The Hot New Technology for Communication & Information

1. The Hot New Technology for Communication & Information Blogs Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference May 1, 2006 Presented by Bonnie Shucha University of Wisconsin Law Library bjshucha@wisc.edu

2. Difference Between Blogs & Web Sites • A blog IS a Web site But the structure is slightly different than a traditional website All convertibles are cars, but not all cars are convertibles All blogs are Web sites, but not all Web sites are blogs

3. Difference Between Blogs & Web Sites As with any Web site. . . • There are some really great blogs • There are some really rotten ones • And there are a lot of them in between

4. The Blogosphere • There are 27.2 Million blogs • Blogosphere doubles every 5½ months • On average, a new blog is created every second • “Splogs” (machine generated spam blogs) account for 9% of all new blogs created As of February 2006 from: Technorati’s Weblog http://www.technorati.com/weblog/2006/02/81.html

5. Blog Features Brief informational posts in reverse chronological order Blawg= Law-related blog Archives of previously posted content; Subscription options (appear below) Comment feature offers interactivity

6. Establishing a Blogging Policy Every business should have one – even if you don’t have a blog • Cover all company blogs, as well as employees who blog outside of work • Policy language should be simple, clear • Balance protection from liability with freedom to be honest, frank

7. Establishing a Blogging Policy • Examples: • Feedster’s Corporate Blogging Policy http://feedster.blogs.com/corporate/2005/03/corporate_blogg. html • Yahoo!’s Personal Blog Guidelines http://jeremy.zawodny.com/yahoo/yahoo-blog-guidelines.pdf

8. Blogs for Legal Professionals • Continuing Education • Competitive Intelligence • Monitor “Public Conversations” About Firm & Clients

9. “When you’re listening to the Internet, the discussion is taking place in real time. . . We can alert a company or a brand [to criticism] so they can be on their guard and be ready to react. . .” - Sue MacDonald, spokeswoman, Intelliseek from “Why Companies Monitor Blogs,” CNet, 1/3/2006

10. Finding Blogs • Law Blogs (Blawgs) • Blawg: Law & Legal Related Weblogs - http://www.blawg.org/ • RSS News Feeds for Law, TVC Alert - http://www.virtualchase.com/resources/rss_law.html

11. Finding Blogs • Blog Search Engines • Google Blog Searchhttp://blogsearch.google.com/ • Feedsterhttp://feedfinder.feedster.com/ • Technorati http://www.technorati.com/ • Daypophttp://www.daypop.com/ • Online Reputation Monitoring Beginners Guide from Marketing Pilgrim blog http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2006/03/online-reputation-monitoring-beginners.html

12. Reading Blogs • Good - As a Web page • Stay current but requires reader to visit multiple sites daily to check for updates • Better - With a RSS Reader • All updates delivered to one location • Read multiple blogs with one application

13. RSS • What Is RSS ? • Rich Site Summary OR Really Simple Syndication RSS Makes the Internet Subscribe-able See LawLibTech (Cindy Chick) RSS Tutorial: What Is RSS, http://www.lawlibtech.com/archives/000098.html

14. RSS Readers Email message (information) Email application (reader) RSS feed (information) RSS Reader (reader)

15. RSS Readers • RSS readers are also known as: • RSS aggregators • news readers • news aggregators

16. Bloglines • Free Web-based RSS reader • Use to read: • RSS feeds • Email Listservs! • Subscribe at http://www.bloglines.com/ Tutorial movie (UC Berkeley Library): http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/rss.html

17. RSS Feeds

18. Posts

19. RSS Feeds Other Than Blogs • Newspapers • Custom News Alerts • Government Agencies • Product Recalls

20. “Anyone who needs to monitor current news on a regular basis will need to understand and use RSS in some form going forward.” Source: LawLibTech RSS Tutorial: What Is RSS, http://www.lawlibtech.com/archives/000098.html

21. Creating A Blog • Law Firm Blogs Can Be Used for: • External communication • Internal communication • Firm blog ≠ Legal professional’s personal blog

22. External Communication • Easy – no HTML knowledge required • Technology inexpensive • Enhance visibility of firm & attorneys • Establish expertise in area(s) of law • Improve search engine rankings

23. External Communication • Disseminate information more quickly, widely, & less expensively than traditional communication methods • Ensure accurate, timely information about firm is available

24. External Communication • Connect with other legal professionals • Foster a personal relationship clients, potential clients, media & public • Readers choose preferred level of communication

25. Internal Communication • Announcements for Staff • Knowledge Management • Project Management

26. Cost = Time Is Blogging Worth Your Time? • Weigh the cost of billable time • Assess skills & training time needed • Consider other time-consuming projects • Consider the competition

27. “A poorly maintained blog will have the opposite effect of a well-written, frequently updated blog. The blogger will lose credibility with her or his audience. In other words, don’t just have a blog so you can say you have a blog.” • Tom Mighell , “Between Lawyers Roundtable: The Future of Legal Blogging” Law Practice, Sept. 2005

28. Selecting Blog Authors • Attorneys • Administrators • Librarians • Marketing Staff?

29. “A blog cannot possibly fit into the marketing plan of a firm because the firm will not maintain it. Blogs must be maintained by passionate (and driven) individuals.” Burkey Belser in “Market Your Law Firm,” LawFirmBlogging.com, 12/16/2005

30. Engaging the Reader • Be Personable • Be Frank • Be Useful • Be Committed • Don’t Sell • Don’t Cover-up Mistakes

31. “Good blogs also have an editorial point of view that tells the reader something about the blogger’s personality. There’s a certain style typical of strong blogs—crisp and pithy, with plenty of relevant hyperlinks.” • David W. Opderbeck, “How to Start Your Own Weblog And Make the Most of It ” Law Practice, Sept. 2005

32. Blog Software Comparison • Time to check: Are you using the right blogging tool?http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050714gardner/

33. Promoting Your Blog “[A] blog. . . can be a waste of your brilliant ideas and information unless you can attract readers.” - Daniel Harmon, The Lawyer's PC (22 Law. PC 1)

34. Promoting Your Blog • Make blog's name descriptive of its content • Link from firm’s Web site & include on all firm communications • Drop your blog's name constantly • Register with search engines & directories

35. Promoting Your Blog • Use keywords in your post titles • Link to other blogs • Offer your own unique perspective • Encourage reader feedback

36. “It’s a great time to start a law-oriented blog. There’s a considerable frame of reference for what people are already doing, yet enormous room for innovation and perhaps an infinite number of interesting niches to fill.” • Denise Howell , “Between Lawyers Roundtable: The Future of Legal Blogging” Law Practice, Sept. 2005

37. For More Information • See: • Law Practice September 2005 issue devoted to blogging. http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/home.shtml • Blogs for Lawyers: Building an Audience to Build Your Practice, free, one-hour event presented by Findlaw. https://findlawevents.webex.com/findlawevents (See “View all recorded events” at top right) • Corporate Weblogging Best Practices. Univ. of WI E-Business Consortiumhttp://www.uwebc.org/opinionpapers/archives/docs/ CorporateBlogging.pdf