Why Should You Have a Weblog?
I gave a presentation on weblogs in New Orleans last month. I spent some time working on the presentation and it was well received. I had done a request on what others saw as benefits and drawbacks of weblogs and the responses were very helpful in shaping the presentation. Also helpful was a long discussion with Kevin O’Keefe of Lexblog. Kevin understands the benefits of weblogs to lawyers, like few people do.
How Do We Know that Having a Weblogs Will Work?
Because it’s the same thing that lawyers have always done. The ‘old school’ method is to give presentations at conferences and network with other lawyers. That’s what weblogs give you. The chance to get your knowledge across, but rather than give a 30–45 minute presentation at a Convention, you can give the information 2–3 paragraphs at a time. You get to pick the topics. You get to pick the timing. You get to pick when and what you want to say. Say more. Say less. It’s your call.
Plus, you get the advantages of networking. Sharing information with other lawyers who blog. Linking to their best information (posts) and they link to your best stuff.
One advantage to the weblogs is that once you write the post, the information is out there on the internet and available to the search engines. A firm newsletter, once written and mailed has a relatively short shelf life. The posts are available to the search engines and you never know when people will do a search and find you and your blog.
Weblogs are easy to maintain. Weblogs are effective. If you want to raise your presence on the internet, it’s time to start writing one now.
Based on the response to the presentation (and a few other requests), I’ll be doing a series this week on how to start a blog and things to think about before starting a blog.
