MH – LinkedIn Go Public

By Toby Brown on July 16, 2008

As we previously noted, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell (MH) and LinkedIn were putting together a deal to integrate their services on some level. This news was first noted on Kevin O’Keefe’s blog, and discussed elsewhere by Larry Bodine and others.

Well – the deal is public now. LexisNexis announced the deal and gave some hints at what it means. Cutting through the press release lingo, we get to:

When searching martindale.com for attorneys, users will see LinkedIn icons within the profiles of attorneys who are members of that network, and within the law firm profiles when attorneys from that firm are LinkedIn members. If the martindale.com user is also a member of LinkedIn, he or she can access the LinkedIn connection with the designated attorney by clicking on the LinkedIn icon. Doing so presents the user with information about the person, as well as common LinkedIn connections between the user and the attorney. In future updates to LinkedIn, abstracts and links to Martindale-Hubbell articles and other content will be distributed through the LinkedIn network.

Thoughts:

1 – It appears that lawyers will need to opt-in to show their LinkedIn profile from Martindale. Otherwise, I am not sure how MH would verify the user’s identity. Even then, they may have some authentication issues.

2 – The ‘who knows whom’ feature could extend the value of both services. It would help current lawyer LinkedIn users broaden their networks. But this will be dependent on #1.

3 – LinkedIn may benefit from the content distribution provided by MH, but it seems more benefit is poised to flow MH’s way, given the greater number of lawyers already in LinkedIn.

I suppose I am skeptical that this deal will ultimately bring value. In one sense it could bring two different groups of lawyers together – old technophobes and young tech-savvies. But I’m having trouble seeing how either group will find value in crossing this divide.

It’s like putting a Mercedes dealership next to a skateboard park. Each group will look over the fence in curiosity, but won’t see a reason to switch their rides.

(OK – that was stretching the metaphor engine.)

Paperless Marketing Redux

By Toby Brown on July 16, 2008

A term like ‘paperless marketing’ conjures up thoughts of e-mails. But I saw a new technology, used in marketing that caught my eye. It’s offered by nxtBook Media and creates an online version of a magazine or catalog that actually looks and feels like a paper one, but incorporates interesting technology tools to create motion and interaction. The company website includes a sample page.

Once you open one up, you are looking at a familiar magazine. When you turn a page … it turns as it writes the image for the next page. I discovered this through an e-mail on marketing enterprise search. I clicked on the topic in the e-mail and went straight to the page in the magazine I requested. Then I started turning pages. When I went to print – I was given the option of selecting a page range right within the site.

This comes across as a next generation PDF tool that has a definite marketing sizzle. It got my attention, which is more difficult these days, given the amount of information I consume and the gee-whiz technology I encounter.

I suggest taking a look at it and considering ways you might use it, both for getting attention and for the practicality of the tool.

Resistance is Futile … but it continues

By Toby Brown on July 15, 2008

After reading Ron Freidmann’s post on the Eversheds 21st Century Law Firm Report – as well as the various posts he linked to, I had to go have a look. The 10 page document is a quick read and gets right to the point. The survey methodology appears sound, so the results are worth considering.

The other posts I read on the survey were on point – and they combined to confirm an ‘untrend’ I’m seeing in the market. On each point in the report, the basic response is resistance to change by lawyers. Even on the work-life balance topic, law firm partners don’t seem to be concerned about adapting – noting that work-life balance is “a contradiction in terms.”

As someone who has been pushing for industry change like alternative billing for some time now (my first article on this was in 1994), you would think I would be acutely aware of this untrend. I suppose it’s a lesson I will re-learn ad nauseam in this industry. Lawyers look back – not ahead. I’ve termed this the paradigm of precedence. So not only does change come slowly, it’s highly resisted.

I keep waiting for the impact of this paradigm to come home to roost. Maybe it never will. Or more likely, it will be the “death of a thousand cuts.”

My bottom line: The Eversheds Report appears as another nail in this coffin. Although some of the findings appear on the surface to be significant trends, in my opinion this more of the same. Change is seen as inevitable, but then resisted at every step by lawyers.

Online Social Networking: A Fancy Word for Friendship

By Lisa Salazar on July 13, 2008

MHLN–the monster also known as Martindale Hubbell/Lexis Nexis–just paid for a survey that found out that 50% of the lawyers already belong to a social network and nearly 40% want to join a social network.

That’s like saying half the lawyers you know belong to the local Chamber of Commerce, most of the other half are thinking about it and the remaining few think they are way too busy to waste their time at a meeting.

It makes me think: is all this hoopla over social networking sites worth it?

Comparing this to my own personal experience on LinkedIn and Multiply (a private online community open to the public), I have some opinions (really?).

Just yesterday, I was gnashing teeth with a fellow online marketer. He and I met after he heard me give a talk and he accessed me via LinkedIn. We swapped info and when I needed some input on some technology, I reached out. The rest is history . . .

On my personal blog, which resides on Multiply, I have about 20 close friends that I’ve never met. Its a community that actually began on Yahoo360 when I opened a blog to experiment with the medium. I quickly developed a ton of relationships with people all around the world.

So when 360 announced it was shutting down, me and my closest online buddies migrated to Multiply. It has been over 2 years since I opened my personal blog and I have developed friendships with people from all over the world. We have never met, but my “real” friends who have seen my blog are always surprised by what they don’t know about me. I often think my online friends know me better than my “real” friends, frequently “speaking” with them 3-4 times a week.

So what do I think social networking can give to lawyers? Based upon my experience, it is friendship and support.

When does friendship and support turn into business? Well, as any good client development person will tell you: when they want what you have and ask you for it. Ta-da! An agreement is made and a friendship turns into a business relationship.

So I say join a network. Get active. Be a friend. Put yourself out there.

Then maybe when the Next Big Thing comes along in business development, you will be able to say “I’m too busy to join.”

KM is …?

By Toby Brown on July 10, 2008

I vacillate back-and-forth between intense frustration and mild curiosity when faced with the task of defining knowledge management (KM) for law firms. When talking with lawyers about KM, the most frequent response I get is quite curious. “KM? It’s about time we get into KM. It’s absolutely necessary to a firm’s success.” But then when I push for the person’s definition of KM, it’s typically vague or overly narrow. So … how can something so misunderstood be so universally valued?

As law firms approach KM and work to bring it into the practice, they will have to answer this first question. Attempting to implement something you can’t even define is a recipe for failure. Money spent will be money spent.

The reality of this situation is likely akin to the old ’10 blind men with their hands on the elephant’ story. Everyone can explain how KM will benefit them in a specific way, but they can’t describe the parts of the elephant they can’t see.

Perhaps the real task in defining KM is helping each person understand how their piece of KM fits so nicely into the bigger picture of KM. Finding the common threads and shedding light on them may well be the best path to a sound and useful definition.

As Dad always said; “A challenge is just an opportunity in disguise.”

Look at All the Lonely People . . . Where Do They All Belong? Apparently, on a blog.

By Lisa Salazar on July 10, 2008

According to a SelectMinds survey “Workplace Connections
& Their Impact on Retention, Recruiting, and Productivity,” 83% of workers rate relationships with co-workers as a critical reason for joining and staying with their employer, and alternatively, one in four people quit a job due to feelings of isolation.

If you haven’t heard of SelectMinds, they offer social networking solutions for corporations. At a hefty price tag.

But I say, why pay for something that you can get for free? Heck, look at us “Three Geeks and Law Blog.” We put it up in 15 minutes. And “zero” down.

I will say, though, that the SelectMinds survey had some interesting stats:

87% of the employees surveyed by SelectMinds say they are most productive in their jobs when surrounded by colleagues with whom they have a good relationship/rapport.
Social networks allow people to gather and evaluate information more quickly: over half (57%) of all workers believe that expanding their professional network will help them do their job more effectively.
This remains especially true among older workers: employees ages 60 and older are more likely to ask for input from an experienced colleague or friend when trying to answer a work question in a hurry than are their younger counterparts.
More than three-quarters (77%) of workers age 20 – 29 believe that the social aspects of work are very important to their overall sense of workplace satisfaction, compared with 67% of their older colleagues.
Nearly half (46%) of the GenYers rate the availability of support/networking programs as a very important factor in their decision to join and/or remain with an employer.
83% of workers rate trusted relationships with co-workers and suppliers as a critical reasons for joining and staying with an employer.
Without these relationships, today’s workforce is ready to walk out the door; approximately one in four (23%) employees reports quitting a job due to feelings of isolation.