Dennis Kennedy

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March 29, 2005

By Request Tuesday - Is It Possible to Do a "By Request Tuesday" on a Tuesday On Which You are Traveling?

Apparently not this Tuesday. Maybe tomorrow.

Posted by dmk at 11:55 PM

The Best Article I've Read on Blawging

Reid Trautz points to a great article by Sarah Kellog in the Washington Lawyer that covers the blawg world more comprehensively and more insightfully than any other article I've seen so far. If you want to get a good grasp on lawyer blogging, this is the article you will want to start with.

I would say this even if I wasn't quoted in the article.

I had a great time talking with Sarah when she interviewed me for the article, but I had all but forgotten about it. I'm grateful to Reid for pointing out the article and grateful to Sarah for telling the story of legal bloggers and blogging in such an effective way.

By the way, the money quote from me is this one:

“It opens up a question that is going to become increasingly important as years go by: How do we teach people to evaluate resources critically?”

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:43 PM

March 28, 2005

Announcing "Between Lawyers" - An Excellent New Adventure in Blawgland

Let me join Denise Howell, Tom Mighell, Marty Schwimmer and Ernest Svenson in announcing our new joint blogging adventure called "Between Lawyers." Thanks to visionary genius and generosity of Hylton Jolliffe at Corante, we have started a group blog that will join the family of great Corante blogs, all of which you will want to spend some time reading.

The Between Lawyers feed is here.

As Ernie mentions, the five of us have been having a bunch of great conversations on a back channel email list for a while and decided that some of those conversations would work well in a public forum. I'm intrigued by the way that we can use Between Lawyers to take some experimental approaches to blogging and how we can open up the way practicing lawyers work to the public.

As usual, the goal is to be both educational and entertaining. Ernie gives the original derivation of the blog title here. We were also thrilled when Hylton instantly approved our idea to have a "Lawyer X" contributor that we can each use as an avatar for "anonymous" posts.

If our email list is any indication, we'll cover quite a range of topics.

It's worth taking a look at the mission statement for Between Lawyers:

"Between Lawyers provides just-in-time group commentary on the issues raised when technology, culture and the law intersect. We take you behind the firewalls and conference room doors to show you how experienced lawyers deal with these issues and help you prepare for the new challenges we all face."

Lawyers are often seen as one of the last bastions of an era when a select group of high priests controlled access to specialized information. The Internet and blogging point us toward the end of that era. In our own ways, we want to be the lawyers in the space between the old era and the era to come.

If we can't reach that high ideal, then the Wayne's World thing would be a good result too.

We hope you visit the new blog and subscribe to the feed.

Posted by dmk at 08:41 PM

March 24, 2005

New Electronic Discovery Blog from Mary Mack Debuts

Julia Wotipka, the driving force behind the great DiscoveryResources.org site, let me know about Mary Mack's new electronic discovery blog called Sound Evidence: E-Discovery Simplified (RSS feed). It looks like it's off to a great start. Mary is a well-respected authority in the electronic discovery world.

Electronic discovery is such a huge topic that it's always good to see more coverage of the topic.

Mary will be at BlawgConnect 2005 and you'll have the chance to congratulate her on her blog launch there.

Posted by dmk at 10:45 PM

March 23, 2005

Being an Idea Person

People often tell me that I am an "idea person." I'm starting to believe it. As they say, it's a blessing and a curse.

I found a great post from Curt Rosengren on "idea people" called "Half my ideas are stupid (and that's the way I like it)."

Rosengren notes three lessons he's learned about being an idea person:

1) I've got a lot of ideas
2) Half of them are stupid
3) The other half are exactly what's needed

As he notes, you have to allow yourself to have #2 so you can get to #3.

I'd note that his ratio of #3 to #2 is pretty darned good.

He goes on to say: "There's something incredibly freeing about just being able to have ideas, and not tying your ego to how amazing each and every one is. And it unclogs the pipeline to make sure that the absolute best ones make their way out to a place where they can be put to use."

Great post.

My observations on this subject are:

1. It's pretty rare to find people who will throw out idea after idea and have them shot down because of the ego factor. People like working with me because I can do that (or so they tell me) without reaching a point where it becomes necessary to start throwing things and walking off in a huff.

2. Being known as an idea person actually helps you get through the bad ideas without getting too ego-involved.

3. Some people have much less patience for the ideas in stage #2 than others do. No one has as much patience for my stage #2 as I do.

4. If you treat as ideas as simply ideas (not "your ideas") and are willing to free up ideas and let other people judge whether they are "good" or not, you really do get the best ideas "out to a place where they can be put to use."

5. Removing as much ego as possible from the process makes you much calmer when the day comes when, inevitably, you see someone claim credit for an idea you originated. The good news on those days is that your friends always remember the idea came from you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:29 PM

March 22, 2005

By Request Tuesday – Weren't You Hinting at Some Big BlawgChannel Announcement a While Back?

Yes. Any day now.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:32 PM

By Request Tuesday – What New Technologies Have Gotten Your Attention Lately?

I noticed this past weekend that I had two new technology obsessions. That doesn't count my ongoing RSS and .Net / web services passions. I also consider my Tablet PC / OneNote thing as more an infatuation with tools rather than a true new tech obsession.

The first of the two new tech obsessions is the newest one and most amorphous. It's Microsoft SharePoint Services and what its potential might be in an outsourced hosting environment.

The second grows out of some conversations I had with Bill French last year and goes back to my interest in the most fundamental concept about XML – the division of content from display. This one is a cool tech obsession because it has a high acronym ratio. It is XML and XSLT and, in particular, the ways you might be able to use XML in Microsoft Office.

I'm still at the thinking, rather than doing, stage in obsession #1, but I'm starting to take baby steps in obsession #2.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:23 PM

By Request Tuesday – Are You Writing Less Frequently about Technology?

No and yes. It appears that I am writing less frequently on technology topics for a few reasons.

1. I've written a good number of chapters for books and articles for print publications that simply have not appeared yet. I'm pretty much in a holding pattern on those topics until those articles and chapters appear in print.

2. I've been working on quite a few new presentations and handout materials. Some conference organizers prefer that you not publish handout materials before you make your presentations.

3. Some people don't count articles on blogging and RSS feeds as "technology" articles, so they "overlook" those writings. It's long been interesting to me how a good number of people seem to think my articles on Internet topics are not "technology" articles.

4. I've been asked on a more regular basis to write on topics that are not specifically technology topics.

5. I've been gradually moving my focus toward Internet technologies in my writing, where I believe there is a lack of coverage in terms of technologies for lawyers, and letting some of the excellent young writers on hardware and software topics for lawyers cover some of those areas.

6. I've published articles in a number of different outlets and stopped writing a regular legal technology column.

I suspect that if you count up all of the articles in the last year or so (something I'm embarrassingly overdue in doing - and am considering hiring some help to get done – or maybe finding someone to do one of those Lawrence Lessig style fan club echo blogs that covers when my articles appear and when I'm quoted), the numbers won't be all that different.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:15 PM

By Request Tuesday – How's the Tablet PC Experiment Going?

Awesome! I'm finishing up an article on my experience with my HP Tablet PC TC1100 to-date that will appear soon as a TechnoFeature on TechnoLawyer.com.

A few preview notes:

1. Add Microsoft OneNote to a Tablet PC and you'll be saying, "Got a Hemi." OneNote supercharges the Tablet PC experience and is the coolest program I've used in a long while.

2. I really like using the stylus instead of a mouse for things like ticking through my email inbox and moving through FeedDemon and reading RSS feeds. Very efficient.

3. I'm a big fan of the smaller form factor and the benefits of a smaller screen when traveling.

4. I'm even more convinced than ever that the Tablet PC is the best computer choice for lawyers.

5. I've changed a lot of my thinking about inputting data. There are times when a keyboard makes sense. There are times when writing with a stylus makes sense. There are times when a stylus makes more sense than a mouse. There are times when an external mouse makes more sense than a stylus. I now have also begun to see speech recognition as a much more usable form of input.

6. The Tablet PC starts to make the "paperless" office more realistic to me. Why take notes on paper when you can take the notes on your Tablet PC and have them in digital form?

7. I'm not yet convinced about the actual utility of handwriting recognition, but I can say that the capability of the software to recognize handwriting is, at times, magical.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:13 PM

By Request Tuesday – Is There a Way to Come to TECHSHOW Just to See Your Presentations?

Of course, you meant "is there a way to attend TECHSHOW just for one day without paying the full registration fee?"

Indeed, there is. Check out the TECHSHOW registration page for special single day rates and, for the bargain hunter, the free exhibits-only option.

We're trying to make it easy for you to attend. There are many options and one might work well for you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:09 PM

By Request Tuesday – What Are You Speaking About at TECHSHOW and When Are Your Sessions?

Thanks for asking.

I'll be speaking at three sessions, all on Friday, April 1, each with a co-presenter with whom I'm really looking forward to presenting.

1. "The Sky is Falling: Disaster Recovery Planning" – John Simek and I will cover the scary and never-quite-comfortable-that we-have-it-covered subject of disaster recovery planning. We'll give you some ways to try to tackle this beast. 8:30 – 9:30

2. "RSS and News Aggregation Roundtable" - I can't wait for my first chance to do a presentation with Tom Mighell on one of our favorite topics. This session is designed to be an informal roundtable discussion with lots of Q & A and audience interaction. We'll do some demos, share some of our favorite feeds and open up the hoods on our newsreader engines. 10:30 – 11:45

3. "The Annotated Technology Use Policy" – Blair Janis and I will take an in-depth look at the hot topic of technology use policies, including a few words on blogging policies. We'll also take some actual technology use policy provisions apart and show you ways to improve the approach that you take. You do have a policy, don't you? 2:15 – 3:15

In addition, I'll be moderating a session on "Where are We Going? Lawyers as Technology Leaders" on Saturday morning that features a stellar panel of Toby Brown, Ron Friedmann and Marc Lauritsen. I'll probably be talking so many notes that I might forget to do the moderating.

I've gotten a "preview" of the presentations for my sessions and I'm impressed – you will learn a lot in these sessions.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:00 PM

March 21, 2005

BlawgConnect 2005 Update

The legal blogger dinner in Chicago on March 30 is proceeding on course.

BlawgConnect 2005, sponsored by CaseSoft, Thomson West. LexThink and Mirra, will be the largest assembly of legal bloggers to-date and occurs on the evening before ABA TECHSHOW 2005.

BlawgConnect 2005 promises to be an evening of fun and a great chance to meet other legal bloggers (and some of Chicago's well-known bloggers) in person.

We are close to filling up the guest list and are looking for one more sponsor. Email me at denniskennedyblog @ gmail.com for info on either account.

Hope to see you there.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 08:32 PM

March 17, 2005

The Reverse Perfect Introduction

We hear and read a lot about perfecting our "30 second elevator pitches" so we can best explain to people we meet what it is that we actually do. You can take that idea a step further by getting people specific information about what types of businesses you would like them to refer to you.

John Jantsch at the Duct Tape Marketing blog calls that second technique the "perfect introduction" and then flips that idea on its head - a very useful technique I find myself using more often these days - and talks about the "reverse perfect introduction."

He says:

"To really get the most from this tool, send it out to a list of potential network resources (people who serve the same target market) and ask them to complete something just like it for themselves and send it back to you so you will be better prepared to refer them."

Isn't easier to make referrals to someone who is making referrals to you? How often do you miss the opportunity to send business to good referral sources because you simply don't know what business they are looking for?

[Originally post on Dennis Kennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:44 PM

Ernie the Attorney on Better Lawyer Pictures for Your Website and Publicity Purposes

I hadn't planned to spend the last few days posting about law firm website practices, but here I am.

Legal blogging pioneer Ernest "Ernie the Attorney" Svenson has written about another practice of law firms on their websites that has a pervasively negative impact on both their marketing efforts and the Internet itself.

I am speaking, of course, about the all-to-frequent practice of posting shockingly bad photographs of lawyers on websites.

There are an almost limitless number of ways firms make mistakes with photographs. Ernie's comments are right on target.

Suffice it to say, if your portrait on your firm's website looks like it came out of a surveillance camera as you were startled on a windy day, you might want to think about the message you are sending.

I can tell you from personal appearance that some firms have the guy who photographs accident scenes for their litigators drop by and snap a few headshots and then use those pictures for publicity and marketing purposes.

Ernie suggests a photographer to consider. Let me add a strong recommendation that you consider another excellent photographer who, by coincidence, happens to be married to my wife's sister. We call him Uncle Dan, but you can call him Dan Donovan. At Dan's website, you'll find a nice sampling of his photos, that showcase Dan's obvious skill, talent and, as someone who has seen tons of Dan's family pictures, artistry.

Several years ago, I had an article published in a magazine and they sent a photographer over to take some pictures of me for the article. I was disappointed with the picture they chose, but, hey, I had gotten an article published with my picture on it. I showed the article and picture to Dan and I could tell he was underwhelmed.

He called me the next day. He said that the picture had bothered him so much that he wanted to shot a set of pictures of me that I could use in the future and that he would use in his portfolio as he moved toward doing more corporate portraits.

I was so pleased with those pictures and with what Dan was able to create. My blog picture comes from a more recent session we did for another magazine spot.

You will not find anyone more professional to work with than Dan and by the end of the session, you'll have the feeling that you are working with an artist. That feeling will be confirmed when you see his pictures.

I've recently been to an awards event and seen a "one hundred faces of . . ." magazine cover where I was shocked by the pictures that people allowed to be used in these places.

Having a publicity picture that you like and you get compliments on is great thing that almost cannot be appreciated until you experience it.

Here's your assignment for today:

Take a look at your photo on your website and your standard publicity photo.

Take a look at the pictures Ernie points you to and at Dan Donovan's portfolio shots (by the way, it is OK for lawyers to have color pictures, so don't just look at Dan's black-and-white portfolios).

Take another look at your current photo.

If you are a managing partner or a marketing director of a firm, repeat the process for the rest of the pictures on your website.

Let your feelings percolate.

You'll know what you need to do. Now you have a couple of choices about what to do. If you contact Dan, tell him I sent you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 07:32 PM

March 16, 2005

In Case You Didn't Appreciate How Difficult Ethical Rules (and the Would-be Interpretations of Them) Make it for Lawyers to Use the Internet Like Normal Human Beings

Legal Internet guru Jerry Lawson points to an article called Thwarting Ethical Violations With Web Site Disclaimers by law professor Walter Effross.

I had a bit of a sense of deja vu because, although Jerry doesn't mention this, he, Brenda Howard and I wrote an article that covered some of the same territory a few years ago. Interestingly, and this is a rare occurrence, I still have the same disagreements with Jerry on a few points that I had in that article.

So, I find myself in the unusual situation where I will be quoting the same language from Professor Effross's article as Jerry does, but drawing a quite different conclusion.

The topic is email, in particular the practice of law firms of actually allowing visitors to their websites to send email to lawyers from the website. Just to be clear, we are talking about the use of email links on websites, a practice used by roughly 100% of websites that expect any kind of interaction with customers.

Here's the money quote and the text for our lesson today:

"In this context, it might be an ethically questionable practice to allow visitors to e-mail the firm’s attorneys directly through an e-mail link featured on the site (for instance, on an attorney’s individual page) without interposing a click-wrap box that contains such warnings as those above, and requiring the visitor to click “I agree” before actually composing and sending the e-mail. The box could also specify the jurisdictions in which the attorney in question is licensed to practice, and could state that visitors from other jurisdictions should not contact that attorney for representation. One firm states in such a click-wrap box, “Our policy is not to return e-mail regarding a specific legal matter from anyone who has not already engaged the firm.”

Even if such click-wrap boxes appear when a visitor attempts to send e-mail to an attorney through the site, the site should not display the attorney’s e-mail address, since a visitor could merely write it down or cut and paste it into the address line of an e-mail form generated by the visitor’s own e-mail program, and thereby avoid the warnings entirely."

I'll note that these paragraphs are written without any sense of irony and without any suggestion that making phone numbers available in phone books MIGHT BE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS, especially since we cannot yet interpose a clickwrap agreement on phone calls. Giving out a mailing address would, of course, raise the same concerns about regular mail, especially since a firm could not paste disclaimers on all mail boxes.

I point out these paragraphs not to be critical of Professor Effross, even though I disagree with him on these particular points, but to illustrate the types of things a lawyer who wants to use the Internet in any kind of normal way routinely faces because of interpretations and commentary on the current ethical rules and the lack of guidance out there.

The concern about these kinds of emails is grounded in legitimate concerns about whether an attorney-client relationship can be initiated through the sending of an unsolicitated email, confidentiality and related issues, and Professor Effross does a great job of summarizing those issues in a way that those who are not lawyers can understand and appreciate.

However, there is a difference between reasonable approaches to dealing with these concerns and the point of view out there that seems to require that lawyers place walls, moats and barriers between themselves and the public or else risk violating ethical rules.

But that's not really my point in this post. With a few exceptions, at least in my opinion, Professor Effross's article is an excellent summary and analysis of the mind-numbing number of issues lawyers who have websites have to deal with and address, almost all of which run contrary to any normal notion of usability of a website in the eyes of normal humans.

I encourage everyone, lawyer or not, to read the article and see the restrictions and recommendations. Count up the number of disclaimers that may be required and what all a lawyer might be expected to disclaim. Look at at the hurdles a lawyer might well be expected to jump over. Substitute phone calls or even meeting someone on the street for email and consider what the implications would be if the same rules applied in those situations (arguably they do) and the fiction that "email is different" no longer is accepted as a basic assumption.

Here's my favorite passage that illustrates the lengths some law firms go, and some commentators seriously expect lawyers to go, with respect to the simple act of placing articles on a website:

"In addition, a number of terms-and-conditions pages indicate that the material on the corresponding sites is provided “as is,” and is not necessarily accurate, complete, or updated. Firms have also disclaimed both express and implied warranties for the information provided, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement. (One firm even extends this disclaimer to the biographical and bar admittance information about its lawyers.)

It would certainly be more effective not to confine such warnings to the terms-and-conditions pages, but instead to repeat them on each page of the site that links to such articles, or to install a click-wrap screen that pops up when the visitor clicks on such links. The disclaimers could also be embedded conspicuously in the pages containing the articles themselves, since these pages might be cut and pasted into a computer file, saved in their entirety as computer files, printed out, or bookmarked on the visitor’s Internet browser. The visitor might also e-mail to a colleague the web address of that particular page, allowing the colleague to reach the page directly without passing through a click-wrap screen.

In addition, a firm could add to each web page containing an article or flyer the date when the document first appeared, as well as an indication of whether and when the version on this site has been updated. Warnings that this information is not offered as legal advice and that it may not reflect the current state of the law could also appear on each of these pages.

If a site indicates a date on which it was last updated, care should be taken to warn visitors that not every page in the site was updated at that time. Perhaps separate update notices could be put on each time-sensitive page.

Firms might also consider adding to each of these pages, instead of relegating to the terms-and-conditions page, the statement that views, perspectives, or conclusions espoused in articles, speeches, or client alerts featured on the site do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or of any of its lawyers or clients."

Well, who else's views might they reflect?

I'd love to see Jakob Nielsen analyze the usability of websites that adopt all of the practices set out in this article.

I've had a website for nearly ten years and I swear to you that the guidelines and rules for lawyers with websites are less clear now than they were even ten years ago when all of this was new.

As I have long said, if I ever leave the practice of law, I'll point to issues like these as a big part of what drove me out.

By the way, I have not yet heard whether the proposed legal marketing rule changes in Missouri, which arguably prevent lawyers from using email in any meaningful way to communicate with non-clients, have been enacted or not.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:07 PM

The Winning Entry in the Blog Dinner Naming Contest is . . .

We got a surprisingly large number of entries in the naming contest for the March 30 Chicago blogger dinner event thing. Many people submitted the same ideas.

We determined that some names, like BlawgFest and Blawgapalooza, although good names, had the connotation of day-long events. Other names were quite clever, but too long. A few names ran the risk of confirming what many people feel is the inverse relationship between lawyers and creativity.

Interestingly, our winner has chosen to honor the roundly-criticized practices of law firms who have decided to scrub any traces of contact information or biographies of their associates from their websites. Our winner has decided to remain anonymous, perhaps out of fear that he or she was spending time in something other than the pursuit of billable hours.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. The official winning entry in the naming contest is:

BlawgConnect 2005.

Mark your calendars accordingly. Let me remind that the rules expressly prevent any complaining about the decision of the judges.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 12:03 AM

By Request Tuesday – My Favorite Question of the Week that I'm Not Answering

"Who are you and why are you spamming me?"

Perhaps email is no longer a method that you will want to use to send announcements to people who don't know, or don’t remember, who you are?

By the way, using this line in a reply to an email probably will kill any chance of getting referrals of business in the future from the person who sent you the email.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 12:00 AM

March 15, 2005

By Request Tuesday – Will Evan Schaefer Ever Be Able to Work at a Big Law Firm Again?

Many people do not know that Evan "Notes from the (Legal) Underground" Schaeffer and I both live in St. Louis and once worked, although at different times, for big law firms.

The difference between us is that, after Evan's post on the practice of some big law firms of "scrubbing" their websites of the biographies and contact information of associates, I at least have some chance of being able to work at a big law firm again, while Evan might have blown his last chance. Not that Evan really cares about that.

You see, Evan returned home fresh from a vacation in Prague and was hit with the disturbing story of the "associate scrubbing" practices that gained so much attention lately. His take on the topic, which illustrates why I've long said that Evan is the legal blogger most likely to end up writing for television or movies in the near future, is an instant classic, even though some might think that he "pushes the envelope" in his tale of the future of these types of practices.

I, for one, think that his description of law firms continuing to make dead associates meet a 2,400 minimum billable hours requirement is way over the top and quite unfair. At most, law firms would only make a deceased associate's estate pay the fines for not turning in time sheets in a timely fashion.

I'd also like to thank Evan for again leading the way in showing that lawyers can use the "f-word" in their blogs. I can’t remember if Evan was the first (there have been several instances over the years), but I'm grateful to Evan and the others that have shown that it can be done.

I'm still too uptight to go in that direction (or maybe I haven’t found the right opportunity yet). Heck, the farthest I'm willing to go is to link to Mark Pilgrims's classic quote on the difference between personal and corporate blogs.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:55 PM

By Request Tuesday – Is it Really True that You Are Considering Turning on the Comments on Your Blog?

Now, where did you hear that? It's like someone inside my own head asked that question.

I actually am reconsidering my position on comments. Of course, reading another story about someone getting 1,000 comment spam in one day did have a negative impact.

I recently had someone suggest that DennisKennedy.Blog might not really be a blog (despite my apparently unschooled belief to the contrary) because I have chosen not to enable comments. I also recently saw a scoresheet for determining if a blog was really a Blog and began to wonder whether, even though I call this a blog, act like it's a blog and, after all, generate it by means of "blogging software," I really have a blog after all.

I believe that Dante had walled off a special section in Hell for people who create complex definitions and run around looking for ways to enforce them and cry foul on others. So, to the definitionists I say, you win, I don't really care whether I meet your definition of blog or not, I'll just do my own thing and you can ignore me and keep me off your lists. I can live with that.

Anyway, that suggestion had nothing to do with me thinking of enabling comments.

As I've done the "By Request Tuesdays," I've started to wonder if I might do a companion feature like "Here's My Question Thursdays" where I would throw out some of the questions I have (e.g., will someone ever figure out a solution to the non-opening of javascript windows on certain web pages in both IE and Firefox? why do cable channels show the same movies every weekend? what in the hell was going on in the heads of the MI5 producers when they eliminated the three main characters this season and turned the show into a nearly incomprehensible mess, or am I just missing something?). I wondered whether turning on comments for those posts might be a good addition to the email option.

Also, in the recent blogger dinner naming contest, I began to wonder whether letting people submit names as comments might have produced better names as people saw the other submissions and reacted to them.

So, I have begun to toy with the idea of enabling comments for certain posts. However, according to the blogger definitionists, I might have some other priorities to address first if I want to continue to think that I am actually blogging, so the comment enabling experiment might not happen for a while.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:51 PM

By Request Tuesday – Have You Considered This Approach to Monetizing Your Blog?

Here's the question in, more or less, its entirety:

"What if you agreed to do product, service, or publication reviews on which you were contractually guaranteed payment regardless of what you wrote, and guaranteed the right to write whatever you thought? You could link your reviews to an explanation of this arrangement (e.g., "click here for my policy on reviews and product endorsements").

Alternatively, where you have already independently made positive mention of a product (like I believe you said FeedDemon is your preferred newreader), what’s the harm in an unobtrusive paid linked endorsement on your blog ("I use FeedDemon to monitor 523 different blogs and news sources every day!")

People know to take "celebrity" endorsements in other media with a grain of salt; why not the same with bloggers, particularly if not placed in the body of the blog like an infomercial?

And your deal could include speaking engagements on [a general, but related, subject] in which you use [the endorsed product] for demo screenshots, mentioning that you use it personally and receive some compensation from them, but there are other good choices, perhaps even including a handout with urls for competitors."

ANSWER:

I like it, I like it.

A few months ago, I was moving strongly toward an "ads in feed" model. However, I had a few conversations that have made me pull back and rethink that approach.

My gut feeling is that an advertising or sponsorship model is not the best model for bloggers (but, by default, it might become the only model, like it or not). Lately, I've been thinking of something more along the lines of the sports/entertainment model, perhaps a blend of endorsement, relationship, appearances, speaking, preparing white papers and the like that results in the possibility of a substantial payment to the blogger and visibility and marketing value to both blogger and the company involved in the deal.

Obviously, disclosure of this type of relationship is vital, but disclosure on a relationship of this type is easy to do and pretty straightforward. It's not a subtle issue where people might disagree about whether disclosure is required (company X gives you a free copy of its $19.95 software, company Y gives you a gift of a DVD of North by Northwest, you own 100 shares of company Z in your retirement account, a political party pays you to promote a candidate in your blog). If you don't disclose and people find out (any you are dreaming if yu think that they won't), your credibility will take a serious hit.

I think that there is some promise in the types of arrangements described in this thoughtful question (which wasn't even written by me). I'm curious about what others think about this approach. By the way, if you are a company interested in pursuing this type of arrangement, I'm all ears.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:46 PM

By Request Tuesday – Why Didn’t You Post Something Yesterday?

To prove that I can.

And I wasn't feeling well for the last few days. I had to put what energy I had into other things yesterday.

I posted more items than usual today to prove that I'm back in form. And feeling much better.

My goal has always been to post 3 to 5 times a week.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:44 PM

March 11, 2005

Seeking Examples of Law Firm Technology Use Policies

One of my sessions at ABA TECHSHOW 2005 is called "The Annotated Technology Use Policy," in which I'll be presenting with Blair Janis, of Ballard Spahr.

I want to use part of the session to walk through the provisions of a few model policies, highlighting strong points and weak points.

I thought it might be useful to use some real-life law firm technology use policies as the models, on an anonymous basis where we would in no way indicate where the policies came from.

So, I have the following offer. If you send me an electronic copy of your "sanitized" technology use policy with your firm's permission to use it, without identification, in our session, I'll give you some general and some specific comments about the policy and how you might improve it and I'll send you a copy of my handout materials and slides for that session.

You can reach me either by using the contact info found on my website or by emailing me at denniskennedyblog @ gmail.com.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 12:29 PM

ABA TECHSHOW Welcomes Law Student Attendees

I had some feedback on my recent post, "Should I Go to ABA TECHSHOW?" and thought I'd follow-up on a couple of things over the next few days.

As the recent National Law Journal article on law firms that scrub their websites of any traces of their associates suggests, young lawyers really need to take an active role in learning about what to expect in their early careers and how to take steps to prepare to land on their feet if they start out in what turns out to be a bad situation.

There's no time like the present to get started if you are currently in law school.

One of the areas that law schools will not prepare you for is legal technology and the role technology will play in your practice.

You can get a good look at what is available and learn from lawyers who actually use technology by coming to ABA TECHSHOW.

The concern, as always, is yeah, but won't it cost me a lot of money?

It won't, especially if you are already in the Chicago area.

I see two great options for law students.

1. Take advantage of the special $145 registration fee for law students. In addition to letting you attending the education sessions, tour the exhibit hall and general have the run of the show, you get a couple of lunches, and, with a strategic approach to locating continental breakfasts and receptions, you can probably cover your meal expenses as well.

2. Take advantage of the free exhibit hall pass. You won't get to go to any education sessions, but you can spend some time on the exhibit floor and learn about the technologies now available to lawyers. Drop on by for a day or for an afternoon.

For more info and the online registration form, head on over to http://www.techshow.com.

I encourage law students to make ABA TECHSHOW part of your studies this semester and look forward to seeing more students than ever this year.

Some of the things I see and hear about law firms doing to new lawyers embarrass me. I'd like to do a little bit to help put things right with law students. I want to make it clear that law students are welcome to attend ABA TECHSHOW and I encourage you to attend. If you see me, please introduce yourself and I'll try (I can't make promises, but I'll really try) to make some time to chat with you at least briefly about technology, blogging and the legal profession.

I also want to alert law students and new lawyers that the March issue of the Law Practice Today webzine is a theme issue focusing on issues facing young lawyers. It should be posted on the website in the very near future. Our approach is a welcoming one - not one in which we suggest that young lawyers should be hidden away from the public.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)].

Posted by dmk at 10:31 AM

March 10, 2005

Oh, Now I Understand Why Associates at Large Law Firms Blog Anonymously

There have already been a number of posts (Bruce MacEwen is especially good) reacting to Leigh Jones' shocking article called "Want to Poach Associates? Good Luck" in the National Law Journal, which reports on the trend of law firms scrubbing their websites of any biographical or other information about their associates. However, I find the behaviors discussed in this article so disturbing that I'll add my own thoughts.

I'm stunned by the lengths some law firms are going to make it impossible to contact associates or find out anything about them or what they do.

Hello, anyone ever think that your clients might want to call or email an associate working on a project for them and want to use your website to get the info?

I can't even imagine a more short-sighted practice, with negative consequences at countless levels. And, of course, a practice that guarantees that their best associates will be leaving.

You treat people like anonymous cogs in a machine and theb you wonder why they aren't "loyal" enough to the firm? Even better, will these firms deny associates promotion to partnership because they aren't bringing in enough business?

The best part is that this "tactic" should have no impact whatsoever on keeping a good headhunter from getting to the associates.

No wonder the law firm associate bloggers I hear from go to great lengths to stay anonymous.

I just shake my head in disbelief at this kind of stuff. I'm wondering how cool it is to tell your parents and friends that you have a job at a leading law firm and they can't even find any trace of you on the firm's website?

The phrase running through my mind: "climate of fear."

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:24 PM

March 09, 2005

The Most Important Post I Read Today - From the Mouths of Flacks

Blawg guru Denise Howell posts such consistently good material that you can start to take Bag and Baggage for granted. It's time again to give her some props. She's been in the zone lately with a long string of great posts.

Her recent post From the Mouths of Flacks is one of those not-to-be-missed gems that all lawyers will want to spend some time thinking about carefully.

Here's my take on the post, but don't rely on my interpretation - read Denise's words.

The world of blogging (or Internet or other tech-affected areas) moves on at a rapid pace raising all kinds of legal and quasi-legal issues.

Lawyers, with a few exceptions, pretend that none of this is happening or that none of this really matters that much. Lawyers barely observe what is happening, let alone participate in blogging or the legal questions it raises.

In the meantime, some very smart people with great instincts and solid philosophical and practical approaches discuss and work together first to help others navigate this new world of legal issues and then to try to set some reasonable ground rules so bloggers (or others) can operate, evolve and advance this new world.

At some later point, lawyers take notice and, often disregarding the guidelines and standards developed by the culture, jump in to reassert their traditional role of setting legal guidelines and standards. Strains and difficulties ensue and the antipathies toward lawyerdom increase.

Denise's post sounds a strong wake-up call for lawyers to participate in the discussion from the inception, especially because it affords lawyers the chance to work with the people who are making things happen.

She also notes that some bloggers in the field of PR and marketing, as one example, have had to move into the vacuum created by the absence of lawyer involvement and (I definitely agree with this assessment) are both offering solid, informed advice and taking the initiative on discussing these issues.

Here's where Denise sets the pace for lawyers: She's putting together an audio program (a/k/a podcast or "plawdcast") for IT Converstations on the hot Google "AutoLink" issue that combines both leading bloggers, in this case, Cory Doctorow and Robert Scoble, and leading lawyer bloggers, in this case the brilliant Marty "The Trademark Blog" Schwimmer. This audio session will be a must-listen and offers a good example of the types of efforts lawyers should be making.

BTW, don't neglect any of the great PR/Marketing blogs Denise links to in her post. Many, and now all, of them are regular reads for me and I highly recommend them too. In fact, I have a folder in FeedDemon just for Marketing and PR RSS feeds). There are a lot of great blogs in that category.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:05 PM

Announcing the Chicago Legal Blogging Dinner Thing Naming Contest

As many of you already know, superblogger Tom Mighell and I are organizing a "dinner" for legal bloggers and other interested bloggers in Chicago on March 30, the evening before the opening of ABA TECHSHOW 2005. This evening promises to be the largest gathering of legal bloggers ever brought together under one roof.

Let me give you a few details, make a much-anticipated announcement, and then tell you about our naming contest, before letting you know how you might be able to help us, if you are so inclined.

When: March 30, 2005 (sometimes referred to as TECHSHOW's eve), probably starting in the 7:30 or 8:00 range.

Where: The Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph, Suite 3W, Chicago, IL 60661.

What: A dinner/reception/get-together/good time.

Who: Legal bloggers (lawyers, law professors, law students, law librarians, et al.) and other Chicago bloggers courageous enough to be willing to spend an evening in a room full of lawyers.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

You suspected that legal blogging was a hot topic. Well, it is. We're pleased to announce that the cost of your ticket to the event will be zero, nada, zip.

YES, WE HAVE SPONSORS! We are pleased to announce that we have sponsors who have graciously agreed to underwrite the cost of this event.

Our sponsors are:

CaseSoft

Thomson West

LexThink, Inc.

We have one more sponsor slot open that we will give to the first sponsor to confirm with us. If you are a sponsor interested in this slot, email me at denniskennedyblog @ gmail.com and we'll get you signed up.

This will be a non-profit event, so if our sponsor fees exceed our costs, we will donate the excess to an appropriate charity, probably something related to a legal defense fund for bloggers.

NAMING CONTEST.

Tom and I have most of the details under control, but we've struggled from the beginning with what to call this event.

Here's why:

We did not want to have a sit-down dinner at a restaurant. We wanted to have a place where people could circulate and talk to as many people as possible, rather than spend the evening talking mainly to the people who sat beside them.

So, I have wanted to avoid the word "dinner." Don't worry, however, because we plan to feed you well. The term I hear used these days is "heavy hors d'ouevres." In other words, you'll get something pretty close to a buffet dinner, but it won’t be a sit-down, waiter-serving-you dinner.

That, of course, raises the question: what should we call this thing? "Legal Blogger Dinner / Reception" won’t work – and it sounds like a named arrived at by a committee of lawyers.

In a moment of desperation or brilliance this morning, I came up with the name "BlawgEvent 1.0" and emailed it to Tom. Tom was initially unimpressed, but his efforts to come up with a better name only made him realize (1) how difficult it is to come up with a clever name and (2) how subtly clever the name I thought up really is.

Fortunately, we both realize the folly of actually relying on a name I came up with (look at the name of my blog, for crying out loud).

So, we've decided to have a naming contest for this event. We invite you to submit to us your suggestions for the name of this event on or before March 14. We'll cook up some way to choose a winner and then we'll start referring to the event "[Yourcoolnamegoeshere], sponsored by CaseSoft, Thomson West, LexThink, Inc. and [yoursponsornamegoeshere]."

Prizes for the contest winner, you ask? We're working on that. So far, the winner's prize package will include (1) a CD with my eBooks and (2) Tom and I's comments, suggestions and tips to improve your blog and your blog's traffic. We'll see what else we can come up with.

The contest rules: Use good judgment and decorum in the names you suggest. Give us your real name and contact info so we can announce you as the winner and send you the prizes. Meet the deadline. You also agree not to whine and complain if we pick a name that isn’t as good as the ones that you suggest.

Send your entries by email to denniskennedyblog @ gmail.com and tmighell @ gmail.com.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

You thought we'd never ask. Tom and I have things under control, but it never hurts to have a little help.

You can definitely help us by getting the word out to legal bloggers and other likely attendees.

If you'd like to help us pick the winning name, handle administrative details, or just help with things in general either before the event or when we get things set up that evening, let us know.

We've already gotten this event about as complicated as I can stand (I just want to have fun and meet people), so, while we always want to hear great ideas, keep in mind that simple is best.

Hope to see you there. Put on your thinking caps and let's start hearing those names.

The Fine Print Legal Disclaimer: You must register in advance. If we run out of room before you register, we'll put you on a waiting list, but cannot promise you that a spot will open up. It's all on an "AS IS" basis and we make no warranties whatsoever. And, of course, our total liability is limited to the amount that you pay for your ticket to the event.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:27 PM

March 08, 2005

"By Request Tuesday" – Should I Go to the ABA TECHSHOW?

Here's a good question that illustrates why, even when blogging, you need to use active listening skills to determine what people are really asking rather than simply answering the literal question.

Consider the literal question. OK, I'm on the TECHSHOW Board, so would you truly expect me to give an answer other than "YES!"?

But, that's not what people are really asking me with this question. It's more in the nature of "Why should I go to the ABA TECHSHOW?"

However, consider the many nuances of even that form of the question. "What reasons can you give me to help me convince a decision-maker to pay for me to go to the ABA TECHSHOW?" "Will I miss anything important if I don't go to the ABA TECHSHOW?" "Is a trip to the ABA TECHSHOW this year worth the investment in money and time I will need to make?"

The question also takes on certain nuances whether I really want to go or whether I am trying to justify my reason for not going.

Sometimes people ask me this question because they want me to convince them to go.

I learned long ago that I really cannot convince you – you can only convince yourself. I can't argue you into doing much of anything. On rare occasions, I might be able to steer information your way so that you reach your own conclusion that happens to be the one that I'd like to see, but I'm never going to convince you to do anything that you can't convince yourself to do.

What could I say that will convince anyway? Suppose I say that you need to go to the ABA TECHSHOW this year because your cushy, stable big law firm job might disappear when your firm becomes a target in the recent big law firm merger mania and you need to know enough about technology to land on your feet and start something new. Suppose I say that you need to learn about what technologies your clients will be wanting from you or else they will leave you. Suppose I say that you need to prove that you work at a firm that will support your efforts to improve your skills and keep pace with technological change. Suppose that I say that you go to all kinds of boring continuing legal education seminars every year and you deserve to go to one that you know will be fun.

I don't think any of those reasons will convince you. Why? Because they come from me, not you.

The answer to the question, as with so many other things, comes directly from your honest answer to two key questions well-known to Babylon 5 fans. They are: Who are you? and What do you want?

The better your answer to those questions, the more easily you can answer questions like "should I go to the ABA TECHSHOW this year?"

You know that I am right, but I know that you still expect me to give a few reasons to help you convince yourself and the relevant decision-maker that you should be going to the ABA TECHSHOW. I won't disappoint you, but I don't expect to convince you either. Here you go:

1. You might actually have fun, learn cool stuff and meet great people interested in the things that you are interested in – for a change. Take the chance!

2. TECHSHOW has great education sessions that are geared to practicing lawyers. You can learn stuff that actually helps you and applies to you and your practice.

3. TECHSHOW speakers are extraordinarily accessible and generous. The new roundtable sessions we are trying this year will make it even easier to talk to some of the leading legal technology experts.

4. You can show people that you are willing to make the effort to prepare for your own future and not just wait around for other people to tell you what you can and can't do.

5. You can learn in one place in a few days the technology options that are available to you. Most lawyers and law firms are concerned about making mistakes in selecting new technologies. The biggest concern: they do not know what their options are and worry that they may miss a better or cheaper alternative because they don’t know about it. Spend some time on the exhibit floor and I guarantee that you become aware of options you didn't know existed.

6. Learn that you are not alone in your interests in and concerns about technology and the practice of law as it exists today.

7. Meet more legal bloggers in one place than have ever gathered together before.

But, as I said, I can't convince you. That's your job. Oh, yeah, the online registration form is here. I hope to see you there, but that's your decision to make.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:47 PM

"By Request Tuesday" – What Are Some of the Questions You Get That You Don't Answer on By Request Tuesday?

Fascinating question.

I did a little research and here are some of the actual questions I've found in emails I've received recently. Note that not all of them are candidates for "By Request Tuesday.

Does it make sense for me to fly into Chicago just for the Legal Blogger Dinner Event on March 30?

Can I see a list of the attendees for LexThink Chicago to help us make a decision about sponsoring the event?

Can you tell me what time the blogger dinner will start?

What are your thoughts?

An audio session?

Suggestions?

Have I sold my soul?

Will we get standard A/V for these sessions?

What do we need to do to prepare for LexThink?

What is the future of the billable hour?

What are some of your favorite all time well-designed products?

Have you experienced a major degradation in performance from Firefox in the last two days, or have I caught something?

I'm back, what'd I miss?

When will you write the Shakeshop novel?

How do you define "blog"?

When and why did you start a blog?

What about the benefits for a small company to use? How has your blog helped your business?

What makes a good business blog, in your opinion? Why do you believe your blog works well? What makes a bad blog?

How do you get the word out about blogs?

How in the world are you?!

I had my surgery Friday. Did I tell you about it?

Do you recall what you received for your 11th birthday?

Have you considered the new TC 4200 that is supposed to be coming out this month?

Coincidence?

Could I ask a BIG favor?

Would sometime Monday work?

Should we assume this is a Sybil split personality thing or that just one of you is coming?

Can you give me your thoughts on the practicality vs user friendliness?

Which IT vendors are most important and strategic to the success of your organization?

Conference call this week?

Would you be interested in providing "coaching" services to me?

Would you like to set up a call with our CEO and get a demo of the new product?

Could there be a trend here?

Can you handle?

What is the difference and why does it matter?

How does 2:30 Mountain time sound? Is that 3:30 your time?

Has it been almost a month since we tried to talk last time???

What's the biggest mistake that small firms make when using litigation technology?

When should we talk?

Dennis, any more info on lunch?

Am I missing something?

Are you available for a quick chat on Thursday or Friday to discuss the LexThink program?

Dennis?

Two observations:

1. I'm starting to understand why I can never just buzz through email responses quickly.

2. I think this "By Request Tuesday" thing on my blog probably is a good feature for me to adopt. I seem to get a lot of questions.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:39 PM

Giant Cheap Whiteboard Alternatives!

As I've mentioned several times, Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools is such a great resource. Today, I found the answer to my question of how to find a really big whiteboard to use with dry erase pens without spending an arm and a leg.

You'll find two great ideas from Kevin - a $13 solution and a $100 solution.

See you at Home Depot tomorrow.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 08:11 PM

March 07, 2005

Not Podcasts, But My Audio Seminars on Electronic Discovery Are Now Available

I'm doing some audio-video on-demand webinars for Merrill Corporation over at Merrill's Law Solutions Website. The webinars, which are free to view, are part of the "New Directions" portion of the web page.

The webinars run ten to fifteen minutes in length and cover specific areas of electronic discovery. In my sessions, I try to cover the topics in a straightforward manner that will help lawyers and non-lawyers to understand both the technical aspects of the topics and the implications of these technologies, all in the plain and direct manner that audiences have long told me that they like about my approach to these issues.

I really like this reasonably short format (audio synched to PowerPoint slides) and think that it will prove popular as Merrill creates this "knowledge base" on electronic discovery. Look for a number of other leading electronic discovery authorities, such as Tom O'Connor, to cover many of today's most important EDD topics.

My first session is called "Computers and Copies - Is Every Step Traceable?"

The second, newly available, session is called "The Mysterious World of Metadata."

The upcoming schedule of my sessions includes:

April 2005 The Many Places to Discover Data

May 2005 Developing a Team Approach to Electronic Discovery

June 2005 Determining When to Use Electronic Discovery

A special thank you Toby Younis at Merrill for putting this great series together.

Expect to see more webinars and audio programs from me. I am talking with several people about podcasts and other audio efforts, and I'd be happy to talk with you about doing these types of sessions for your company or organization.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/).]

Posted by dmk at 01:36 PM

March 03, 2005

Reid Trautz Sets My Agenda for Today

One of the great things about subscribing to RSS feeds is that all kinds of great ideas show up in your newsreader every day from experts in their fields. For free.

Law practice management expert Reid Trautz (and a speaker at the upcoming TECHSHOW 2005) provided me with another great example the other day. His post called "Files That Talk" is both a subtle reminder and a call for action. It is essential reading and it certainly hit home at the Dennis Kennedy Law Firm. We're carving out some time today to implement Reid's suggestions.

The money quote:

"Here is my proposed standard for office appearance: My clients can visit at any time without the condition of my office embarrassing me or causing the client to silently question my effectiveness and efficiency."

Think about it.

Reid goes on to say:

"Meeting with clients in a conference room is, at best, a temporary solution to a messy office. Quite frankly, it’s a cop-out. The same goes for shoving documents in the file with the best intentions of neatly organizing it later—it only gets attention if the matter goes to trial or a hearing. In the meantime, clients and others are watching the mess grow.

Taking time to frequently organize your files and offices will provide your clients with a positive picture to take with them during and after the representation.

Not a sermon, just a thought."

In this case, the thought is more powerful than a sermon.

Think about it. Then think about it again.

[Originally posted on DennisKenedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:25 AM

March 02, 2005

By Request Tuesday - What Are My Lightweight Notebook Options?

OK, it's not really Tuesday, but I got a question today and the answer seemed like good material for the blog. Maybe I'll do the occasional legal tech Q & A post.

Q: I am looking for a very very lightweight notebook (under two pounds?) or a PDA on which I can keep my calendar, run Excel for billing, and take notes during a deposition or trial. Instant On would be nice, but that is probably too much to ask for in this life. Weight is important - I don't want to carry too much weight on one side.

A: Two main ideas for you:

1. Your choices probably come down to the so-called subnotebooks (or a Tablet PC) or something like a HP iPaq Pocket PC or its equivalent.

The Pocket PCs have a lot of features, but are best seen as an extension of your regular PC, not a substitute for a regular PC. If you want to do everything with Pocket PC device that you can with a notebook, you'll be disappointed. A Pocket PC device could do everything that you specify (and, in the case of the IPaq 6300 series, take digital pictures, play a few songs and even serve as your cell phone), but my question is whether you have specified everything that you really want / need to do.

The subnotebooks tend to be more expensive than standard notebooks, but are now very light, but I don't think you can make the two pound target. The weight savings come in two main ways - smaller screen and making the CD/DVD drive an external device. I recently used the HP NC4010 subnotebook and I really liked it - it was very light (3.5 pounds). With these notebooks, it makes sense to go to a computer store, get your reaction to the screen size, heft a few and experiment with using them. The Fujitsu LifeBook subnotebooks generally get very good reviews in this category.

The Tablet PCs are a different approach that I think make sense for lawyers. I'm in the process of converting to an HP TabletPC tc1100 as my everyday computer. The approach is different - you can write on the screen, etc., but, unlike a Pocket PC, it's a full-featured notebook. Slightly heavier than a subnotebook, but definitely worth a look. Again, I'd be sure to try to get some hands-on experience. I think that Tablet PCs are the perfect computers for lawyers, but my recommendation has not started any stampedes yet. I really enjoy using mine.

2. My experience tells me that even if you cut the weight of the notebook, you may still need to carry an external CD drive or other peripherals with you. As a practical matter, you end up carrying the same weight around as if you have a regular notebook. Therefore, it makes good sense to think about notebook bag options as a part of the solution. I currently use two. One is an "everyday" bag that can be used as a backpack. The second is for plane travel and is a wheeled, rolling bag. I'm never in courts, but I'd probably use a wheeled bag as my choice for being in court. Even a small weight can get burdensome if you have to carry it a long way. Note that both the backpack and wheeled options avoid the "too much weight on one side" problem.

By the way, with Windows XP and the current notebooks, a great approach is to put the computer into the stand-by mode rather than turning it off. Waking it up is not exactly instant-on, but it's very fast. You do get instant-on with the Pocket PCs, but the limited functionality may not work for you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:46 PM

March 01, 2005

In Lieu of "By Request Tuesday," My Interview on The Voice of the Blog

I had a great time a couple of weeks ago being interviewed by Jeff Hill at the excellent The Voice of the Blog. He's posted a portion of the transcript of the interview here. It includes some of my candid observations about blogging and its impact on me, on you and on the world as we know it.

I noticed that I write in shorter sentences than I was speaking in that morning. Feel free to break up some of my comments into shorter sentences. I'm thinking that writing scripts might play a key role in any podcasting I might do in the near future.

Thanks, Jeff. I really enjoyed speaking with you and hope that I was able to help on your project. Jeff has transcripts of his interviews with other business bloggers on his blog. All of them make for fascinating reading.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 10:35 PM