The Greatest American Lawyer

Is Facebook the Ultimate Business Networking Tool?

I have hundreds of LinkedIn contacts.  However, little has ever come from professional networking through LinkedIn.

Kudos To Lindsay Griffith For Posting Link To Twitter

Hey there! Lindsay Griffith is using Twitter.  Thanks for this link.

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Join today to start receiving Lindsay Griffith's updates.

Social and Professional Networking Are All About Participation, Not Association

There is a lot of discussion these days about the social networking aspect of the web, from Facebook to LinkedIn.  Bloggers post posts and have blog rolls.  People join bulletin boards and forums, and post comments on other people’s websites.  Much has been said about the Web 2.0 phenomena but there is one point that is often overlooked.  Online social and professional networking tools are all about participation, not association.  You can have a thousand Facebook friends or read dozens of blogs daily.  None of that counts as social media.  The word “social” requires both a give and a take.  Social needs back and forth.

Facebook or LinkedIn: The Power Lies in the Use.

I have a pretty substantial LinkedIn account.  My public profile can be found here.  A couple weeks ago, I had a case where the defendant we were researching had a Facebook account.  I’ve never really dealt with Facebook before, having viewed it as a purely personal social endeavor.  To my surprise, I had requests to be “friends” with a large number of unanticipated people within days of registering.  Many of these people are also part of my LinkedIn network.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the two different platforms generate the possibility of new clients and new matters for old clients.  Because so many of the people within my friend network of Facebook use it so much more aggressively, the members of my friend network are much more likely to be “tickled” by an email or Facebook post.  Let’s face it, there’s a lot more going on in our personal lives than our professional lives.

Finding Opportunity in Difficult Economic Times

Only about ten to twenty percent of our client base is local.  Most of our clients are located outside the State of Michigan and many outside the United States of America.  Because we are a law firm specializing in internet law, intellectual property, domain name disputes, corporate services and complex litigation, we tend to get hired by companies and outside counsel in cases where specialization is required.  Because our market is global, we are somewhat insulated from the economic downturns which shrink corporate budgets.

No Woman Who Behaved Ever Changed History

I saw a t-shirt the other day that said “A woman who behaves never changes history.”   The t-shirt struck me for several reasons.  First, because I have had the pleasure of representing three amazing women who started a Digg site for women, now called Kirtsy.com. The website quickly exploded with traffic much to the surprise of the founders who now run one of the highest traffic women-centric portals on the internet.

Technology is Great but the Phone is Better

There is no question that technology makes communication easy and convenient.  We use email, extranets, text messaging and voicemail to communicate by and between ourselves and our clients.

But when it comes to relationships, there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings.  A close second would be a phone call.

I think we sometimes get so enamored with technology that we forget to reach out and “touch someone.”  We have to remind ourselves to bring clients in for face-to-face meetings and call them on the phone as an alternative to email on certain issues.

Anyone who is involved with billing knows that a phone call is far more likely to secure payment than a series of emails.  And when you’re looking for new work, scheduling a client meeting (at no cost to them of course) is the best way to explore new projects with clients. 

Yes, technology rocks.  But the personal touch is still a mandatory part of any successful business plan.