I highly recommend Bo Peabody’s wise little book, Lucky or Smart? The book gives you Bo’s insights into the entrepreneurial experience, as filtered through the dot-com era. Great stuff.
I’m a bit of a contrarian on the whole obsession of lawyers with the Blackberry. See this article on the phenomenon featuring my former law partner Jim Gunn (one of the people who I truly appreciate having gotten the chance to work with during my legal career) for an overview of lawyers’ affinity for the BlackBerry. In Jim’s case, he has his usual geat sense of humor about the whole phenomenon.
I don’t really understand the benefits of the Blackberry in most situations, especially as we enter an era of ready WiFi access. It’s a good tool in certain circumstances, but my sense is that some law firms are using the BlackBerry as a way to save money by not buying Tablet PCs, notebooks or full-featured Pocket PCs for lawyers. That’s just my opinion.
Peabody has a great quote about Blackberry’s that I simply have to share. It’s a bit provocative, but it will give you something to think about in connection with the BlackBerry craze.
“Without question, the worst and most dangerous example of this ‘constantly reading’ phenomenon is the BlackBerry. These little handheld devices send your e-mail to you anywhere in the world, so that you can fill all your free time reading penis-enlargement spam and responding to the generally non-time-sensitive queries of your colleagues. I know people who leave the dinner table to go to the bathroom to check e-mail. This is insane. Of course, it’s better than the assholes who sit at the dinner table and answer their e-mail. The best use you can make of a BlackBerry is to buy them for all of your competitors. They’ll never have time for another creative thought.”
An excellent point, made with humor and panache. If you like the attitude and insight shown in the quote, you’ll love the book. I sure did.
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www,denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
This post brought to you by Dennis Kennedy’s eBooks – Preparing Your Law Firm for the Internet Era: 150 Steps Toward a 21st Century Practice of Law, Dennis Kennedy’s Legal Technology Primer and Unlocking the Secrets of Legal Technology and Technology Law: Finding Your Way in the First Internet Era.