While looking through some feeds this morning, I saw that Larry Bodine had written an article slamming Apple computers. Being a part time Mac user myself, I was curious what he had to say. While I disagreed with what he was saying, I just chalked it up to a P.C. user not being used to the differences between PC and Mac.

Then I went on with my day……until I saw:

Flame: My birthday present to me

In this post, Wil Shipley just rips into Larry Bodine’s article. It’s absolutely brutal. Shipley goes through Bodine’s post line for line, adding commentary and completely bashing everything in the law.com piece.
And the result: The Shipley post is now on the first page of Digg.com. Right now there are 64 comments. Needless to say, this article is generating some buzz. And it’s not the good kind I’m afraid.

I think the lesson to be learned from this (if any) is that what we write in our blogs (and for other websites) have the potential to end up in places we’ve never expected. In this case, an article from a legal marketing consultant landed in the hands of a software programmer, who decided to repost his criticism for the whole world to see.

Popularity: 8% [?]

This being a long weekend, I had strict plans to do absolutely nothing yesterday. I was sitting on the couch, rifling through the channles when I happened to see Mark Cuban speaking to the Online News Association Conference.

Speaking to a room full of people that work with online media, Cuban made some bold statements: The internet is old news. Noboday cares about the technology.

Some attendees wanted to get very deep in details asking questions like “If you ran a newspaper’s web site, would your home page have video on it? Or would you put that deeper in the site to avoid unnecessary bandwidth costs?” (I’m paraphrasing here. I don’t remember the exact question)
Instead of jumping in, Cuban did what he does best: he looked at the bigger picture. The answer: who cares if you have video on the home page? What’s it doing for you? Is it sponsored? Are you getting paid each time it’s played? Or is it something people are seeing as content they’re after? It doesn’t matter that you’re an online newspaper. Forget about the technology. Get people what they’re looking for.

To simplify things even more, here’s what Cuban said:

“What do you have access to that distinguishes you?” Cuban asked. “What are the assets you have in terms of writers? What are the skills they have that allow you to distinguish your organization from everyone else?” Figure those out, he said, then “just lever the hell out of them.”

I think that can apply to any business.

1. Access- What do you have access to that no one else does? If you’re a tech firm, maybe you have access to V.C. No matter what your firm does, you have access to something that others don’t.

2. Distinguishing Skills- If you don’t have distinguishing skills, you’re just trying to blend in. But I’m guessing you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.

3. Assets- You’ve got assets. You’ve got attorneys that no one else has. And hopefully they’ve got the distinguishing skills and access to get what your clients want.

You’ve got these. Now “Lever the hell out of ‘em.”

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’d really like some opinions on this one.

A client at a law firm is planning their ad placement for the rest of the year. In the past, they have used a “We would like to congratulate attorneys X and Y on being named SuperLawyers….” in their print ads.

Knowing all the buzz about the SuperLawyer situation, my immediate reaction was to stay away from this. It just doesn’t “feel” right.

But the client brought up an interesting point: Maybe it’s just lawyers that know about the SuperLawyer controversy. And since the ads are not targeted to other lawyers, it shouldn’t matter.

Given that short background, I’d like to know: do you think a firm should run an ad touting their recently named “SuperLawyers” in a magazine or paper focused on their target clients?

Popularity: 4% [?]

I like ketchup.

So when I heard that Heinz was offering a promotion allowing people to personalize their own ketchup bottle, I just had to do it.

Law firms often put their name on everyday items. I’ve seen coasters, matchbooks, umbrellas, mousepads, pens, tee shirts, bags and coats just to name a few. But ketchup is a new one.

To me, name recognition by way of ketchup would be very effective…..since I use it so much. Every time I’d open the refrigerator, I’d be reminded of the firm.

And since ketchup isn’t just a one time use item, I’d be reminded multiple times. A law firm name on a coke can? Not very good.

What other everyday items would be good for firms to advertise on?

Popularity: 3% [?]

I just read an interesting article entitled “The One Number You Need To Grow,” by Frederick F. Reichheld. The article explores a different way of calculating the ratio of clients who promote your firm to the detractors.

The result is a measure of loyalty, which is absolutely crucial in winning word-of-mouth referrals for law firms. Simply put, from the article:

If growth is what you’re after, you won’t learn much from complex measurements of customer satisfaction or retention.  You simply need to know what your customers tell your friends about you.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I just got an email about the 11th Annual Webby Awards, which has a category for Law. From the Webby Category:

Law

Web sites for law firms, legal service providers, pro-bono legal services, litigation support, and self-help legal information. Sites that feature content on legal issues, trials, law and business issues, court decisions or legal advocacy.

From the email I received:

The awards, hailed by the New York Times as “the online equivalent of an Oscar”, officially launched their Call For Entries last week. Justice Learning took home the top prize at the 10^th Annual Webby Awards, while sites from Court TV, Jurist, and FindLaw were among the nominees.

If your firm has a site that you think is Webby-worthy, I would definitely encourage you to enter. While designing your firm’s site with an award in mind is an absolutely awful idea (you’re trying to get clients and make money….not have a pretty site), the converse is also true: If you’ve got a great site that is really working well for you, maybe you deserve an award!

And as any law firm knows, a little bit of nationwide good publicity never hurts.

Popularity: 10% [?]