Social Networks (4/11)
By Gayle Lynn-Nelson
I know most of us have been accessing LinkedIn® for quite some time. My question is how many of us are also on MySpace® or Facebook®? When I first heard about social networks all I really cared about was LinkedIn. To me, that was the professional social network. Then I began hearing more and more about these others. My daughter was a big proponent of MySpace. Recently, I convinced her that was not the place for her to be and she began her addiction to Facebook. She loves it and I sometimes wonder if I created a monster.
All that being said I have been thinking how can social networks/social media help me, my profession as a librarian and the legal profession in general. One thing that comes to mind immediately to me for all three is the marketing aspect. If you don’t engage you may chance missing out on any opportunities that evolve. Of course, for some that will not be reason enough.
According to Doug Cornelius, who writes the Compliance Building blog, nearly half of all law firms block access from work computers to Facebook, MySpace and YouTube™. These are three of the top 10 most visited sites on the Web.
He and Steve Matthews conducted an informal survey of 231 law firms, large and small, in January 2009 on Zoomerang.com. Here was their key question with the results:
Does your firm block access to any of these sites?
- Facebook 85%
- MySpace 77%
- Twitter 26%
- LinkedIn 14%
- YouTube 55%
- Blogs 22%
A number of law firms block access to social networking sites because they believe it translates to social “not-working” in the office, according to Cornelius. One might ask how valid that concern is—especially when weighed against the advantages that these sites can bring.
The main reasons for blocking, they reported, were concerns about the following:
- Loss of productivity
- Viruses
- Confidentiality
- Bandwidth consumption
Does this sound familiar? I can just see many of you reading this and shaking your head yes. You have most likely seen the younger associates engaged in social networking activities even if frowned upon by the firm. Of course, if the firm blocks the sites altogether those associates will either be out of luck or on their own iPhone® or other device that lets them access the Internet without permission controls.
So why use social media for yourself, your profession or your law firm? There are many valid reasons. The most obvious, mentioned earlier, is marketing. People need to be able to find you, your profession and your law firm. We all need to create our brand, what a perfect forum to accomplish this. Law firms are increasingly using social tools to monitor conversations about their products, competitors, and industry, and engaging with their customers to build strong relationships. We are doing the same thing in our profession. I think about all the bloggers and tweeters I know. Isn’t this what is taking place? We also need to look like we “get it,” another major reason to use social media.
Social networking can be a lead generator. Think about the whole “who knows who” aspect. You may see information posted about your clients and what they are saying, what they are doing, what your competitors are saying and doing, changes in the markets within which we operate and work. Also the impact of regulatory discussions, new product launches, strategic appointments, expert opinions and so much more. This is just a sampling. I am sure you could add many examples of your own.
One use I had not thought of right away was about those in foreign countries, those in different time zones. I have a sister-in-law who lives on an island in the Caribbean. She is a huge proponent of Facebook, not just on a personal level but professional as well. She is a business owner and it makes it so much easier for her to communicate and conduct business online no matter what the day or time.
Social media has the influence to serve as an effective public relations tool that has the power to increase awareness of a lawyer’s expertise, knowledge or experience in their practice area. In addition, social media has the ability to create and build on relationships that will make a positive impact not only on a lawyers’s image, but also on their overall career. It can do the same thing for you, the information professional.
I did check a number of AmLaw 250 law firm names on Facebook and most were there. They want to be found and Facebook is another means of getting their name out there. I also looked for a number of information professionals I know or work with and a fair number of you are on Facebook. However, there were quite a few not found. The best way forward is to look at what other firms are doing and see if it can benefit you and/or your law firm.
The social network world is instant, prolific and at times from unknown sources. What that means for us and our users is a danger of information overload and sifting through the information to find useful and non-useful data. There is also concern as to the provenance of the information, how true is it, is it genuine or malicious?
How might you help your law firm? Write up a policy that is sensible to set expectations of the users and the firm. Social networks at work, paired with a good policy can result in a workplace with employees that are more engaged, more motivated and potentially more innovative. Social networking sites are, first and foremost, a communication platform. Follow InfoPro on Twitter or become a friend of the InfoPro page on Facebook!
These are exciting times and I do not expect it to stand still for long. So, what do I suggest? Embrace the change and by doing that you can have some control and be in a better position to understand the benefits for you, your profession and your firm now and in the future.
