Reid My Blog!

Twitter Basics for Curious Lawyers

Twitter seems to be taking the legal profession by storm these days, yet many lawyers have either not heard of Twitter or do not understand the basics of what this free new service is all about.

New York Times tech guru, David Pogue, does a great job explaining what he thinks Twitter is and how to get started--I mean, he is an uber-techie and he was scratching his head about it!  Yet, I am not sure he gets basic enough for many of us.

The "Getting Started" resources on Twitter are helpful to get started, but I still wanted more depth and explanation of what to expect. So I found several more educational posts on Twitter basics:

• A step-by-step presentation on SlideShare that is very helpful.
• A video from Remarkablogger that provides a good overview.
• Good blog posts here and here that are aimed more at the advanced beginner.
• Of course, WikiPedia has good overview information, but not much on how to get started Tweeting.

The jury is still out on the benefits of lawyers using Twitter; however, I like what I see so far. Twitter is another tool to quickly communicate with a large audience that should be added to a lawyer's marketing arsenal. I also look forward to presenting a session on Twitter and other Web 2.0 media with Steve Matthews at the ABA TECHSHOW in April.

Oh, and once you've set up your Twitter account, be sure to follow me on Twitter!

Noteable New Consumer Electronics: Any Ideas for the Practice of Law?

PCWorld released their Best of CES 2009 slideshow, highlighting their view of the best ideas from the annual Consumer Electronics Show that recently wrapped up in Las Vegas. Most of the ideas are just fun and interesting, but a few caught my eye as being applicable to lawyers.

High-definition pocket camcorders like the Kodak Zi6 and Flip Ultra are all the rage for the average consumer, with excellent clarity, ease of use, and the low-cost--priced under $200!  Lawyers should consider purchasing and using these for a range of activities including memorializing certain events, such as will signings, personal property inventories, or recording and uploading short informational videos for clients to access via your website.

The new Palm Pre smart phone, which I wrote about late last year, may soon be the latest phone/web tool to grace your mobile arsenal to keep connected when out of the office.

Pico-projectors--pocket-sized presentation projectors--continue to grab attention because of their bang-for-the-buck capabilities.

Yeah, I love tech gadgets. I gotta get to CES one of these years!

Economic Distractions Could Lead to Computer Insecurity

While many of us are distracted with business and economic issues, the techno-bad guys are still out there doing what they do best--ripping off confidential information, infecting computers, stealing laptops and other portable devices, and causing as much mayhem as possible. Despite our current distractions, now is not the time to forget about the security and integrity of our clients' data we carry with us on our ever-changing mobile computing devices. 

I must admit I was distracted during October when this Securing Your Clients' Data While on the Road I co-authored with David Ries was published in Law Practice Today; however, the article is (hopefully) as informative today as it was when it was published just a few months ago.

A Dose of Sanity for Your Inbox

In case you missed it last week, Erik Mazzone shares his practical e-mail management strategy at his Law Practice Matters blog. Heavy on the common sense, I've already adopted several of his ideas. Thanks, Erik!

Google Docs Turns Emails Into Documents in a Snap

Gmail users should be pleased to learn about this new feature that makes it easy to take the text of an e-mail and turn it into an editable document. Such is the word via the official GMail blog.

There are times when I write an e-mail or participate in an e-mail thread that just begs to be turned into an article or blog post. A few cut and paste keystrokes can do the trick in Outlook and Word, but it's nice to know it's even easier now with Gmail and Google Docs.

Are Reports of Palm's Impending Demise Greatly Exaggerated?

I still have my Palm IIIxe--my first personal digital assistant (PDA). It's larger form and B&W screen may seem ancient by today's standards, but it was once the best of its kind. So was the Palm Treo. It was once considered the best converged PDA and cell phone on the market.

How the mighty have fallen. It seems such a shame. Palm did such wonderful things. In fact, today's Blackberries, G-phone, and iPhones stand on the shoulders of Palm. 

Just when I thought this might be the epitaph to a once great technology company comes word that they aren't dead yet.  It seems that with a bevy of former Apple engineers and other tech gurus that Palm may have one last hurrah that will make or break the company.

Palm is betting it all on their NOVA operating system to power a new line of phones that will, according to Palm, fall between the business-oriented Blackberries and Apple's "fun-oriented" iPhone.

Despite the hype, Google's gPhone is a modest success at best; not bad for a first attempt. However, with Palm's track record of innovation, I'm not counting them out yet.  The NOVA smartphones are due to be unveiled in a couple weeks at the 2009 Consumer Electronic Show.

I'm not willing to part with my iPhone, but I am willing to bet it just might be a late Christmas at Palm this year!

Increasing Office Productivity & Security

Recently, I have reviewed several monitor logs for employee use of an employer's computer network, and it is amazing how much time during the workday people spend doing personal work over the Internet, searching dating sites, updating MySpace pages, streaming music, and more. Almost all firms allow employee use of the Internet during lunch and before and after work hours; however, as firms have less business during this economic downturn, they may be getting lax about employee Internet use. In a word--don't.

As employees have more time to spend surfing the Internet, they have more time to find trouble and bring that into your computer network. This is not just a productivity issue, but also one of information security.  

Review your Internet usage policy and make any changes you deem appropriate. Then remind employees of the terms. Under no circumstances should you allow employees (or partners or anyone) to download new unauthorized software that could possibly cause harm to your network and the important data stored across it. If the software is needed, have a procedure to authorize it and catalog it.

Keep tabs on Internet usage and, if you believe employees are violating the policy by downloading or installing unauthorized software, then consider anti-executable software that prevents unauthorized software from running on any computer or across your network.

iPhone Has Its Own Magazine as iPhone Life Premiers

With the iPhone surpassing the Motorola RAZR as the top selling handset in the US, and with sales surpassing 7 million world-wide, it makes sense that several smart entrepreneurs have launched a magazine for iPhone users. I recently picked up the premier issue of iPhone Life at the airport and spent the next few hours oblivious of my fellow passengers!

The magazine covers many of the basics, but also covers advanced tips too. From phone pad shortcuts to connecting to Microsoft Exchange Server; from explaining how keyboard "tap zones" enlarge to covering the latest web applications, the magazine has something for iPhone newbies and power users. It even provides details how to have the camera removed--something sure to be of interest to litigators who must often part with their smart phones at the door of the courthouse. 

I think I've found the perfect stocking stuffer for iPhone owners this Christmas!

Blackberry Storm to Take On Apple iPhone

Research in Motion has launched a new phone to do battle with the iPhone and the recently released Google phone from T-Mobile. The Blackberry Storm, soon-to-be available on the Verizon network, includes a touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, web browsing, GPS navigation, DataViz Documents to Go software, and Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi, no web apps, no iTunes.Seems to be a bit short of the competition.

Advice to RIM: If you are going to take on the iPhone, then take on the iPhone, don't leave your first attempt short of a very visible mark.

Just Posted from ABA TECHSHOW 2008: All 60 Sites in 60 Minutes

All 60 Sites in 60 Minutes from ABA TECHSHOW 2008 are now posted on the TECHSHOW website. I was pleased to be one of the three presenters at this signature TECHSHOW finale with Tom Mighell and Craig Ball, and I think you will be pleased with the breadth and depth of the websites we selected this year: Many sites are new, some obscure, a few are classic repeats, but all are helpful to busy lawyers. And, yes, we made sure there were more than a few sites that are fun and humorous--all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

This is one of the few TECHSHOW sessions posted for those who did not attend. Thanks to the ABA for making this article available for all lawyers!

Enjoy!