing by hand.

I'm old enough to remember when every lawyer had to have his or her own Montblanc pen (mine was pretty and feminine and silver with a sweet leather case; I still have it) - and you whipped that puppy out at depositions or hearings just like you would unsheath a dagger.

[By the way, check out the Montblanc website. Wow. It's wonderful.]

Over time, I've lost the pretty penmanship that I once had. It was something that I took pride in, truth be told, and I remember getting compliments on my handwriting.

Not today, boy howdy. It's a scrawl. I just don't write by hand that much these days. I'm out of practice. That's changing.

One thing I did: I went and bought some cool pens. The one that I'm really having fun with right now: my Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen.

It's light in my hand, and its retro packaging reminds me of the 1940s tho I don't know that back in the day they provided the handy ink window that the Varsity does. I like to imagine that Bacall used a pen similar to this in all those notes she must have written to Bogie. You get the idea.

And here's the thing: as I write by hand, I am realizing that it helps my writing. Writing by hand, you are forced to go slower than typing on a keyboard. Words get time to get pondered in a way that the computer doesn't allow.

The pleasure of words - synonyms, variations in use, origins. Writing with a pen encourages my wonder and I like this, I've missed it.

So, in my journal and on conference calls these days, I'm writing with an actual fountain pen. I enjoy it. Maybe you will too. Pick up a cool pen and try it.

Blog Writing Tip: Remember the Reader's Screen Size

2011-01-04T14:02:00.005-06:00

Odds are high that you read lots of things off of a very small screen. Look at your phone, check out your e-reader. Tiny, right? Especially when it's compared to that laptop or desktop sitting on your desk, where you probably write the content that you are publishing on the web.

Here's my suggestion: remember this when you are writing your posts for the blog or your articles for the web site. Short sentences are good. Short paragraphs are better.

Headings in bold or italicized fonts help the reader scroll through long content. Hyperlinks should open into a new window, too - helps you keep that reader that might just keep on surfing.

Little things count on the web. Screen size is one of them.

Check Here: You May Be Violating State Bar Ethics Rules with Law Firm Recommendations on Google Places or LinkedIn

2010-11-22T12:34:00.001-06:00

With everyone so excited about the impact of Google Places on law firm web sites positioning in search results, one thing that law firms and attorneys need to remember -- because that internet marketing company may not know, or may not care to bring up -- is that recommendations may be prohibited in their state.

Google Places' new HotPot recommendation service and LinkedIn recommendations may sound good to some lawyers, particularly those in the personal injury and criminal defense practice areas, but beware. Your local solitication rules may apply, forbidding recommendations of legal services online in this manner.

American Bar Association Model Rule 7.1

Lawyers know that every state bar ethical code has its origins in the model originating with the American Bar Association. Each state tweaks the ABA's prototype to serve its own jurisdiction; accordingly, what may be acceptable in Texas may not be okay in Indiana.

We attorneys know this: national marketers and internet search engines may not. Lawyers are responsible for adhering to their own ethical rules or risk sanctioning for failure to do so - it's not the marketing service provider's duty to know these things. It's ours.

Here is the text of ABA Model Rule 7.1:

Information About Legal Services
Rule 7.1 Communications Concerning A Lawyer's Services

A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading.

Each State's Adaptation of Model Rule 7.1 - Review Those That Apply to Your Practice

If you practice in Florida, then check out Rule 4-7.2(c)(1)(J), which prohibits attorney testimonials in any kind of advertising. Ditto for those practicing in Indiana: read your state's Rule 7.2(d)(3). Here in Texas, things aren't quite as strict: testimonials can exist, within certain limitations. You need to check what state bar rules apply for every jurisdiction that applies to your law firm.

Online List of State Bar Rules Regarding Testimonials

The ABA has a webpage with links to each state's individual set of ethical rules. Visit this online resource to find the ethical rules that apply to your situation.

The ABA also provides a litany of examples on permeations of its Model Rule, gleaned from a Louisiana lawsuit's filed briefing, which includes in part:

Prohibition on Using False, Misleading or Nonverifiable Communications about Lawyer’s Services (Ohio)

Prohibition on Testimonials or Endorsements (Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wyoming)

Restrictions on Testimonials or Endorsements (California, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin)

Prohibition on Statements that Cannot be Substantiated or Verified (District of Columbia, Florida, Ohio, Oregon)

Restrictions on Statements Regarding Past Success (Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, New York,South Dakota, Texas, Virginia)

Prohibition on Statements that Promise Results (Florida, Louisiana)

Prohibition or Restriction on Comparing Quality of Lawyer’s Services or Describing Quality of Services (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming)

Google Places: What Attorneys and Law Firms Need to Know - and Beware the Scams!

2010-11-21T13:41:00.001-06:00

Google Places is a big deal for lawyers. How big is Google Places for law firms and attorneys on the web? Remains to be seen.

The Onslaught of Cold Calls to Law Firms Pushing Google Places SEO Services - Beware of Scams!

I'd just had a week of clients (and fellow lawyers) contacting me in a panic after hanging up with hard-sell marketing cold calls pushing them to drop everything and deal with the purported game-changer of Google Places. It's amazing what these internet marketing specialists are offering to attorneys who are too busy or too disinterested to investigate this new Google tactic for themselves. Buyer beware, my friends.

Caveat: I'm a legal writer - not a SEO expert. I do write optimized content, but I don't provide the usual panorama of search engine optimization services: no pay-per-click, etc. I'm not interested in providing Google Place services, but I am concerned that scams concerning Google Places don't succeed. And they are out there, and they're growing.

What is Google Places?

Google Places is a new service provided by Google that some may recognize as "place search." It's a big deal because Google search results look different now, as a result of Google Places. Now, for example, when you search for "injury law firm Houston" the first page of Google Search Results is filled with Google Place Results.

You sign up for free at Google Places. You pay for "tags." Your business gets reviewed by whomever wants to take the time to do so, and until recently, the business owner couldn't control negative reviews. That's apparently been changed recently by Google.

Here's the Reason for the Brouhaha: Google Place sites get priority in search results. Your optmized web site is bumped down below the Place listings.

Google Place is being stuck atop the usual Google search results, and you can identify the Place sites by the little alphabetized red flag (A gets the highest rank, etc.) that is predominantly displayed next to the individual result description. The flags correspond to the map that is shown in the right sidebar.

So, no matter how much you paid some web marketing firm to optimize your site so you get in the top search results for your areas of practice or locality, you will be bumped by those Google Place listings to page 2 or 3 of the search results.

What Can You - the Busy Attorney or Law Firm - Do About Google Places?

First, you can recognize that this is impacting web sites - not blogs. Your blogs, established as a seperate domain name, will continue getting Google search results based upon the posts you are writing, etc. Law firm blogs, or "blawgs," are safe.

Second, you can do several things for yourself, for free and without much complication. These include:

Go to Google Places and list your law firm. Put in the same info that you see on your business card. Do not be creative here. Resist the urge to do multiple listings: AttorneySync, for example, warns that this can result in Google penalizing your site as violating its quality guidelines.
Take advantage of the free service, GetListed.org, and make sure that your firm appears in Bing, Yahoo, etc. Why? Google is known to cross-reference these sites to make sure your Place information is accurate. (In SEO lingo, these third party references are "citations.") Your firm information (address, phone number, email address) needs to be exactly the same in all the citations for Google Place purposes.
Access your web site and insure that it is filled with images, links, etc. that are local in nature. Garrett French has already accumulated a list of forty-four (44) query tips to help you do this.

Do you need to hire someone to do this? From what I've read online, experts do not agree on this. Should you decide to hire someone for Google Place services, then be sure that they are indeed an expert in this area -- and check what they're charging. It's amazing the scamming going on out there -- and by some very, very "reputable" firms (for instance, charging for duplicate Place submissions despite the fact that Google may well penalize the duplication in the future).

What's Really Going On Here? More Money for Google

Google is focusing upon providing localized search results not just because it's considered to be more convenient for the Google user -- Dustin Ruge explains that Google expects Google Places to make it lots of money. According to Ruge:

Local search is one of the fastest growing categories online and Google now claims that 20% of their search queries are local in nature. Furthering this is the rapid growth in mobile search where Google now claims that over 100 million people conduct maps searches from their mobile devices each month. By 2013, mobile device searches are expected to exceed PC based searches. But Google makes money off the their paid advertising and when local online advertising is expected to grow at 18% compared to only 11% for all online advertising by 2011, it is little mystery why Google is looking to profit from it.

What's the Real Result?

Too soon to tell, I think. Personally, the Place results bug me so much, that I'll switch over to Bing or Yahoo rather than deal with them. Google Places feels manipulative to me as a user, I don't like it.

Second, law firms may need to avoid Google Places as it implements and encourages its review feature. Recently, Google announced the addition of the HotPot recommendation service to Google Places. In many states, bar ethic rules prohibit this sort of recommendation service for law firms.

There's probably more fall out. And, here's the thing: Google Places isn't really helpful in finding the best lawyer for the client - because the best attorney for the particular matter isn't necessarily the law office that's closest in proximity.

The real answer for attorneys to Google Places is to find a way to educate the public on this key issue (to the extent that the public doesn't recognize this simple fact already). For me, that answer online is easy: blog.

Update on Mass Vegas Copyright Litigation from Winston & Strawn

2010-11-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Winston & Strawn has been monitoring a Las Vegas company I wrote about a couple of months back -- the corporation that bought copyrights from various Nevada news media and began suing websites and blogs, personal and commercial, who had cut and pasted copy from the news articles into their own sites. Suing in federal court for violations of the Copyright Act.

The company -- Righthaven -- got lots of media attention as it filed suit after suit, oftentimes against nonprofits and such. Political affiliations and hidden agendas were questioned. Biggest issue: Righthaven was doing this without bothering to first send a cease and desist. (Rambo lives.)

Winston is now reporting that Righthaven's days may be numbered. One judge has decided, according to Winston's "special alert" that fair use applies. Righthaven loses, although the winning defendant may have had to pay lotsa legal fees to defend itself and may find the victory bittersweet.
For more, check out what Winston has for you.

How to Find Free Photos and Images for Your Blog: Searching the Public Domain

2010-10-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

Images: photos, clip art, comics – you want them for your blog post. Images make the site more visually appealing, and you’ve learned that photos sometimes help get you higher in Google search results. However, the creator of that photo or image may want compensation for use of their work. Maybe a little, maybe a lot.

And, you either can't or don’t want to pay for photos that you place on your blog. Other than creating your own images or photos, is there a free and fast alternative? Yes.

You just need to learn about “public domain.” On the web, lots of people freely release their copyright in order to expose their talent and their work as widely as possible. Anything -- content, software, images, fonts, videos, etc. -- in the public domain may be used freely by anyone without contacting or gaining the permission of the originator.

What is the Public Domain?

The U.S. Copyright Office defines "public domain" as a work "...no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection." The public domain also includes works where the creator has freely released the work into the public domain. All types of creative work exist in the public domain.

Tips on How to Find Photos and Images in the Public Domain – Free and Fast

1. Basic web searching for the phrase "public domain" along with various words or phrases that you are seeking is an easy enough way to find free images and content on the web.

For example, say you were looking for an image of Abraham Lincoln. Google "public domain image Abraham Lincoln" and you'll find a great photo of President Lincoln that the Library of Congress has been kind enough to upload for public use.

2. Wikipedia also provides an online list of links with oodles of free, public domain images -- a list that is continually growing. It is an excellent resource. (One of my favorites is Wikimedia Commons.)

3. Recently, the nonprofit organization Creative Commons (CC) announced the release of its Public Domain Mark (PDM). Through the use of a CC Public Domain Mark, photographers, graphic artists, and others can help others find their work via the use of a PDM -- see the mark, know that you're free to access the image. Surf the web for “PDM” to find photos, images, and other available works that may not be otherwise categorized as available in the public domain.

How Long Does it Take For Your Blog to Load? Find Out for Free - and Yes, You Should Care.

2010-10-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

Blogs that take too long to appear on screen are likely to be bypassed by impatient readers. Google also uses load times as part of its decision-making process in which blogs get the top spots in search results.

Load times are important.

Adding too many pretty bells and whistles can cost you readership and ranking - so it's important to know how long it takes for your blog to load.

Load? Show up, fully appear on the screen after you've clicked on the link, surfed to the site.

Stopwatch will let you know your load time for free. Go here, input your website or blog path name, and watch the timer. Pingdom does it, too - along with WebPagetest.

What Causes Slow Load Times?

Google has a list of possible causes. So does Yahoo. Some of this is pretty techie stuff, admittedly.

Public Domain Mark Unveiled by Creative Commons: Big Help in Finding Free Images for Your Blog

2010-10-12T12:26:00.000-05:00

Vanity Fair's 1901
caricature of Leo Tolstoy
author of War & Peace, now
in the public domain
(Wikimedia Commons)

Finding images to use on your blog can be difficult, if you don't want to pay for them and you don't want to infringe on another's copyright. Previously, I've suggested the use of public domain images and within that post, provided links (and lists of links) on how to find them.

This week, the nonprofit organization Creative Commons (CC) announced the release of its Public Domain Mark (PDM). Through the use of a CC Public Domain Mark, photographers, graphic artists, and others can help others find their work via the use of a PDM -- see the mark, know that you're free to access the image.

Of course, the PDM isn't the only way to find public domain images already provided to you on the web. Wikimedia Commons (see my earlier post) has been coordinating this effort for years.

For more information, check out the FAQs at the Creative Commons site.

Twitter Wants To Be Viewed as a News Source - and Maybe Twitter 4 News Isn't So Farfetched

2010-10-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, ReadWriteWeb posted on Twitter's Kevin Thau (he's Vice President of Business and Corporate Development for Twitter.Com) big announcement during Nokia World 2010 that Twitter isn't a social media site so much as it is a news site.   That's right: a source for breaking news on the web.

Now, there's lots of commentary at ReadWriteWeb about Mr. Thau's promotion of Twitter as a news feed (41 comments as I type this) and you may have your own two cents' worth on this issue.

My Clients Don't Respect Twitter as Social Media - They Use it to Share Information (i.e., as a News Feed)

Most of my law firm clients either know zip about Twitter - or they know something about it because their kids tweet. Many lawyers that do know about Twitter consider it silly, something that self-absorbed people do with too much time on their hands.  Who has time for it?

Clients that are acquainted with Twitter don't use it for discussion. They zip bursts of information onto Twitter, tweeting about firm news, new blog posts, and the like. From the comments on ReadWriteWeb, this seems to be the experience of many other individuals out there: "no discussion" is a common refrain by the commenters.

Discussion vs. Information: The Fork in Twitter's Road

Which means that Twitter needs to be seen as a news source, because that absence of discussion is sorta a death knell for a site touting itself a social media application. Which is fine, because I think that Twitter IS a news source. I recommend that my clients set up professional Twitter accounts and tweet regularly about business topics.

Tweets as free, fast news releases: the Jackson Walker example.

Especially law firms; after all, consider Jackson Walker. Jackson Walker was fast to jump on the Twitter train and provides an excellent example of how tweeting is beneficial for law firms and other companies.

Today, for example, Jackson Walker is tweeting its congratulations to the 40 firm lawyers that have been named 2010 Super Lawyers, with the tweet providing a link to more information. Smart.  Tweet as news release.

MSNBC's Breaking News vs. Twitter Trends

Breaking News, an MSNBC attempt to follow Twitter and organize news stories, isn't the best source of breaking news in my experience.  I've found that actually following trending tweets, or searching for a specific phrase regarding a news story, does give me the latest information on a news story.

The Trends tool is especially useful on Twitter, since you can choose its scope -- from national news down to your local community. Handy.

Often, it's Twitter Trending Topics are the most interesting, as well -- people tweeting from the hurricane's path, the football stadium, the crash site. Remember following the Balloon Boy on Twitter?

The Bottom Line: Consider Twitter as a News Source -- Because Twitter is a News Feed.

Twitter is a good news source. Smart to start promoting as such -- because here's where Twitter really provides a unique, valuable service for us all.

Law.Com: Tim Corcoran Writes About Law Firm Blogs as Marketing Tools

2010-08-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

There's an article at Law.com today which is worth your time: it's entitled "Marketing Your Law Practice With a Blog," and it's written by Timothy B. Corcoran, the man responsible for the site's Marketing the Law Firm newsletter as well as Corcoran's Business of Law blog. Two things to take away from today's read:

1. The Importance of a Savvy Ghostwriter for Law Firm Blogs.

Corcoran discusses content and the need for blog posts to give a glimpse into the blogger's personality and character. He doesn't dismiss ghostwriting, but he suggests that ghostwriting doesn't provide this vital component.

I think he's partially right: most don't. Ghostwritten blog posts need to be written by writers who understand the lawyer's (or law firm's) worldview and can write from that perspective. To me, this means not only does the ghostwriter need to understand both (1) the law and (2) the practice of law but the ghostwriter needs to take the time to get to know (3) their client, the attorney that's hired them to write those posts.

For example, I've written posts for an attorney who is an active and outspoken Libertarian. I'm not a Libertarian, but I understand his political outlook; we've discussed the approach he wants to take with his blog posts; and he's very happy with the aggressive stance his posts have taken on a variety of legal issues. It's a compliment when your client tells you that "this is exactly what I'd write if I could figure out how to do this [blog]."

2. Return on Investment On Law Firm Social Media Can't Be Measured By Number of Widgets Sold

Corcoran also writes on the vital issue of financial investment. How to measure the return on a law firm's blogging dollars is a big concern to many -- and there are lots and lots of articles out there giving mathematical formulas and MadMen ratios to explain how a dollar spent in this month should return this many client revenue dollars by X month.

I think Corcoran provides needed guidance on Law Firm Social Media ROI. Law firms have never sold products, they've sold services. Professional services. The attempts to fit law firm social media techniques into standardized products' marketing formulas is simply trying to wedge square pegs into round holes. Doesn't work.

So, how to insure you're not throwing good money after bad? Read what Mr. Corcoran has to say, for one thing.

Public Domain - The Best Source for Images or Content to Use on Your Blog

2010-07-30T06:02:00.004-05:00

What is the Public Domain?

The U.S. Copyright Office defines "public domain" as a work "...no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection." The public domain also includes works where the creator has freely released the work into the public domain.

On the web, lots of people freely release their copyright in order to expose their talent and their work as widely as possible. Anything -- content, software, images, fonts, videos, etc. -- in the public domain may be used freely by anyone without contacting or gaining the permission of the originator.

Finding Images and Content in the Public Domain

1. Searching for "public domain" along with various words or phrases that you are seeking is an easy enough way to find free images and content on the web.

Looking for an image of Abraham Lincoln? Google "public domain image Abraham Lincoln," and you'll find the photo of President Lincoln shown above. (The Library of Congress has been kind enough to upload it for us.)

2. Wikipedia has also provided an online list of links that provide free, public domain images -- a list that is continually growing. It is an excellent resource. (One of my favorites is Wikimedia Commons.)

3. Again, Wikipedia provides a long and growing online list of links providing free, public domain content -- worldwide. It includes links to huge public domain content collections such as Project Guttenberg.

Fair Use of Another's Copyrighted Work is Defined in Section 107 of the US Copyright Act (17 USC 101 - 810)

2010-07-28T05:30:00.003-05:00

The United States Copyright Office provides some guidance regarding the fair use doctrine, as do other sites including Cornell University's LII - Wex and UCLA's Library.

What is the Fair Use Doctrine?

In sum, it is a fair use of another's copyrighted work if you are using the work in order to provide criticism, in commentary, as part of news reporting, as part of teaching, in some form of scholarship, or in a research endeavor.

If there is litigation, courts are instructed to determine if the use is fair by applying a balancing test made up of several factors.

Is Your Use a Fair Use?
The obvious place to start when considering whether or not your intended use of another's work comes within the fair use doctrine is to read the statutory definition itself. According to the US Copyright Act, fair use is:

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Two Things of Note After Reading the Fair Use Doctrine's Statutory Definition

1. Notice that the statute does not give any set number of words that can be used before there is copyright infringement. There isn't one.

2. Also, notice that if you give the hyperlink before the cut and paste of another's work, that's not addressed here. Attribution may help regarding a plagarism claim, but it's not going to be a solid defense against copyright infringement.

As lawyers and law firm write blogs and content for web sites, they may feel comfortable making their own legal call on whether or not their work falls within the fair use doctrine. Non-lawyers should seek legal guidance from an attorney to be on the safe side.

Demographics - Who is Online, Where are They, and What are They Doing?

2010-07-27T05:19:00.001-05:00

Prepared by Forrester Research and shared by EMarking Association with its members. Thanks to both! (Click to enlarge.)

Get Some Marketing Inspiration from Google's 2010 Online Marketing Challenge

2010-07-26T15:28:00.000-05:00

Google has announced the winners of its 2010 Online Marketing Challenge, and if you're interested in the details on how the winners were chosen (proprietary algorithm, blah blah blah), you can read all about that on the Google site.

Additionally, go read the site for the names of the Universities and individual students that worked so hard to win these awards. As for what they did, check out the actual winning sites for inspiration on how to boost your site or blog:

GLOBAL 2010 Winner
Charlie and Moon

Regional Winner
BustaGrooveDanceStudio

AMERICAS Winner
ThreadsforThought

EMEA Winner
Taniec (Polish Dance Studio)

Profiting from Copyright Infringement - New Vegas Company Sues Bloggers After Buying Media Copyrights

2010-07-23T15:42:00.001-05:00

Beware. A new company based in Las Vegas thinks it's found the mother lode in media copyrights and the protections provided by federal law under the Copyright Act.

And after testing out their business model in Las Vegas, suing bloggers and website owners for unauthorized cut and pasting of work found in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, they're aiming for bigger game. National game.

Righthaven, which has only been in existence since March 2010, is busy every day apparently, surfing the web to find blogs and web sites where their news media clients' writing has been published, without permission.

According to Free Republic, they're busy suing without any advance notice (the proverbial "cease and desist" notice) and they're suing nonprofits like Ecological Internet.

Fair use?

Remember my earlier post -- I've already opined that the traditional media is really, really, really trying to limit (and by limit, I mean destroy) the fair use doctrine because of the crushing financial blow print media has felt from online publication.

And, even if fair use is a valid defense to the allegation of copyright infringement in a courtroom, these actions will force bloggers and web site owners to hire attorneys and undertake the legal expense of proving their innocence in a court of law.

Which maybe they can and cannot do -- it may be cheaper to settle than to fight for right. Another common defense tactic, force the plaintiff to spend itself into submission, but this time a basic right -- fair use -- is at stake.

Scary stuff, folks.

How to Back Up Your Blog - Don't Assume It's Being Backed Up Already

2010-07-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

Backing up your blog is important - and it has to be done as a specific task. You risk losing all those blog posts, comments, and images if you aren't routinely backing up your blog (or blawg).

Blogging Services Do Not Automatically Back Up Your Blog

I've had clients assume that their Blogger blogs were automatically backed up by Blogger. No, they're not. Blogger does NOT back up blogs. Neither does WordPress.

Website (and Blog) Hosting Services May Not Back Up Your Blog, Either

Whether or not your blog is being backed up routinely depends upon the service you're using. LexBlog, for example, does back up. Nice, and important to do, for a paid blogging platform.

However, I know of at least one web design company that promotes blogs as part of law firm website design but those blogs are not backed up. I learned of this situation because, sure enough, a series of law firm blog posts disappeared and there was no backup to fix the problem.

Easy Solution: HTTrack to Back Up Your Blog

There's a free service, HTTrack, that has proven to be safe and fast for me in backing up blogs. It has received good reviews from both CNET editors and users. (CNET provides a safe HTTrack download along with its review.)

You can also use HTTrack to back up your website - or really, grab a copy of any existing website or blog on the web - to save offline on your hard drive. This might prove handy for your website, your client's website, or perhaps a website that you might want to use in litigation ....

Daily Measure: Have Your Post Sent to Your E-Mail Inbox

Your blogging platform should allow you to automatically send each post as it is published to an email address (several addresses, actually). Make sure you take advantage of this safety measure, as well as periodically backing up your blog in its entirety.

Visual Explanation of the Levels of Online Friendship

2010-07-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Created by Mike Arauz and shared by EMarketing Association with its members. Thanks to all. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

For more information:

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is Social Media for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Jackson Walker on Twitter: Example of How Law Firms Build Reputations via the Web

Duplicate Content, Google Penalty and JDSupra Publication of Law Firm Blog Posts

2010-07-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was asked by a large law firm client whether or not the duplication of substantive, informative blog posts on JDSupra would risk the infamous penalty by Google for having the same content on two different webpages. They were scared.

While the client didn't tell me this specifically, I believe that a representative of one of the national website and blog providers for law firms may have been the source of the misinformation. They were vying for new business with the law firm, and apparently this duplicate content warning came up during some dog and pony discussions.

Misinformation on the Google Duplicate Content Penalty Abounds

I suppose a lot is fair in the legal marketing game, and while I also know that there is a lot of information out there regarding duplicate content concerns (Google addresses this issue much more often than they'd like), I find it irritating to put a law firm into some level of stress when the information that you're providing is just plain wrong. Shame on them.

Here's the deal: you will not be penalized for putting your blog posts onto JDSupra. In fact, you may benefit from JDSupra's ability to expose your work in ways that your blog or web site is failing to do.

The only detriment that you may receive is having Google choosing to rank the JDSupra version over your blog's identical post. As long as you've got your contact information clearly provided in the JDSupra document, then you're reaching the market.

However, your blog isn't getting all the hits it would otherwise if Google picks JDSupra over your firm blawg (and that, of course, is assuming that it's getting recognized and respected by Google in the first place). That's the risk with duplicate blog posts on JDSupra and your own blawg, and it's got zip to do with penalizing your page rank or Google taking other action against your site based upon manipulative practices.

The Solution?

Make sure your JDSupra document includes a link back to your original blog post. And, tell Google your prefered domain for the content if you wish (see Google Webmaster Tools).

Don't trust me on this. Go read the Google webmaster page itself, with yellow highlights provided courtesy of JDSupra.

For more information:
How Search Engines Work -2: Indexing and Ranking (Google Caffiene, Google Page Rank)
How Search Engines Work -1: Spiders That Crawl (Yahoo! Slurp, GoogleBot, BingBot)
What is a Pingback, a Trackback, or a Linkback?

How Search Engines Work - 2: Indexing and Ranking (Google Caffiene, Google Page Rank)

2010-07-15T15:55:00.058-05:00

Once spiders (or bots) crawl your site, they take the content information they've discovered on your web site and place that information in a database. In an organized fashion, of course. This is called "indexing."

Indexing Involves Organization of the Information Amassed by the Spiders

Your content will be indexed according to how informative and helpful the spider or bot determines it to be for a particular topic, when compared to the other sites that it has crawled and placed within its database. Exactly how things are indexed is a big, big trade secret for each of the search engines.

Especially Google. In fact, last summer announced Google Caffeine - reportedly primarily a new twist on Google indexing according to Matt Cutts, although it also involves changes to Google crawling and ranking features as well.

Last month, Google Caffeine officially debuted as a "new web indexing system" that the Google blog describes as:

50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it's the largest collection of web content we've offered. Whether it's a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before.

In litigation terms, the spiders undertake discovery, bring back all the facts relevant to the subject matter, and proceed to categorize them for easy use and retrieval by the search engine's clientele. Major witnesses and documents will be given priority over inconsequential sources of data that discovery has obtained. That's where ranking comes into play.

Ranking Involves Secret Decision-Making Protocols That Decide Who Gets Top Billing

Once the search engine has gathered all the data from the web, and then segregated that data according to subject matter, the major decisions must be made. Which sites go where in the search results? Which sites are going to be recommended to the search engine's clientele as the best sites in response to the client's search request?

This is very important to the search engine, because its clientele depend upon its top 5 or 10 results to be the most informative sites regarding the query that has been made. Bad search results, and the client can always use another search engine. Google hasn't cornered the market because of its motto or the fact that its employees get to bring their dogs to work. No. Google has cornered the search engine market because it has been able to please more clients than the other search engines right here -- in how it ranks results.

Google Ranking Tactics: Page Rank Technology and Hypertext-Matching Analysis

Google in some ways doesn't try to hide the ball on ranking in its results. According to its own Corporate Information, ranking is the result of:

1. Page Rank Technology

"PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results...." and

2. Hypertext-Matching Analysis

"Our search engine also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), our technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word. We also analyze the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user's query."

Search Engine Ranking and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

No search engine freely discloses how it makes its ranking decisions. And, of course, savvy web surfers know that true research means using more than one search engine -- because they rank sites differently. The same search in Google may not give the same results in Yahoo or Bing.

Ranking isn't the last stop in search engine inner workings. However, understanding crawling, indexing, and ranking are the basics one needs to understand when writing blogs or web site content for the web.

You're not just writing for your intended reader, be it a colleague, a referring attorney, or a potential client. You're also writing to please the spiders -- if you want to successful index and rank in the search engines. And most do.

Search Engine Optimization

Which is where the field of search engine optimization comes into play. SEO undertakes to strategize on how to achieve placement in the top search engine results of the various search engines for a web site through an understanding of crawling, indexing, and ranking techniques used by the various search engines.

SEO involves many things. Content, design, coding, advertising, and more. SEO can involve paid marketing strategies (pay per click, etc.). SEO can include design strategies implemented with certain search engine policies in mind.

SEO can incorporate tactics within the coding of the site ("source code" or "HTML code") -- which may or may not be visible to the site visitor. "Black hat" SEO is an example of hidden coding unwelcomed by the search engines. For example, hiding favorable keywords or key phrases within the coding of the site - where it remains unseen by the reader of the content - is clever optimization tool that will get a website penalized.

SEO can also include optimizing the content placed within the site to make the site's content "search engine friendly." Here, key words and key phrases are placed within the content, as well as other SEO strategies to encourage high rankings of the site itself.

Social Web Reputation Management Cycles - Building Your Reputation Online

2010-07-14T15:42:00.012-05:00

Created by LaurelPapworth and shared by EMarketing Association with its members. Thanks to all. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

For more information:

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is Social Media for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Jackson Walker on Twitter: Example of How Law Firms Build Reputations via the Web

What is Great Writing: The New Rules for Judging Great Content Because the Traditional Rules are Dead

2010-07-13T18:00:00.001-05:00

As promised, Ben Elowitz at Paid Content has defined the four rules that he thinks must be used to judge great writing in the digital age in his May 2010 article, "The New Rules for Judging Quality in Published Content."

This is the second part promised in his earlier article discussing how the traditional methods for judging great writing don't work in a world where content appears on the screen instead of on the page. Making such broad statements as being published in the New York Times isn't a big deal anymore did bring Mr. Elowitz some flack. After all, weren't we all raised to think that having your work appear in the NYT was the ultimate accomplishment? Well, at least one of them?

Elowitz's Four Rules for Great Writing on the Web

I wasn't too sure if I agreed with Elowitz after reading his first piece. However, I'm in total agreement with the four rules he provides us as the "New Rules," which are -- in my words, not his:

1. relevance to the reader, not the editor -- the content needs to be focused upon the reader's wants/needs. What do those surfing the web want or need to know?

2. technological component -- content can, and should, creatively include those benefits that the web has to offer (visuals, links, etc.) (Elowitz calls this co-dependence an "experience"). Consider the podcasts, videos, audios, etc. I just saw an article in the Texas Tribune, for example, that made audio excerpts of an interview available at the end of each content paragraph, in case you wanted to listen to the question and answer as well as read about it.

3. perspective -- the same information can, and will, be provided in many different places on the web, so great content must have its flair - a twist that makes the reader want to read its version of the story over another option out there. He uses Huffington Post as an example here. I'm thinking it's the reason why TMZ survives right alongside E!, Popsugar, and all the rest.

4. buzzability -- the content has to invite sharing on the web via tweets or stumbles or diggs or "like it!" as well as being search engine index friendly (SEO is important, people!!!!). It's true that content I find interesting is something that I want to share -- and I'm annoyed if it isn't easily tweetable. It's also true that great content that isn't search engine optimized probably isn't getting read by anyone, because no one knows it's there to read in the first place.

Is Elowitz right? Google and Yahoo seem to think so .....

Before you dismiss Elowitz as trendy or foolish or naive, consider that Google News now allows its readers to personalize the version of the Google News page that they see when they click on the site. Readers are choosing what they want to read on the news site, not editors.

And, consider Yahoo!'s new blog, The Upshot -- where eight journalists are essentially going through the Yahoo! News results, and blogging about the upcoming, trending stories. The journalists aren't deciding what's going onto the blog -- the people surfing the web and going through the Yahoo! news search engine are collectively deciding its content.

Me? What do I think about Elowitz's Four Rules of Great Writing?

I think Elowitz is right on the money. And, as for Google vs. Yahoo ... well, I've personalized my Google News page. I have never read much less bookmarked the Upshot. I don't feel the need for a blogger to feed me the news via blog post.

Why not? I can surf thru the stories just fine, all by myself. Which is the attitude and ability that is fueling this entire metamorphosis, isn't it?

How Search Engines Work - 1: Spiders that Crawl (Yahoo! Slurp, GoogleBot, BingBot)

2010-07-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

You want your web site or blog to be in the top search results at Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, etc.? Well, to accomplish that goal you need to know a bit about how search engines work. Let's start with crawling.

What are spiders in search engines?

Each search engine has its own software tools that crawl the web (let's ignore the fact that the Internet and the WorldWideWeb are not synonymous for now), looking for content to provide its readers in search results.

Yahoo! Slurp is the name of Yahoo! web crawler. Googlebot is the name of Google's spider. Right now, Bing is using MSN's old msnbot, but starting in October 2010, Bing will crawl the web using its new, fancy BingBot. (BingBot is in beta now.)

These "spiders" (also known as software robots or just "bots") are really computer code that reviews your site, analyzing all the content that is contained on your web page or blog. Your content is coded to allow the spider to do this. It can be coded by you or coded automatically by your software, like Blogger is doing for me right now as I type in Compose mode.

The spiders go through the content, word by word. Or almost word by word. (Their overall, global job is to find and organize every word they find on the Web, building lists of these words -- that's the big Web Crawl function.) Google may exclude little words like "a" "the" etc., while AltaVista indexes every word found on a site page. No search engine crawler crawls exactly the same as its competitors do.

The spiders also jump to your links. The spiders, or bots, will check out both the internal links you've placed on your site linking your content to other pages on your site, as well as those external links where you've connected your content to outside sources of information.

This is called "crawling" your site.

And, those spiders don't do this just once. No, no. They'll be back. They'll pop back over and check your site periodically, just to see if things have changed. Have you added new content? Do your links still work? They'll also be looking at how your words are being used on the page: titles, subtitles, headings, meta tags, etc. will be given a special tip of the hat as the search engine prioritizes your site.

Why do you care about spiders that crawl? Because they teach you that it's important to (1) have content; (2) have sufficient content - 250 words or more; (3) have quality content; and (4) have links that work so that the spiders have something to index and rank from your site.

Index? Rank? More on that in the next post.

Creating Your Twitter Strategy - Great Visual of the Process

2010-07-09T12:06:00.009-05:00

Thanks to EMarketingAssociation for sharing with its members. (Click the graph to enlarge.)

What is a Thought Leader? A Rose By Any Other Name Should Use the Other Name

2010-07-08T07:22:00.004-05:00

The term "thought leader" is attributed to former Harvard Business Review editor in chief Joel Kurtzman. When Kurtzman was editor-in-chief of the magazine Strategy + Business, he first used the phrase in 1994, labeling those he interviewed for their forward-thinking, savvy business ideas as "thought leaders."

Today, "thought leader" is a phrase that has been so overused and misapplied that many find its use suspicious. Use it, and be ready: for many, it sets off the internal "BS alarm."

Last year, Rob Cottingham at Read.Write.Web. suggested that "thought leader" be one of those buzzwords we no longer use. Once useful, Cottingham finds its had all its life sucked out of it by overapplication.

I agree. Don't get me wrong: I like the phrase. I like it. Problem is, so many have used it and so many have stuck it on folk that are so obviously NOT thought leaders that it's just not valuable any longer - at least not in a good way.

It reminds me of fajita tacos. Boy, were they great when they first arrived. We'd all go to the restaurant downtown and await the hissing cast iron skillets as they sojourned through the dining room to our white linen tabletops. Beef, chicken, onions, bell peppers, charred and lovely and steaming.

Now, you drive through any taco franchise and order a couple of fajita tacos and they arrive in a paper sack, with some salsa and guacamole on the side if you're lucky. Still tasty, but just not the same.

Twitter is a Bigger Search Engine than Yahoo or Bing: How Many Law Firms are Excluding Themselves From the Search Results?

2010-07-07T08:48:00.001-05:00

This morning, I learned via a tweet from Ford Motor Company's social media guru, @ScottMonty, that there was an article worth reading over at Fast Company. As usual, Mr. Monty proves he knows his stuff.

Austin Carr's article, "Twitter Now the World's Fastest Growing Search Engine," is definitely worth your time. Carr is reporting from the Aspen Ideas Festival -- and he's giving the information shared there by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

Twitter is getting 800 million search queries every day. Do the math, and Twitter search exceed 24 billion/month -- according to Stone, that number is higher than the total monthly searches at Yahoo and Bing combined.

If you want to get down and dirty about what all this means, SearchEngineLand's Danny Sullivan has a great article written back in April 2010 giving lots of the details here, "Twitter Does 19 Billion Searches Per Month, Beating Yahoo & Bing, Sort Of." In his post, Sullivan quotes Doug Cook of Twitter as predicting they'll hit 1 billion searches per day very soon.

Wow.

For lawyers and law firms, take the hint. It's important to be included in those Twitter search results, and unless you have one or more Twitter accounts, you're excluding yourself.

For an easy step by step, practical guide for lawyers and law firms on Twitter -- how to join, how to tweet, etc. -- please feel free to download my free e-book, Twitter Nuts n Bolts 4 Lawyers: a How-to Guide for Law Firms. The price is right, and I hear good things about this short little book being very helpful.

For more information:

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is "Social Media" for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Attorneys Take Note: Major Corporations Pay People Just to Tweet

Twitter for Biz Pros: The Debut of ExecTweets

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Lawyers and Social Media: Examples of Law Firms on LinkedIn

2010-07-06T07:10:00.003-05:00

When it debuted, LinkedIn was a free online service focused upon helping employers and employees: members could search the site to find new jobs or new hires. LinkedIn was smart to change with the times, and not limit itself to a job search site.

Today, LinkedIn is more of a professional networking service. Most larger law firms and legal professionals are likely to have a LinkedIn membership.

On LinkedIn, professionals “connect” with each other and the LinkedIn service then notifies its members of those who may know each other – or have connections with friends of friends. You link with an old friend from law school, and suddenly, you are given lots of potential "connections" through that friend's network of contacts. LinkedIn afficianados can have 500-1000 connections.

LinkedIn information such as Specialties, New Hires, Firm Size, Firm Revenue, and individual resume pages of firm partners and associates are provided for marketing purposes via Linked In.

Examples of law firms currently on LinkedIn:

Baker & McKenzie
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/baker-&-mckenzie

Clifford Chance
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/clifford-chance?trk=co_search_results&goback=%2Ecps_1269812930126_2

Holland & Knight
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/holland-%26-knight-llp?trk=co_search_results&goback=%2Ecps_1269812930126_1

Jones Day
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/jones-day?trk=co_search_results&goback=%2Ecps_1269812930126_2

WilmerHale
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/wilmerhale?trk=co_search_results&goback=%2Ecps_1269812930126_1

For more information:

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is "Social Media" for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Facebook and Divorce: the new AAML Study and the Need to Know Client Web Chatter

Attorneys Take Note: Major Corporations Pay People Just to Tweet

Twitter for Biz Pros: The Debut of ExecTweets

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Jackson Walker on Twitter: Example of How Law Firms Build Reputations via the Web

2010-07-05T07:10:00.000-05:00

The internationally known law firm Jackson Walker has been aggressive in building its Twitter presence. By entering the game early, Jackson Walker was able to create separate Twitter accounts for each of its practice areas, using topic headings for the Twitter names.

Brilliant.

Now, anyone looking on Twitter for things like “ERISA” or “First Amendment” will quickly come across the Twitter feeds of Jackson Walker.

Currently, Jackson Walker is tweeting as follows:

Jackson Walker (News about the firm)
• http://twitter.com/Jackson_Walker

JW Law (Legal updates in all categories)
• http://twitter.com/JW_Law

Corporate Law
• http://twitter.com/JW_CorporateLaw

Energy Law
• http://twitter.com/Energy_Law

Entertainment Law
• http://twitter.com/entertainlaw

Environmental Law
• http://twitter.com/Enviro_Law

ERISA
• http://twitter.com/ERISA

Financial Recovery Solutions
• http://twitter.com/FinanceRecovery

First Amendment
• http://twitter.com/FirstAmendment

Health Care Law
• http://twitter.com/HealthCareLaw

HIPAA
• http://twitter.com/HIPPA

Intellectual Property Law
• http://twitter.com/JW_IPLaw

International Law
• http://twitter.com/InternationLaw

Labor and Employment Law
• http://twitter.com/LaborLaw

Litigation Alerts
• http://twitter.com/LitigationAlert

Media Law
• http://twitter.com/Media_Law

Real Estate Law
• http://twitter.com/RealEstate_Law

Tax Law
• http://twitter.com/Tax_Law

Technology Law
• http://twitter.com/JW_Technology

Wealth Planning
• http://twitter.com/Wealth_Planning

JacksonWalker tweets within these separate Twitter accounts with bits of information pertaining to that topic, focusing upon educating or informing others. Check it out.

For more information:

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is "Social Media" for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Facebook and Divorce: the new AAML Study and the Need to Know Client Web Chatter

Attorneys Take Note: Major Corporations Pay People Just to Tweet

Twitter for Biz Pros: The Debut of ExecTweets

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

The Declaration of Independence: Full Text - Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. (continues after "read more")

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

[For list of those who signed the document, check the Government Archives version.]

Law Firms on Twitter

2010-07-03T18:59:00.001-05:00

Here are a just few examples of law firms actively using Twitter in their marketing:

Akin Gump (@akin_gump)

Ballard Spahr (@ballardspahr)

Bernstein & Maryanoff (@bernsteinmaryan)

Fulbright & Jaworski (@fulbright)

Fulbright & Jaworski’s IP section (@fulbrightIP)

Simmons Law Firm (@SimmonsLawFirm)

Vinson & Elkins (@vinsonandElkins)

For more information:

Web 2.0 for Lawyers: What is "Social Media" for Law Firms and Why Bother?

Facebook and Divorce: the new AAML Study and the Need to Know Client Web Chatter

Attorneys Take Note: Major Corporations Pay People Just to Tweet

Twitter for Biz Pros: The Debut of ExecTweets

Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Web 2.0 for Lawyers - What Is "Social Media" for Law Firms and Why Bother?

2010-07-02T18:54:00.001-05:00

Web 2.0, otherwise known as "social media," is the second generation of internet marketing, where legal service providers communicate directly with clients and potential customers, building personal relationships as well as growing a web presence and expanding their brand and business reputation. For attorneys and law firms, Web 2.0 can be a unique marketing opportunity.

Blogs ("Blawgs"), Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn

There are various components to Web 2.0; however, for the legal profession, the top four internet social media platforms are: (1) blogging; (2) micro-blogging via Twitter™; and the interactive websites of both (3) Facebook™ and (4) LinkedIn™. Currently, most law firms prefer the more professional atmosphere of LinkedIn™ to the privacy-challenged Facebook™, but many firms are taking advantage of the Facebook™ option of creating a "company page" on the Facebook™ site.

Why do law firms spend valuable time and money on social media?

Through social media, law firms (and individual attorneys) can do four important marketing tasks:

(1) build their brand;
(2) market their business to potential clients and referring attorneys;
(3) network with colleagues; and
(4) gather and share information regarding their practice areas and specialties.

For more information:

Facebook and Divorce: the new AAML Study and the Need to Know Client Web Chatter
Attorneys Take Note: Major Corporations Pay People Just to Tweet
Twitter for Biz Pros: The Debut of ExecTweets
Attorneys Take Note: Yesterday's Reputation is Today's Personal Brand

Facebook and Divorce: the new AAML Study and the Need to Know Client Web Chatter

2010-06-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers just released its latest study -- and it's fascinating. Seems that 81% of top divorce lawyers in this country report that since 2005, they've experienced an increase in family law (divorce) cases using social networking evidence.

And by "social networking evidence," they mean Facebook.

Facebook, according to the divorce attorneys responding to the AAML survey, was the source of this divorce case evidence 66% of the time. (Tweets on Twitter became evidence in only 5% of the lawsuits.)

Apparently, savvy divorce lawyers are checking the Facebook pages of both petitioner and respondent, and more likely than not, they're discovering useful information there. Specific case examples weren't provided with the survey, but it's easy enough to imagine the kinds of things that "social networking evidence" involves.

This impacts more than family law matters, of course.

Looks like savvy attorneys in lots of cases other than family law matters should be - and probably already are - checking social media sites for possible evidence to use in a variety of matters. Defense attorneys in personal injury matters will be reading social media for evidence of fraudulent personal injury claims. Personal injury attorneys will be reading social media for evidence of advance warning of product defects. You get the idea.

Now, savvy law firms will be looking not only at entering Web 2.0 (social media) for their own marketing purposes, but they'll be surfing around Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. as part of their standard discovery practices, as well.

Looks like the need for law firms to master social media just became a lot more clearer to lots of folk.

Twitter Nuts & Bolts 4 Lawyers: A How-To Guide for Law Firms - My New Free E-Book

2010-06-29T17:25:00.003-05:00

Twitter Nuts & Bolts 4 Lawyers: A How-To Guide for Law Firms is my first complimentary e-book. And yes, complimentary is a nice word for FREE.

Ten Step Twitter Primer for Lawyers.
I'm offering this short primer on how attorneys and law firms can get started on Twitter for free on the web; you can download it or print it here.

Why bother with Twitter?
Not only are leading law firms already adopting sophisticated tweet strategies as part of their online marketing campaigns, more and more law firm clientele are using Twitter in their daily operations. Jackson Walker, Fulbright, and Vinson & Elkins are just three big firms that are heavily involved in the Twitter Universe. Large corporations like Ford Motor Company actually employ workers to do nothing but keep up with daily social media conversations (@ScottMonty).

Why read this e-Book?
Many attorneys and law firms still have not opened a Twitter account (much less more than one -- Jackson Walker had 14 at last count). And while there are numerous materials available online and in print that explain advanced communication methods and marketing techniques using Twitter, there are very few that take a professional step by step through the process of opening an account, adding the appropriate background, finding followers, and initiating dialouge via Twitter.

Be Tweeting in 15 Minutes or Less.
Which is exactly what Twitter Nuts n Bolts 4 Lawyers: a How-To Guide for Law Firms does. From Step 1 (Join Twitter) to Step 4 (Plan Your Tweeting Strategy) to Step 10 (Scheduling Tweets), this e-book gives lawyers the basic information they need to become proficient on Twitter, in a time-efficient way.

Hopefully, my short (12 page) complimentary e-book will help meet that need. Please feel free to read and use Twitter Nuts n Bolts 4 Lawyers: A How-To Guide for Law Firms with my compliments.

E-book Sales Increase 252% in First Quarter of 2010

2010-05-26T13:45:00.001-05:00

Shown: Amazon's Kindle

E-book sales increased an astonishing 252% during the first three months of 2010, according to Publisher's Weekly. This news comes from the industry analysis performed by the Association of American Publishers which keeps track of the publishing industry, and releases its statistics in periodic reports to its membership.

And this, even before Google Edition debuts with it offering of e-books that can be read without the need for any specific e-reader (Nook, Kindle, etc.).

What is Great Writing: How Digital Content is Judged Differently Than Print

2010-05-19T10:57:00.000-05:00

Ben Elowitz at PaidContent has just published the first of his two-part analysis on what constitutes great content, now that we're well into the digital age. Taking the four pillars used by traditionalists -- credential, correctness, objectivity, and craftsmanship -- he opines on each, and how these criteria do not work in today's internet age.

For example, Elowitz discusses how the heady feeling of having your work published in The New York Times (credential) isn't as important now. Readers are looking for content that helps them -- focusing on the content itself -- much more than they are concerned with the source of that information.

What Elowitz is putting out on the table needs to be read. He's thought about these issues, and he has points to make.

However, I don't know that I can go so far as to agree with him that these tradtional methods are "useless." That may be going too far.

Credentials still mean something to me, for example -- and I think they still mean something to readers, too. I do check the source of the content I'm reading and a reputable source does carry more weight with me. I believe that The New York Times still stands for something.

Credentials may be less powerful than they once were, but they still exist and still count.

Plagiarism: The Gerald Posner v Miami New Times Story

2010-05-14T11:19:00.106-05:00

"Gerald Posner Hires Attorney Mark Lane in Legal Fight Against Miami New Times' Plagiarism Claims," reports MediaBistro/GalleyCat this week. Seems that Gerald Posner believes that he's got a case for damages against The Miami New Times after they've outed him for alleged repeated acts of plagiarism.

Posner's gone and got himself a Big Gun for the fight. Mark Lane - the JFK Conspiracy guy. You remember him.

Who is Gerald Posner and What The Heck is This Lawsuit?

Basis of the controversy: the Miami New Times has claimed not only that Mr. Posner has been lifting passages from New Times and using them in his investigative writing for Tina Brown's The Daily Beast but that he's also done this in his nonfiction work -- and now there's a press release for all to read, where Lane/Posner are challenging all this hoopla as a "campaign to destroy his [Posner's] opportunity to work in his profession." (Read Lane's release here.)

Lane's threatening a lawsuit is about to be filed based upon tortious interference and infliction of emotional distress, apparently because MNT wrote Random House - one of Posner's book publishers - and in doing so, exceeded their legal boundaries and caused legal harm to Posner.

Was There Plagiarism? Doesn't Seem to Be a Fact in Controversy That There Was. Yepper.

Gerald Posner, by the way, is a lawyer. He's also the author of numerous investigative nonfiction works on a range of topics from Motown to Hitler. Until the plagiarism controversy hit the presses last February, Posner served as Chief Investigative Reporter for Brown's Beast.

As for whether or not "lifting" occurred, that doesn't appear to be a fact in controversy. The Daily Beast published an admission that five lines from its story on Ben Novack's death had been "inadvertently copied" from a Miami Herald story written by reporter Julie Brown two days earlier. The Lane press release recognizes multiple admissions, followed by apologies and attempts to correct errors.

This snowball began its downhill run last winter, when the Novack story segued into investigations that were being made into Posner's work at The Daily Beast. And by investigations, I mean Slate's Jack Shafer revelations.

Seems a Shafer reader initially discovered the Novack story similarities, brought his findings to Jack Shafer, and Shafer took it from there. Shafer found lots of examples of what he considered to be Posner's plagiarism, and published them.

Gawker, among others, waits with baited breath ....

Over at Gawker, they're breathless with anticipation of this lawsuit, where an admitted plagiarist is suing the publication that was plagiarized for damages to him. Gawker's already dubbed Posner a contender for "World Plagiarism Record" with his sixteen (16) instances that the Miami New Times has reported.

My question: where's the probable cause for the threatened torts?

There may be many who are wondering how there is a distinctive difference between Random House editors reading Slate magazine and the Miami New Times and learning one of their authors is making serious admissions about his work (not fiction work, remember, but nonfiction: the kind of work that we readers assume to be factually accurate and trustworthy). Me too.

Here's my question: If the MNT wrote Random House, was the MNT reporter blabbing a secret? Is the letter really the probable cause of any harm to Posner's reputation and his future career? Really????

I was a litigator for many years, and I was raised in the Rambo era. I know the best defense is a good offense. I know being a plaintiff is much, much better than being a defendant in a trial. Let's see if the lawsuit is filed: I really, really, really want to read the pleadings.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism and copyright infringement are not synonymous terms. For a good example of plagiarism, you can check admitted examples already published in the Posner stories of Slate and the Miami New Times. To learn more about plagiarism, check out Plagiarism.Org. Suffice to say, it's a complicated thing.

Free Online Plagiarism Checkers

There are sites offering free "checkers" where you can cut and paste your text, and the site will surf the web to insure your writing is dangerously close to another's online work. One site (which I haven't tested) is Article Checker. And, there are also sites that offer a free service where you can check to see if your web writing has been lifted, like Copyscape.

I can report on Copyscape -- it did help a client of mine discover that some of their law firm blog posts had been cut and pasted into an individual blog. After a cease and desist letter was sent, the offending copy was removed from the individual's site. Maybe not the sexy story of Gerald Posner and the Miami New Times, but a good example of how big this problem may be (and probably is) out there on the Internet.

Google Book Search Settlement Issues Organized in Downloadable Report

2010-05-12T11:48:00.000-05:00

New York Law School professor James Grimmelmann, working with a group of his dedicated law students under the banner of "The Public Index," is providing an excellent synopsis of the Authors Guild v. Google litigation - particularly, to the objections raised regarding its settlement via a free online 55 page pdf download.

By first organizing the arguments into 76 distinct issues and then sorting those issues into 11 categories, their work is an excellent tool for those interested in this pending matter, particularly since they are organizing the arguments made and not providing their analysis of these issues. Very helpful.

As for what happens next, who knows. The case awaits its third federal judge, since the previously presiding Judge Chin was appointed to the appellate court and the first judge to hear the case, John Sprizzo, passed away.

For more on the pending Google Book Search settlement, check out the Public Index website.

For a cursory explanation of what this is all about, check out "Google Book Search Lives On as Google Revised Settlement with Authors, Publishers."

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 - Highly Recommend It, 99% Accuracy

2009-12-31T13:15:00.002-06:00

I'm getting an updated version of Dragon Naturally Speaking today (version 10) for $30.00. I highly recommend this product, earlier versions have been a big help to me for several years now. I'm looking forward to its additional features (skipping between apps., etc.), and the fact that today it's being offered at 70% off the regular price is just a wonderful gift for the new year.

How do I use speech to text software?

I use an older version of Dragon Naturally Speaking (speech-to-text software) for writing first drafts, as well as a great aid in researching - and organizing my thoughts - accompanied by OneNote. It's been my experience that 99% accuracy isn't always true, 95%-97% is my usual result. And that's not bad - spell/grammar check via Word, and the job of correcting those errors is done fast enough.

Why use voice recognition software?

It's best use for me is saving time. I get more done by accompanying my typing (I do type fast) with speech to text software. I'm thinking that the ability to use DNS 10's additional applications will only streamline things even more.

However, being able to produce a document without the use of a keyboard or mouse is very beneficial to those with carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, etc. and lots of folks with these physical hurdles swear by DNS.

For all the details on this speech recognition software, check out my post today on Everyday Simplicity and the glowing review that the software package received at PCWorld.

What is a Pingback, a Trackback, or a Linkback?

2009-12-30T13:05:00.001-06:00

It's geeky words like this -- pingback, trackback, linkback -- that send lots of folk up the wall. Why do they need to know this stuff to have a blog or to write a post? Well, you don't. You can post to your blog without knowing what these things mean ... but it's better if you do, if you want lots of people to READ what you write.

So, here's what these words mean, succintly:

1. Linkback.

This is the catch-all word. Pingbacks and trackbacks (and refbacks) are all linkbacks. Each of them offers a way to let the author of content published on the web (say, at a website or a blog) know when someone else has linked to their content.

Linked? As in "hyperlinked." Someone, somewhere has read what you've placed on the web, and they've taken the time to link to that content in their post, article, or other form of website content. For an example, I'm linking here to Wikipedia's definition of linkback, which I've found helpful in writing this paragraph, and which provides more details on linkbacking if you wish to go there and learn more.

2. Pingback.

If you are writing a blog, your blogging service provider (WordPress, Moveable Type, Blogger) may provide an automatic pingback service. There are also free services like PingOMatic and PingOat that do the same thing. Whether you rely on your blogging service or do it yourself, pinging insures that each time you write an article or post, that places like MyYahoo! and Weblogs and Technorati (i.e., blog directories) know you've just added something new. (Check them out, they don't necessarily ping the same places.)

(There's a lot of technical stuff about pingbacks, too -- things like they are sent via a distinct communications technology (XML-RPC), etc. but we're not going into that here.)

3. Trackback.

When someone links to your blog post, within your comments section there may be some strange type of comment that mimics your own lingo in your earlier content. That may well be a trackback, which is letting you know that someone, somewhere has linked to your work. It will give you a means to go read what they've written (usually the url to their blog post, etc.)

It gets confusing -- some will say you've received a "trackback ping" when this happens, and just stop yourself before you respond, isn't it a "pingback" then? There's a lot of techno detail here, "pinging" to some being any "ping" to your post.

Think of a magic wand, anytime it touches your blog, "ping" is heard. That wand may mean an individual blogger linked to your post and you've been notified in your comments section in a "trackback," or it may mean that a pinging service has notified all the blog directories within its service realm that you've posted something, in a "pingback."

Finally, while some services (like Blogger) automatically allow trackbacks, other services (like WordPress) may require you to decide if you want to allow them or not. It's tricky, and you'll need to check the details of the blogging service you've chosen.

Do you want trackbacks? Yes, you do. Why? Because they let you know when others are referencing what you've written in some way -- in their posts, in comments somewhere, etc. And not only is this something that lets you know you're being read (great!), it's also important to know how your work is being perceived. Trackbacks let you know what some folk are thinking about your contributions, and this is important, be it an accolade or constructive criticism. Trackbacks provide feedback, and that's good.

Image above: Google Blog Search, the blog directory for Google, Inc. Make sure your blog is included within the Google Blog Search by adding it manually. (This is a linkback to a pingback service.)

Law Firm Blogs - 8: Turning Your Blawg Into a Book

2009-09-30T18:25:00.012-05:00

News this month is Blogger has teamed with Blog2Print, and you can convert your blog to a paperback book. Here's the catch: each paperback will cost you $14.95 -- and that is for a 20 page book.

Add a page, it will cost you another 35 cents.

While I like the idea of converting a law firm blog into a book that can be used for marketing purposes, I don't know that this offer is cost effective.

I think a law firm blog-book would need to have well over 20 pages to be impressive to a client. Of course, maybe that depends upon the client - and the topic covered by the blog.

However, before I made any final decision I would want to check out the quality of these "soft bound books." The image provided by Blogger Buzz (shown here) looks nice enough but I would need to see the product in hand before I made any type of commitment. Of course, that offer of a pdf version for $7.95/each might be a really nice option here ....

My Blog Posts Get Top Spots in Google Search Results Consistently Over Time

2009-08-25T14:17:00.009-05:00

This afternoon, I stopped to check the stats for my personal blogs and found some nice results. I do this a lot, but today I actually stopped to make a little tally.

I've listed some of them here, and these searches are accurate as of today's date - using only Google. I have results in Yahoo, Bing, Ask, AOL, etc. but I chose only to check Google Search Results and only through the past couple of days results as recorded by StatCounter. For some, I saved the search results in OneNote, but this got to be time-consuming so I didn't do this for everything on the list.

And while I write professionally for several blogs/blawgs, these results are only for my personal blogs - as well as a little tidbit at the end where I blogged for a couple of friends and kept track on StatCounter for them, too. No waiver of client confidentiality here.

The biggest search result?
2 out of 1.75 billion for a two month old post

1,750,000,000 and my post is number two, after being published in June 2009 (see no. 1 under Backseat Lawyer).

The second largest search result?
3 out of 77 million for a 3 year old post

77,300,000 and my post is number three, after being published in August 2006 (it's three years old) (see no. 5 under Rebecca Kennedy's Blog).

Oldest post still getting strong results?

The 2005 post that still ranks no. 7 out of 23,400,000 -- see no. 4 listed under Rebecca Kennedy's Blog.

Google Search Results - Backseat Lawyer

1. my post is no. 2 out of 1,750,000,000 (yes, that's billion) for the search "how will michael jackson death affect his life insurance pay out"- I published it on 06/28/09;

2. my post is no. 1 out of 5,120,000 for the search "casey anthony employment universal"- I pubished it on 08/09/08;

3. my post is no. 8 out of 2,620,000 for the search "billings murder fla" - I published it on 07/23/09;

4. My post is no. 5 out of 1,320,000 for the search "jose baez", published on 01/15/09; and

5. the same post regarding "jose baez" is no. 3 out of 894,000 for the search "jose baez bio" - I published it on 01/15/09.

Google Search Results for Rebecca Kennedy's Blog

1. my post is no. 3 out of 49,700,000 for the search "thriller vs. mystery"- I published it on 11/24/06;

2. my post is no. 1 out of 33,200,000 for the search "how to write a book in six weeks"- I published it on 09/16/06;

3. the same post as above is no. 2 out of 28,300,000 for the search "how to write a book in two weeks"- I published it on 09/16/06;

4. my post is no. 7 out of 23,400,000 for the search "book length in words" - I published it on 12/14/05; and

5. my post is no. 3 out of 77,300,000 for the search "what is isbn?" - I published it on 08/12/06.

Google Search Results for Everyday Simplicity

1. my post is no. 3 out of 30,400,000 for the search "cleaning burnt pans" - I published it on 01/11/06;

2. my post is no. 2 out of 19,200,000 for the search "tips for surviving a depression" - I published it on 11/28/08;

3. my post is no. 1 out of 1,200,000 for the search "coca cola made with sugar" - I published it on 04/10/09;

4. my post is no. 2 out of 1,480,000 for the search " becoming an ex-patriate" - I published it on 01/16/06, and if you take out the hyphen to create the word "expatriate" in the search, then the post becomes no. 2 out of 640,000;

5. my post is no. 4 out of 4,300,000 for the search "products made from petroleum" - I published it on 06/15/07.

And I did a quick check for other blogs ....

Google Search Results for Jean Jennings' Blog
(Jean's blog is dormant but it's still getting some great results for her.)

1. my post is no. 2 out of 5380 for the search "Bexar County Jury Duty," and no. 4 out of 59,200 for "San Antonio Jury Duty" ... the post was published 07/07/08 and while these aren't high volume searches, Jean gets steady traffic from a targeted group -- she's a practicing criminal defense/CPS attorney in San Antonio, Bexar County;

2. my post is no. 2 out of 3,220,000 for the search "san antonio jail visiting hours" - published 08/02/08, another targeted group for Jean's local criminal defense practice; and

3. my post is no. 6 out of 2,510,000 for the search "search warrant examples" - published 08/09/08.

Google Search Results for Judge Tom Rickhoff's Blog
(Judge Rickhoff's blog was recently reactivated after being dormant for an extended period of time)

1. my post is no. 1 out of 458,000 for the search "Not Forgotten Coalition" - published 04/25/06.

Lawyer Writer News Flash: AP May Not Believe in Fair Use - They Want Payment for Excerpts Over 4 Words Long

2009-07-07T06:43:00.003-05:00

This has been up for awhile over at the Associated Press site, but I think most folk are either ignorant of this fee schedule, or they're just blatantly ignoring it.

Me, I think it's stupid. AP wants you to pay for ANY excerpt of any of their content that you use on your blog. That's right. Quote as little as FIVE (5) words, and AP wants you to pay them $12.50.

Are we being punked? No. Apparently the AP is serious. Stupid, but serious.

And rather than rant, I refer you to the article written by Derek Bambauer for the Harvard University blog, Info/Law.

They are so ... well, polite. They call it "overreaching."

Stupid, overreaching. Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to.

Law Firm Blogs - 7: Duplicate Your Blog Posts on your Facebook page

2009-07-05T18:55:00.002-05:00

So you have a blog (or blawg) and you've got a Facebook page. Great. Your time is valuable, so let's save some.

Multitask those two marketing spots by taking your blog content and republishing it on your Facebook page. Just go to Facebook, log in and go to the Notes page. From there, follow the directions to import the blog posts to your Fan page. Easy enough.

Edit your Feed settings so your unabridged blog posts show up on the Feeds of all your fans, as well.

There. Have questions? Email me and I'll walk you through.

Bing is up and running but I'm more interested in WolframAlpha

2009-06-28T15:58:00.006-05:00

There's another "thinking" search engine for you to try out -- Bing -- and so far, I'm not impressed. Maybe it's too new, and it'll get better with time.

You remember Cuil, right?

Meanwhile, I'm keeping a closer watch on Wolfram Alpha. Which isn't a search engine per se ... instead it's a "computational knowledge" gizmo. Yeah, right.

More on how Wolfram Alpha is better than Google ... for some things ... over at Mashable. I like this, I mean why not go the next step instead of trying to out-Google Google? Isn't that Yahoo's job?

And, fine. I think I just like the name WolframAlpha. It's so perfect it should be in a Heinlein novel.

Pictured: WolframAlpha's one page summary.

Here's My Story: Bio of a Lawyer Writer

2009-05-02T16:45:00.006-05:00

I'm a professional writer with 20+ yrs experience as an AV-rated lawyer (complex business litigation, high-dollar personal injury). I've tried cases in federal and state court, and I've taken appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit as well as the Texas Supreme Court.

Most of my legal career has dealt with high stakes cases, files with complex legal issues and massive factual details. Right out of UT Law, Luke Soules was my mentor and I've very grateful to have been apprenticed to such a brilliant, excellent trial lawyer.

Today, I write about legal issues, particularly legally related SEO (search engine optimized) web content, and I also provide Social Media Consultation that relates to the legal profession. I do ghostwriting for lawyers and law firms on occasion.

I've written a book on legal issues for freelance writers (copyright infringement, etc.) which I'm proud to say had Bob Bly as its editor. I also write a nationally syndicated, and award-winning, blog on voluntarily simplicity issues entitled Everyday Simplicity, and I walk the walk of this lifestyle change.

My writing has been published in Reuters, Chicago Sun Times, CNN.COM, Computer Shopper, Dayton Daily News, Green Scene, and other national publications.

I am a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, an invited member of the prestigious Texas Bar Foundation and a member of American Mensa. And I still practice law, though I limit it to judicial appointments in the Bexar County Children's Court as a dual role attorney/guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children in CPS cases.

How and why did I evolve from a business litigator shopping at Sak's to writer shopping at Sam's?

I'd like to tell you that it was a smooth and effortless transition, law to writing. But it wasn't. I had a series of personal life events that were heartbreaking and confusing - and to complicate things further, the practice of law was rapidly evolving, too.

Suffice to say, I wanted very much to simplify my life. I learned the lesson that each day is a gift, and that time is the commodity to treasure, not money.

I learned to read at the age of two (got my photo in the Corpus Christi Caller Times for that, but that's another story for another day), and I'd always wanted to be a writer.

So, I took the steps to transition from one career to another. There was sacrifice. There was the learning curve. There was the humility of beginning at square one after leaving a profession where I'd mastered quite a bit.

And, here I am. I'm a professional writer now. And I thank God every day for it.