Okay, I gotta admit that I’ve been skeptical about the value of Twitter. Lawyers tend to delude themselves into believing that they think important and deep thoughts. For example: “I just read an interesting article on res ipsa loquitur and its relationship to the Philippines probate code. Would you please pass the Chardonnay and the shrimp tempura?” And let’s face it, how good are lawyers at being brief? Lawyers are almost congenitally incapable of expressing themselves in 140 characters or less.
But my army of marketing consultants (er, all the marketing dudes writing on the Internet) says Twitter and Facebook have real business value for lawyers (everyone assumes lawyers are too anti-social to actually use those sites for their originally intended social purposes). So I’ve done some moderately careful looking at Twitter and have decided to jump on the bandwagon. Of course, now that I am on that bandwagon, I think Twitter is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Here it is, my button so you can follow me on Twitter:
What am I Tweeting about (like most people above 23, I initially associated the word “Tweeting” with something that was dripping down my leg)? I have only been Tweeting a few weeks, so I am still getting my sea legs. But here is a list of things I have been and expect to be Tweeting about:
- Employment-related legal issues. This is the main area of my practice, and most of my Tweets will be on this topic.
- Legal issues relating to the medical industry (much of my employment litigation is in the medical industry).
- Other legal issues which I think may be of interest to my “followers” (I feel the power coursing through my veins).
- Time management and organizational skills. Like most lawyers and business people, I am always looking for ways to become more efficient, so I can spend more time concentrating on deep thoughts.
- Computer and software products & issues that might be of interest to lawyers and business people.
- Media issues. I teach a class at Fairmont State University on legal and ethical issues in media, and I am especially interested in media bias in general and specifically relating to political coverage.