Thinking about Twitter

Sitting at my office taking a mental break from a project I'm working on and thinking about twitter. For the last almost 7 months that I have been on twitter, I've used it for a variety of reasons. To develop relationships, truly an online community of thought leaders. As a news source of headlines from around the country and the world. And most recently, to keep up on Tour of California.

Yes, that's right. Thanks to @tourdetweets live coverage of the race has been on my laptop providing great moments of coverage. And @lancearmstrong broke the news of his bike being stolen.

What an interesting world we live in! And how the heck did I live without twitter before? :)

Mentoring Attorneys on Social Media

Slowly, I have been working with some of my willing law firm partners on social media. It is exciting to watch as they begin to get it - what is it? The power of the social media conversation. Blogging, Facebook, JDSupra, LinkedIn and Twitter. They test the waters cautiously at first...

Most begin with LinkedIn. It is viewed by them as an online bio...similar to the website. It is safe. They set up their profile and begin to build their connections. Then comes the blog for those who are more adventurous. It is the social media conversations and relationships that create the power of this medium.

I began the same path almost a year ago. Starting with LinkedIn. I created a profile and thought hmmm, I don't get it. Got many emails from people who wanted to have me as a "connection." And I said "why"? I simply didn't get how getting connections to people could be of value. But I learn technology best by trying, so I set up a profile and began playing. After a month, I began to get it.

Then I attended a webinar by Kevin O'Keefe, CEO of LexBlog on LinkedIn and Twitter. At this point, I understood the value, and power of LinkedIn. But, microblogging in 140 characters or less? Answering the question "what are you doing?" Huh? I'm sorry? I didn't get it. Why would anyone really care? But, again, I learn best by doing and if there was someway that this might benefit my partners, well, what the hell. I was willing to try.

So, I started following those Kevin suggested and I tweeted a little. Not often. Mostly listened. My tweets were quite boring to say the least. "Running a database routine" or "Playing tennis league". But then I began to get it. I started developing relationships with fascinating people of all industries and walks of life. Truly amazing the power of twitterville.

And now, I'm mentoring a small group of attorneys and enjoying watching them through the learning process. They are getting it too. What a fun experience.