COMPLEX TECH: The Complex Litigator is giving Twitter a test-drive

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TwitterThe Complex Litigator is giving Twitter a test-drive.  I have been examining the craze that is Twitter for many months.  Apparently, the world is divided into two camps: the Twitter-crazed and "What-the-heck-is-Twit-What-Huh?"  Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns used Twitter to interact with supporters.  In short, and in keeping with the concept of Twitter, Twitter is a tool for posting 140 character or less messages that anyone following your posts can read.  Now for the longer version...

What Twitter does is relatively simple to explain.  How you use Twitter is much harder to define, because of its flexibility:

“Giving you a finite definition of Twitter is tricky. It’s use varies greatly, and depends a lot on the individual user. Technically, Twitter is considered a micro-blogging tool. It’s just like regular blogging, but with one significant rule change. After logging in, you are faced with the question “What are you doing?”, and just like a blog you can share exactly what you’re doing, feeling, thinking, reading - but all in less than 140 characters of entry space.

In terms of the options available for legal web marketing, Twitter - or micro-blogging tools generally - is the shortest method of discourse we’ve seen to date. If e-books & web-distribution of publications are at the longer discourse level, and regular blogs are sitting somewhere in the middle, then Twitter obviously at the far end (short-end?) of our continuum.

So what can you do in such a short space? Actually, quite a bit. Think: chat & discussion, link exchanges, debate, endorsement, or public critique. It’s a big dinner table conversation with peers that you get to choose. The format is also mobile friendly, which in my view, has had a substantial impact on the site’s growth.

(Steve Matthews, Lawyer Marketing with Twitter (May 5, 2008) www.stemlegal.com/strategyblog.)  Because you can include links in a "Tweet" (Twitter post), and because tinyurl.com lets you make short links out of giant links (like permalinks on blogs), you can include quite a bit of information in a Twitter post.

So what with The Complex Litigator do with Twitter?  For now, I will post links to new blog entries and, if anyone decides to follow me on Twitter (hsleviant), I may use Twitter to collect information.  You can actually subscribe to a Twitter "feed" with any RSS reader.

Of interest to lawyers is the fact that Twitter provides a new platform for (1) marketing, (2) collaborative communication with other lawyers, and (3) interaction with clients.  Lawyers using Twitter (effectively - what that means is still being discovered) have reported an increase in website traffic and resulting business.  Twitter is on the bleeding edge of technology-meets-marketing, and pioneering lawyers may stake prime territory in this new frontier.  Or they may end up dead next to a watering hole filled with poisonous toxins.  One or the other.

The over-arching question is whether Twitter can support its own success.  The infrastructure for handling the message traffic through Twitter is probably just short of crazy.  It has suffered a number of outages in recent months, probably due to traffic.  However, the success of Twitter is generating investment revenue for Twitter; the infusion of cash may help Twitter scale up to handle the load.  Of course, as Leo Laporte (tech industry pundit) recently noted, if Paris Hilton ever gets interested in Twitter, it will implode in a day, killing everyone in Silicon Valley (because hundreds of thousands of teens with text-capable phones will "follow" her and then realize they can chat on Twitter).

You can find me on Twitter as "hsleviant" (thecomplexlitigator was too long - Twitter is all about short).

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ClassActionBlawg.com provides yet another quality roundup of class-related blog posts

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Paul KarlsgodtOn most weeks, ClassActionBlawg.com surveys the blogosphere for posts topical to class actions.  Paul's latest roundup is probably the most extensive (and most useful) yet.  (Karlsgodt, Class Action Blogosphere Weekly Review (May 20, 2008) ClassActionBlawg.com.)  You'll find links to such blogs as Carlton Fields’ class action blog Classified, Drug and Device Law Blog, and Federal Civil Practice Bulletin.

Of particular note, ClassActionBlawg.com mentioned a guest blogging submission by Elizabeth Cabraser on ACSBlog.  As someone worthy of a WHO'S WHO post in her own right, any comments by Ms. Cabraser are worth a read.

Finally, thanks to ClassActionBlawg.com for including in the weekly roundup an earlier post by The Complex Litigator on developments affecting punitive damage claims in class actions.

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LLRX.com includes The Complex Litigator as one of the "Blogs of Note" in the class action realm

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LLRX.com is self-described as "the premier free, independent, one person produced Web journal dedicated to providing legal, library, IT/IS, marketing and administrative professionals with the most up-to-date information on a wide range of Internet research and technology-related issues, applications, resources and tools."  (About LLRX.)  In a recent article, LLRX.com offers a list of online resources for keeping up to speed on developments in the field of class action litigation.  (Scott Russell, Keeping Up with Class Actions: Reports, Legal Sites and Blogs of Note (May 19, 2008) www.llrx.com.)  Along with a few of the usual suspects (e.g., The UCL Practitioner), The Complex Litigator received a mention, for which I am very grateful; LLRX.com reportedly receives over 130,000 unique visitors each month.

Take a look at the article for a list of other resources (some of which are blogs included right here on The Complex Litigator's blogroll).

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Updates to The Complex Litigator likely to slow during the week of May 19

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I have an undesirably congested schedule this week.  As a result, there will probably be fewer posts of great length this week, and the posts that do go up may not go up as regularly as usual.  Though it might be getting old for me to say this, thanks for visiting.

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Cal Biz Lit blog adds The Complex Litigator to its blogroll

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Given that I have appreciated the writing and analysis on Cal Biz Lit, I note with gratitude the fact that The Complex Litigator has passed muster as a blog that meets with Bruce Nye's approval.  You can also take a look at Bruce Nye's firm, Adams Nye Trapani Becht LLP at adamsnye.com.  Thank you, Bruce.

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ClassActionBlawg.com provides a weekly collection of class action blog posts

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Paul KarlsgodtClassActionBlawg.com has just posted a round-up of class action blawg articles from the last week or so.  This week's round-up includes one article by The Complex Litigator, so a special thanks for that.  ClassActionBlawg.com includes these useful round-ups once a week, but the most recent collection of posts is particularly thorough; it makes for a great launching point to look around the blawgosphere for topical posts on class actions.

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A second round of thanks to all blog visitors and supporting blogs

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It took about 30 days to reach the 1,500 visit mark.  The next 1,500 visits took about 15 days.  I attribute much of the daily visit growth to the support of a number of very successful blogs, including Wage Law, UCL Practitioner, The California Blog of Appeal, ClassActionBlawg.com, and California Punitive Damages.  Other sites, like Overlawyered.com, also directed quite a bit of traffic here to read specific posts.  Justia.com pushed a fair bit of traffic here as well.  Thanks to everyone, and if I didn't list your blog as a source of referrrals, it isn't because I don't appreciate it, it is because I'm out of time to post right now.

Thank you for your support and consideration,

H. Scott Leviant, on behalf of The Complex Litigator

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Apologies to the blogroll members

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Due to a configuration error, a number of highly commendable blogs were not appearing on The Complex Litigator's "Blogs of Note" blogroll, despite having been entered on the administrator's site.  That has been corrected.  The Complex Litigator invites all readers to explore what these "Blogs of Note" have to offer, as some of the early entries were pushed off the list for the past several weeks.

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Large majority of Am Law 200 firms not yet fully sold on blogging

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LexBlog, a company that helps build and maintain law blogs, conducted a survey of blogging activity by Am Law 200 firms.  As reported via a Law.com article, as of mid-March, 53 Am Law 200 firms were blogging in some manner, either through a blog the firm itself sponsored or a blog run on the side by one of its lawyers.  (Alan Cohen, Cutting a Winning Edge in Law Firm Blogs (May 2, 2008) www.law.com.)  The blogging activities of Am Law 200 firms is relatively new: "A little more than a third of those firms started blogging in the last six months alone, according to LexBlog."  (Ibid.)  Most Am Law 200 firms offer very targeted blogs, focusing on a specific area of law.

Large firms examining the bloggin issue return to the same questions:

  • How much business will a blog generate?
  • What if something goes wrong as a result of a blog?
  • How much nonbillable time will a blog take?

While the big firms wrestle with these issues, the biggest returns on the blogging investment are being realized by small firms.  (Gina Pasarella, Am Law Firms Giving Blogs The Stamp Of Approval (April 17, 2008) www.law.com.)  "Blogs can be more effective than almost any other marketing tool in showing a clear return on investment, according to one legal marketer."  (Ibid.)

Blogging in the legal industry is rapidly evolving, and I'm willing to confront the risks that have about three quarters of the Am Law 200 sitting on the sidelines.  The last 5 weeks since this blog launched have been exciting, educational, nerve-wracking, and tiring.  But it has been worth it so far.  And just in case you didn't read my disclaimer, I'm not offering you any legal advice on this blog, and we don't have an attorney-client relationship just because you found and read this blog.  Oh, and my blogging is unrelated to my employment or my employer.  Just so we're clear on those details.

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e-DISCOVERY: Updated online resources

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Rambrog100 In December 2007, Robert Ambrogi published a two-part article on his blog, Robert Ambrogi's Lawsites, that collected and reviewed e-discovery sites on the internet.  (See Part 1 and Part 2.) After the publication of that two-part article on Lawsites, two prominent e-discovery sites received substantial updates (one receiving a complete domain name change and makeover) that deserve follow-up coverage.  The first, DiscoveryResources.org, sets the standard as an e-discovery information repository.  According to Robert Ambrogi:

DiscoveryResources.org "may be the leading e-discovery portal" and that its Sound Evidence blog, written by e-discovery expert Mary Mack, is "one of the best known e-discovery blogs."

On May 1, 2008, the site relaunched with a number of updates and improvements.  Updates include: new navigation for tracking e-discovery best practices and case law; new "From the Experts" articles on current e-discovery issues and trends; RSS feeds for tracking the latest news and information; updated links to industry resources and judicial opinions; a newly designed monthly newsletter; and, links to industry blogs and other e-discovery community resources.

Another popular resource, Information Governance Engagement Area, has been discontinued in favor of a new site. The author, Rob Robinson, who has worked with several e-discovery companies, just launched Complex Discovery, which he describes as a source for "information, tools and tactics relevant to the growing discovery market." The site is organized around e-discovery stages, including collection, processing, review and production, and has a number of helpful resources. In addition to articles, news items, guidelines and the like, Robinson highlights several of the site's innovative features:

Scribd - iPaper Document Library: A growing online repository of interesting and applicable papers relevant to the field of electronic discovery.

Yahoo! Pipes EDD Mashup (RSS): An aggregation of key electronic discovery RSS feeds that serves to provide continuous updates on topics related to electronic discovery.

Twitter - ComplexDiscovery Updates: A Twitter feed that highlights the daily posting on the specific ComplexDiscovery RSS feed.

Mogulus - Video Learning on EDD: A video channel designed to share publicly available video presentations relating to electronic discovery.

Mofuse - Website Mobile Version: A mobile version of the ComplexDiscovery website designed specifically for mobile devices to include cell/iPhones.

(Robinson, InfoGovernance To ComplexDiscovery = More Robust And Objective eDiscovery Content (April 11, 2008) http://infogovernance.blogspot.com/.)

These sites are excellent springboards to e-Discovery resources online.

e-DISCOVERY posts will become a regular feature of The Complex Litigator.  Look for more on this rapidly changing subject soon.

[Via Robert Ambrogi's LawSites]  Aside:  Lawsites is a great way to learn about the evolving online legal community.

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