Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Use Twitter to Cut the Clutter
The other day, my son was sitting next to me while I did some work on the computer. He started pushing icons on my screen with his finger. My computer doesn't have a touch screen like my iPad, so nothing happened, but it demonstrated an expectation with which my son is growing up: He expects to get the media he wants, when he wants it, at a touch of a button. When I was a kid (not very long ago), the only options for watching cartoons were right after school and Saturday morning. My son will likely never have to deal with this constraint. I had to search through libraries to find content as a child; for my kid, finding content will be as simple as a Google search.
This search capability presents a problem, referred to by many as information overload. “I don't have time to answer my e-mails every day ' how will I find time to use social media?” complained one attorney. “I just can't handle sifting through any more information,” complained another. What these lawyers don't realize is that as this technology progresses, so does its ability to organize information.
Use Twitter to Organize
Twitter is a great tool for organizing information. Think of every Twitter profile as a TV channel. Pick only the channels that are interesting to you. Interested in links to articles on employment law? Follow @danielschwartz. Interested in tech and antitrust? Follow Glen Manishin (@glennm). Want to hear the latest on alternative fee arrangements? Patrick Lamb (@valoremlamb) is your guy. See, it isn't about consuming more content, it's about consuming more relevant content.
If you don't have time to search for multiple Twitter accounts to follow, there is a shortcut called Twitter lists. Many of the power users of social media have spent hours and hours organizing lists of people to follow that share about certain topics. You have the option of simply following an entire list, or selecting users on it.
Twitter is very different from e-mail, because whereas in e-mail your Inbox fills up with messages as they arrive, Twitter functions much more like a river with information flowing by. There is new information coming in every moment. If you miss it, it's gone. If something is very important however, it will likely be repeated or “re-tweeted” over and over, making it far less likely you miss it.
Another great tool for organizing all this information is Tweetdeck. It's a free download that allows you to set up multiple columns with searches, lists and even allows integration of LinkedIn and Facebook streams. Many IT departments aren't big fans of Tweetdeck because it is a desktop application and requires you to download software to your computer. If your IT department won't allow it, there is a similar Web-based tool called Hootsuite that is very similar ' and also very free.
Once you have started to organize your stream and set up tools like Tweetdeck to manage all of this new highly relevant information, it is time to turn off e-mail alerts. Go into the settings for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and limit e-mails being sent to you from these applications. If our objective is to prevent information overload, it is essential to turn off most e-mail alerts. You may still want to receive message from LinkedIn, because these allow you to respond directly to the sender of the message via e-mail, but I recommend turning all other alerts off.
Manage Your Time
Check-in at least once per day. One busy attorney I spoke with told me: “That shouldn't be a problem ' I check Facebook at least once per hour.” I wouldn't recommend checking quite so often; follow the advice of Tim Ferriss in The Four Hour Work Week and schedule the times you will be checking in with social media. If you turn off all the alerts and never log in, than you aren't any better off than before. Keep in mind this is a new process, and it takes time and effort to develop any new process, so be patient with yourself.
My grandparents aren't big fans of satellite TV. The prospect of choosing among 300 channels is just too much for them. They prefer the manageable three channels they grew up with. If you just want three channels, that's fine ' just make sure you use social media and technology to guarantee those three channels are the right channels for you.
Adrian Dayton is an attorney, speaker and author of the book Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition (ARK Group 2009). He provides coaching and training for attorneys and practice groups, to help them develop high-value relationships through social media. Read more about social media for lawyers at http://adriandayton.com.
The other day, my son was sitting next to me while I did some work on the computer. He started pushing icons on my screen with his finger. My computer doesn't have a touch screen like my iPad, so nothing happened, but it demonstrated an expectation with which my son is growing up: He expects to get the media he wants, when he wants it, at a touch of a button. When I was a kid (not very long ago), the only options for watching cartoons were right after school and Saturday morning. My son will likely never have to deal with this constraint. I had to search through libraries to find content as a child; for my kid, finding content will be as simple as a
This search capability presents a problem, referred to by many as information overload. “I don't have time to answer my e-mails every day ' how will I find time to use social media?” complained one attorney. “I just can't handle sifting through any more information,” complained another. What these lawyers don't realize is that as this technology progresses, so does its ability to organize information.
Use Twitter to Organize
Twitter is a great tool for organizing information. Think of every Twitter profile as a TV channel. Pick only the channels that are interesting to you. Interested in links to articles on employment law? Follow @danielschwartz. Interested in tech and antitrust? Follow Glen Manishin (@glennm). Want to hear the latest on alternative fee arrangements? Patrick Lamb (@valoremlamb) is your guy. See, it isn't about consuming more content, it's about consuming more relevant content.
If you don't have time to search for multiple Twitter accounts to follow, there is a shortcut called Twitter lists. Many of the power users of social media have spent hours and hours organizing lists of people to follow that share about certain topics. You have the option of simply following an entire list, or selecting users on it.
Twitter is very different from e-mail, because whereas in e-mail your Inbox fills up with messages as they arrive, Twitter functions much more like a river with information flowing by. There is new information coming in every moment. If you miss it, it's gone. If something is very important however, it will likely be repeated or “re-tweeted” over and over, making it far less likely you miss it.
Another great tool for organizing all this information is Tweetdeck. It's a free download that allows you to set up multiple columns with searches, lists and even allows integration of
Once you have started to organize your stream and set up tools like Tweetdeck to manage all of this new highly relevant information, it is time to turn off e-mail alerts. Go into the settings for Twitter,
Manage Your Time
Check-in at least once per day. One busy attorney I spoke with told me: “That shouldn't be a problem ' I check Facebook at least once per hour.” I wouldn't recommend checking quite so often; follow the advice of Tim Ferriss in The Four Hour Work Week and schedule the times you will be checking in with social media. If you turn off all the alerts and never log in, than you aren't any better off than before. Keep in mind this is a new process, and it takes time and effort to develop any new process, so be patient with yourself.
My grandparents aren't big fans of satellite TV. The prospect of choosing among 300 channels is just too much for them. They prefer the manageable three channels they grew up with. If you just want three channels, that's fine ' just make sure you use social media and technology to guarantee those three channels are the right channels for you.
Adrian Dayton is an attorney, speaker and author of the book Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition (ARK Group 2009). He provides coaching and training for attorneys and practice groups, to help them develop high-value relationships through social media. Read more about social media for lawyers at http://adriandayton.com.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.