Dennis Kennedy

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February 04, 2008

Cole Silver's Expert Audio Series

Lawyer and career and marketing consultant Cole Silver has put together an amazing collection of audio interviews with a who's who of experts in all phases of law practice management as part of his Expert Audio Series.

It's a collection of top experts interviewed about their best topics, with coverage of key aspects of business development and marketing, career planning and development, and organizational development and management. I've contributed an interview on "Technology that Drives Operational Efficiency."

What is great about Cole's collection is that I've heard many people (including me) with the idea (and best intentions) of putting together a collection of interviews like this, but Cole has actually done it. And done it extremely well. Even a cursory glance at what is already part of this collection will show you the potential value of this material to your practice. It's a great example of what the audio/podcasting world is bringing and how an iPod (or other mp3 player) might be the best business and educational tech investment you can make these days.

Check out Cole's Expert Audio Series.

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

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together

Technorati tags: legal technology expert audio series cole silver podcast

Posted by dmk at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2008

I've Been Listening to So Many Podcasts that I Didn't Realize that Podcasting Might Have Been Declared Dead

One of the amusing things about reading blogs, especially tech blogs, for many years is how quickly trends arise, blossom and get declared dead, sometimes, it seems, within a period of weeks or even days. There are times when a trend is declared dead even before many people have even heard of it.

Just pick a trend and do a Google search on "is [trend] dead?"] and you'll be surprised by the number of hits.

However, it's also true that the "is [trend] dead?" post or, more emphatically, "[trend] is dead" post, will definitely generate traffic to your post. (See linkbaiting - by the way, is linkbaiting dead?)

A lot of things have been declared dead by someone or another lately - email, Windows Vista, the billable hour, the horse and buggy, you name it.

I've always liked podcasts. Tom Mighell and I even talked about our favorite podcasts on our own podcast.

My biggest reservation about podcasts was that there would be so much great content that you would have such a backlog of podcasts that you could never hope to listen to them all. You can be a fast reader, but it's much harder to be a fast listener.

I can confirm that my reservation was well-founded. There are lots of great podcasts. What NPR has done in the world of podcasting is simply amazing.

I've wanted to blog more about podcasts, but I find it difficult to blog about podcasts. In part, that's because there is often a time lag from when the podcast was released and when you listen to it. That can make it harder to find the URL when you want to link to it in a blog post. Also, if you listen to podcasts on an iPod or other mp3 player, you probably aren't at a computer and won't blog about it contemporaneously.

I had reached the conclusion the other day that I was going to highlight podcasts and podcasting as a key legal tech trend for 2008.

Then, I realized that there is a big debate going on whether, surprise, podcasting might be dead. I like Dave Winer's take on the topic, especially when he says, "My phone doesn't have a business model. Neither does my porch."

By the way, my Google search on "is podcasting dead?" tonight shows a total of 3.570 results.

So, I reconsidered my opinion about podcasts, for a few seconds, and went back to listening to podcasting and recommending it as a trend to watch in 2008. If you haven't been introduced to the world of podcasts, I recommend that you take a listen. A good starting point is visiting the Apple iTunes store and checking out the wide variety of podcasts now available, on almost any topic that you can imagine.

Count me on the side of those who think that podcasts are alive.

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

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcasts

Posted by dmk at 08:12 PM | Comments (1)

September 18, 2007

Legal Talk Radio on Demand: Podcasting for Lawyers

The latest issue of the ABA's Law Practice Today webzine has a great article called "Legal Talk Radio on Demand: Podcasting for Lawyers." It's a roundtable article about lawyers using the podcasting medium and includes a stellar cast of podcasters - Bob Ambrogi, Evan Brown, Jim Calloway, Denise Howell, Tom Mighell, and Sharon Nelson, with me thrown in as organizer and, since I was unable to resist joining in, as a contributor too.

If you have any interest at all in podcasting, you will find valuable, practical information and tips from lawyers who have been podcasting for a long time and have some of the best-known legal podcasts.

The money quote (one of many possible candidates) is from Bob Ambrogi, host of one of the longest-running, best-known and most-listened-to lawyer podcasts:

Podcasting is a powerful marketing tool, particularly if your practice relates to technology or media. Podcasting distinguishes you as someone who is innovative and on the cutting edge. It allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise and to provide a more personal view of yourself than potential clients could glean from a simple Web site. You will reach audiences you never imagined -- we've mapped the IP addresses of our listeners and found that they come from virtually every country in the world, even China and Russia. All this, and the cost of entry is minimal.

The article includes links to the author's podcasts, links to other podcasts and podcast resources, and podcast recommendations from the authors.

I'm proud of this article, very pleased at how it turned out, and invite you to put it on your reading list. And, yes, we all appreciate the irony of an article by podcasters about podcasting that is not available as a podcast. This article is a good example of how you can use the Google Docs online word processing tool to create collaborative articles, something that the Law Practice Today webzine has pioneered and used frequently with great results.

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

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast podcasting roundtable

Posted by dmk at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2007

Do Excerpt Feeds and Poor Sound Quality Podcasts Have Something in Common?

There's long been a debate over whether to distribute your RSS feed as an excerpt feed or a full-text feed.

I started out with an excerpt feed because I enjoyed writing a customized "excerpt" as a teaser. I didn't use the standard automatic "first 20 or 50 words" excerpt that people commonly use today. I switched to a full-text feed because I preferred full-text feeds from other blogs and sites. And because I sometimes spent more time on writing the excerpt than the full post.

There are good reasons that you might choose to distribute a full-text or an excerpt feed. Excerpt feeds require that a reader click-through and visit your blog. Full-text feeds let your readers read the full post without going to your blog.

Over the years, people who use newsreaders to consume RSS feeds often reach a point where they feel that they have subscribed to WAY TOO MANY feeds. They then decide to prune their list of feeds. Historically, one of the easiest ways to cut the feeds you subscribe to is to delete those that offer only excerpts of posts.

The reason should be apparent. You save yourself the time and effort of clicking through to see the rest of the post. If you read feeds offline with a stand-alone reader, as I often do, then you will prefer full-text feeds because you can read everything in the post.

How does this relate to podcasts?

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. At the birth of podcasts, I had reservations about them. No, not about their utility and value - I could see that from the first podcast I listened to (an interview with William Gibson).

My concern was managing them. In iTunes, your collection of podcasts can taunt you by noting that you have 33 days of podcasts to listen to. Since you listen in real-time, you can build up a daunting pile of unlistened-to podcasts.

Once again, you face the problem of pruning your collection - this time of downloaded podcasts.

As I've mentioned before, I normally use the "shuffle" feature on my iPod when I listen. I'll start to listen to something and quickly decide whether it interests me at the time, and then either listen or move on.

Once I listen to a podcast, I generally delete it in iTunes. If I'm not interested in it, I usually delete it too.

When I feel I have too much on my iPod (it's pretty full), I'll start to delete podcasts. The length of time I've had them is one factor, but that's not the best way to eliminate podcasts. I might not have listened to an old podcast because of its length or other reasons.

What I do find is that if I take a quick listen, and maybe fast forward to a few random spots in the recording, I can gauge the topic, the style and definitely the sound quality.

In part because of the high bar NPR sets with the sound quality of its podcasts, especially in comparison to some of the poorly-recorded, unedited podcasts you can find, I've started to use poor sound quality as a quick way to determine whether to delete or keep podcasts around for later listening.

In a funny way, poor sound quality in podcasts has become the analogy of an excerpt feed in a newsreader.

Has anyone else has noticed a similar phenomenon or used a similar approach?

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

Like what you are reading? Check out the other blogs where I post - Between Lawyers (feed) and the LexThink Blog (feed).

Technorati tags: legal technology rss podcasts sound quality

Posted by dmk at 09:02 PM | Comments (2)

January 08, 2007

Two Excellent Podcast Intros to Windows Vista and Office 2007

I've become a big fan of podcasts lately and and am trying to find a good way to cover podcasts in this blog.

For a great example of why I like podcasts, I'll point you to Business Week's series of podcasts featuring its Technology and You columnist Steve Wildstrom. It's a great resource to learn about basic technology.

Two recent podcasts cover Office 2007 and Windows Vista. In about twenty minutes or so, you'll hear an excellent overview of the new products, what the features that matter to you might be, and some tips on what you should be thinking about in preparing for and moving to the next generation of Microsoft products. (RSS feed for Wildstrom podcast here)

Want another great example?

I highly recommend Ed Poll's podcast interview of Adobe's Rick Borstein on the legal features of Acrobat 8 and how Acrobat 8 will benefit lawyers. Rick, an excellent presenter, is on top of his game, and there's no better way for lawyers to learn about Adobe 8. A highly recommended 21 minute audio.

Just a sampling of the many great resource out in the world of podcasts.

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

Learn more about legal technology at Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Central page.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast acrobat 8 office 2007 vista lawyers

Posted by dmk at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2006

Reminder: My Upcoming Blogging Presentation in St. Louis

Just a reminder:

Thanks to the good people at the St. Louis Chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants, I'll be sharing my insights on blogging and podcasting on November 17.

Here are the details:

ALL ABOARD THE BLOG TRAIN: BUILDING YOUR AUDIENCE, REPUTATION AND BUSINESS WITH BLOGS AND PODCASTS

Dennis Kennedy, Speaker

November 17, 2006

Registration & Networking 7:15 am, Breakfast 7:30, Meeting 8:00 am - 9:15 am
Ces & Judy's
(10405 Clayton Road (in Le Chateau Village, St. Louis, Missouri)

Tom Peters has said, "Biz Blogging . . . works. It is of . . . MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE. (Or can be.)" In the session, well-known St. Louis blogger Dennis Kennedy (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/) will introduce you to the new world of blogs and podcasts and the benefits they now bring to many consultants and professional services providers. You will start with blogging 101 and then learn how you can uses blogs and podcasts to connect with a larger audience, enhance your reputation and marketing reach, and build your business. Kennedy will share his insights from more than three years of blogging. Business blogging does work.

Dennis Kennedy (dmk@denniskennedy.com) is a St. Louis lawyer who both practices computer law and provides technology consulting services for law firms and corporate legal departments. His blogs, DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/) and Between Lawyers (http://betweenlawyers.corante.com/), are among the longest-running, best-known and most influential of the legal blogs. In 1995, Dennis became one of the first group of lawyers with a web page, and he has frequently spoken, written and been quoted on Internet marketing issues, including the use of blogs by lawyers and other professional services providers.

An award-winning author with hundreds of publications to his credit and a frequent speaker, Dennis was named the 2001 TechnoLawyer of the Year and 2003 Contributor of the Year by TechnoLawyer.com for his role in promoting the use of technology in the practice of law. His website (www.denniskennedy.com) has long been considered a highly regarded resource on legal technology and technology law topics.

He is also a co-founder of LexThink!, a conference and consulting group that focuses on innovation in the professional services industry (http://www.lexthink.com). Dennis also co-writes a popular column on electronic discovery at DiscoveryResources.org. He is a member of the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s Council and is an editor and board member of the Law Practice Today webzine (http://www.lawpracticetoday.org).

Dennis received his J.D., cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1983 and B.A., magna cum laude, from Wabash College in 1983.

Costs: $30 for IMC Members, $40 for non-IMC members,includes buffet breakfast.

If you bring a first-time guest, you will get $5.00 back at the door. Also, your Guest will receive a $5.00 discount.

We prefer that you register via our online registraton below. If you must call in your registration - call Kathy Robinson at Cost Containment Strategies - 314-439-5673.

Please make your reservation no later than Tuesday (by noon) before the Friday program.

Get more info about IMC-STL and the presentation here. Register here.

IMC-STL is a great group. I invite my local readers - lawyers or non-lawyers - to attend this session and learn more about the topic and the group.

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

Posted by dmk at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2006

Podcast: New E-discovery Rules in the Federal Courts

The latest stop on my recent electronic discovery speaking tour was at the deservedly highly-praised Coast to Coast podcast on the Legal Talk Network, one of the longest-running legal podcast series.

The podcast is now available and here's the description:

On December 1, 2006, new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will take effect and change how civil cases will be tried forever. In this Coast to Coast we discuss the e-discovery changes, what the impact will be for corporate America and how companies can prepare themselves before the new rules take effect. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J.Craig Willams and Robert Ambrogi as they get insight into the world of e-discovery from the experts, Michele C.S. Lange, Esq., staff attorney in the Electronic Evidence Services group at Kroll Ontrack Inc. and Dennis Kennedy, well-known lawyer and legal technology consultant based in St. Louis, Missouri. Don’t miss this program!

What a great group to work with! A big thank you to everyone at Coast to Coast, especially Kate Kenney, for inviting me.

If you would like to get a good overview on what you need to know about electronic discovery in the context of the upcoming amendments to the FRCP, this podcast is a great starting place. Michele is certainly one of the most knowledgeable people you will find on EDD issues and Bob and Craig did their usual great job of asking questions that focused on the issues that should be on the minds of lawyers as December 1 approaches.

If you haven't yet experimented with listening to podcasts, or don't yet understand what the whole podcast thing is about, this episode of Coast to Coast will be a great place to get introduced to the podcast phenomenon. Even better, subscribe to the Coast to Coast RSS feed and you'll get automatic notice of new programs.

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

Learn more about electronic discovery at Dennis Kennedy's Electronic Discovery Resources page.

Technorati tags: legal technology electronic discovery podcast

Posted by dmk at 09:19 PM | Comments (1)

October 16, 2006

Procrastination Cured! (Well, At Least Helped Some)

I've been planning to write about this topic for a few days. . . .

I've written about David Allen, Getting Things Done and procrastination from time to time on this blog (see this post, for example).

In the last few days, I've been having a bit of a David Allen / GTD festival. I did a big brain dump and collection of tasks,along with a sorting and organizing, in part prompted by watching a video seminar, courtesy of the great people at MindJet, in which Allen talked about the GTD (that's "Getting Things Done") approach and how he uses mindmaps. Details on viewing that seminar can be found here.

Even better, Merlin Mann at the great 43 Folders blog is doing a series of podcast interviews with David Allen on a number of topics.

I listened to the one on procrastination today. It's insightful and enlightening, at both the practical and psychological level. I liked Allen's comment that the prettier his house looked, the more you could tell that he was avoiding a big project. I also was cheered to learn that the time management guru cheerfully admits to the need to deal with procrastination.

This session is especially good for bloggers. Many times, you will find barriers and distractions to getting a post up there, especially if you get hung up on writing the "great American blog post."

Currently, I have a few of those that I'm not writing - but I do have titles for them. Here are just a few on my list that I hope will one day get written and see the light of day: "The Unbearable Everydayness of Blogging," "Reading on the Backstreets," "OODA Loops in the Delivery of Legal Services," "The Coming Legal Expansion to India," "My Email from Patti Smith," "The Compleat Macintosh Primer for Lawyers," to name just a few that I see on the list I'm looking at now. It probably goes without saying that these would all be long posts.

With the new ideas I have, I have a new understanding of the procrastination issue. Soon, action may follow. If you haven't experimented with the whole podcast thing yet, the procrastination podcast might be a good starting place.

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

Remember the St. Louis Idea Market #2 on October 17 - details here. Hope to see you there.

Technorati tags: legal technology procrastination GTD getting things done podcast

Posted by dmk at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2006

Podcast: A Web 2.0 Primer for Lawyers

"A Web 2.0 Primer for Lawyers" is the name of the newest episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast. In the podcast, Tom Mighell and I introduce the concept of Web 2.0, give some examples, discuss what Web 2.0 might mean for lawyers and give you some reasons we are excited about this technology. The show notes also contain an extensive list of links to our favorite Web 2.0 resources.

"A Web 2.0 Primer for Lawyers" is episode #4 of The Kennedy-Mighell Report - a podcast on legal technology with an Internet focus.

Here are links to our previous podcast episodes:

Episode #3 - ABA TECHSHOW Wrap-up

Episode #2 - Podcasting for Lawyers, Live from ABA TECHSHOW (a recording of our podcast presentation)

Episode #1 - ABA TECHSHOW Preview

Thanks to Evan Schaeffer for inspiring me to finish editing this episode and get it posted and to Adriana Linares for taking the picture of Tom and me you'll find with the show notes.

Download or subscribe to the podcast, or get more info about it, here. The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast is also available through iTunes.

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

Learn more about legal technology at Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Central page.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast The Kennedy-Mighell Report web 2.0 Law2.0

Posted by dmk at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2006

Episode 3 of The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast Now Available

The latest episode (#3) of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast is now available. Tom and I like to describe the podcast as being about legal technology, with an Internet focus.

In the new episode, we sat down to talk about our "take-aways" from our recent trip to the ABA TECHSHOW. We touch on some of the highlights of what we saw there, both in terms of products and what we learned in sessions, and then spend some time talking about the current state of technology in law firms and where it all might be leading us.

Please take a listen and let us know what you think about this podcast and any topics that you'd like us to cover.

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

Learn more about legal technology at Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Central page.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast kennedy mighell techshow legal

Posted by dmk at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2006

A Podcast of Our Recent "Podcasting for Lawyers" Presentation

Tom Mighell has posted Episode 2 of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast.

When Tom and I did our presentation on "Podcasting for Lawyers" at the ABA TECHSHOW, I was surprised to find that it was not one of the programs selected for recording and later podcasting. I had a small headset microphone in my bag and decided to see what we might be able to capture. With some editing and enhancement work, I believe that we have a quite serviceable recording of the session and we have now posted it as episode 2 of the The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast.

We cover the whole range of podcasting issues and the discussion is perfect for the newbie or beginner, but also has good tips for people with all levels of experience. We talk about how to find and listen to podcasts, and how to create your own podcast, if you catch the podcasting bug.

By the way, in case it's not clear, I was joking when I made a few suggestions at one point in the session about how you might listen to podcasts in your car. I haven't yet figured out how to add emoticons to the recording.h

If you are interested in the podcasting phenomenon and how it might affect lawyers, this podcast is a great starting point.

Tom and I recorded episode 3 this weekend, in which we talk about some of our reflections on what we learned at TECHSHOW. It will get posted soon. Then we'll turn to some non-TECHSHOW topics, probably in the Web 2.0 area.

Please listen to and/or subscribe to The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and let us know what you think.

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

This post brought to you by Dennis Kennedy's legal technology consulting services, featuring RSS and blogging consulting, technology audit, strategic planning and technology committee coaching packages especially for medium-sized law firms (15 - 100 lawyers) and corporate legal departments. More information on the "Second Pair of Eyes" packages for legal technology audits and strategic planning may be found here (PDF).

Technorati tags: legal technology podcasting lawyers kennedy mighell

Posted by dmk at 08:40 AM

April 16, 2006

Coast to Coast Podcast Appearance and Upcoming Webcast

I made a guest appearance on the latest episode of the well-known legal podcast, Coast to Coast.

Here's the description:

Does your website have the right stuff for a lawyer? Is your website really a good representation of your law firm? On this show, Coast to Coast co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, both attorneys and Law.com legal bloggers, get the answers from the experts. You'll hear from Tim Stanley, former CEO and co-founder of FindLaw who now runs Justia, a web design company for law firms and member of the California Bar, Pete Boyd, Florida Attorney and President of PaperStreet which he founded in law school and legal technology consultant, Dennis Kennedy who is also on the [board of Law Practice Today and the ABA Law Practice Management Section Council]. Craig and Bob get to the bottom of what every lawyer needs to know!

Listen to or download the podcast here. I had a great time appearing on this podcast and you will get some great information by listening to the podcast.

Also, there's still time to register for a live webcast of a session called "The Weakest Link: Security in a Wired and Wireless World" that Dan Pinnington and I will be presenting at ABA TECHSHOW on April 20. The details and registration information can be found at http://www.abanet.org/cle/programs/t06wls1.html.

If that's not enough, remember that you can still hear the replay of my webinar on Information Lifecycle Management and my videocast on Best Practices for Law Firm Technology Committees.

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

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon - LexThink Lounge - April 19, 2006.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast

Posted by dmk at 08:43 PM

Podcast Debut: The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Episode 1

We've been talking about this podcast for a while, and now Tom Mighell and I just released episode #1 of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, which we call a "Podcast on Legal Technology, with an Internet Focus." Episode #1 is called the ABA TECHSHOW Preview and, in part, was put together with the "Podcasting for Lawyers" session that Tom and I will be presenting on April 22 at TECHSHOW in mind. Our podcasting session will share some of the practical lessons we learned while putting together our own podcast.

If you will be attending the ABA TECHSHOW (still plenty of time to register), our first podcast episode will give you all the details you need and our best tips for how to get the most out of the conference. And we discuss some of the cool technologies we expect to see and the ones we saw at the LegalTech NY conference earlier this year.

While we definitely have plans for a "Web 2.0 in the Legal Profession" episode, we'd be happy to get your suggestions for topics of future episodes. We're also working on music, other touches and experimenting with the format.

For more info on The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and to subscribe to get future episodes, go to http://tkmr.libsyn.com/ or the RSS Feed.

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

Learn more about legal technology at Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Central page.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcast techshow

Posted by dmk at 08:22 PM | Comments (1)