2008 April « Fluent Simplicity

Archive for April, 2008

Blogging as Asymmetric Marketing

I raised the concept of blogging to a marketing manager a few months ago. The response took me back a bit — “No, we’re not into guerilla marketing.” I forgot about this exchange until tonight: I had “Carrier” (PBS) on in the background while I did some work (school related). In this particular segment, various crew members were describing the role of the carrier group in fighting terrorism. The term “asymmetric warfare” was used frequently. In the midst of hacking out a paper on deprecition and cash flow (yes, it was rough), I remembered my conversation and had to blog on it.

The guerilla comment rubbed me the wrong way, so in this post I want to examine blogging in context of marketing as well as warfare. Continue reading ‘Blogging as Asymmetric Marketing’

TechBrief: Google Content Removal

Published April 29, 2008 Operations , TechBrief , Technology 1 Comment
Tags: Content Management, Google, Webmaster Tools

I’ve seen some chatter in one particular legal-oriented listserv lately concerning content removal. Google does such an extremely efficient job of indexing information that it causes headaches when that information won’t go away.

Fortunately, the good folks at everyone’s favorite search engine provide a tool to deal with these sticky situations. Here’s what you have to do — please note this is the abridged version. If you need extra handholding, you might have to pay your overpriced vendor;-)

You need to have a Google account.
Go into your account and add Webmaster tools.
Add your site and verify it with the necessary files. Verifying you own the site is necessary to access several of the tools. Update: @Bibble has a great blog post addressing the verification process. I suggest checking it out.
In my experience, verification happens quickly. You will now be able to access the Webmaster functions. Go to Tools > Remove URLS.
Check that the file has been deleted from your site
Enter the URL and any other requested information in the tool. Click Submit Removal Request
Wait. If all goes well, the content will be down in a few days.

Removal of URLs should be your last line of defense. Other policy driven approachs include blocking content from indexing or caching. I would suggest asking your Web vendor on how to implement each of these approaches.

Twitter: Thoughts on Use and Branding

Published April 25, 2008 Marketing , Strategy , TechBrief , Technology 3 Comments
Tags: best practices, branding, company use policy, twitter

I’ve been updating the Twitter Brand Index regularly — I’m excited to see new companies, particularly those in the legal industry, establish a presence. In an effort to establish best practices within this new space, the following elements were created after an examiniation of companies in the index. (Note: This is a work in progress; I’ve love to collaborate with others on this initiative.)

The list after the break… Continue reading ‘Twitter: Thoughts on Use and Branding’

Focusing on the User Relationship

Published April 22, 2008 Law , Marketing 0 Comments
Tags: law firm, Marketing, user experience

Twitter has opened up a number of new blogs for me. Most focus on user experience & relationships, not that it should be a surprise considering the medium. Being a NYC guy (from birth… ok, there were the messy years out in suburbia), I like to focus on other people living here and making an impact. One in particular is Whitney Hess, author of whitneyhess.com. Her focus is the user experience, something many law firms seem to miss out on consistently (note: my own firm is clearly exempt — this blog isn’t a cheap venue for gossip). Continue reading ‘Focusing on the User Relationship’

Limited Blog Bandwidth… for a good reason

Published April 22, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Comments

I haven’t had much time to blog lately. Am I slacking? I think it’s a genetic impossibility. Work has been very busy as of late and I’m in the home stretch of the monstrous prereq program.

So what’s coming on the work front? Several great projects! While most are for semi-private consumption, I should be able to blog about one public site in particular in a few weeks. What makes this so innovative? Several interactive elements, new sources of content and a design that was hacked out with my boss. In the meantime, I need to stay focued. Posts for the next few week may be sporadic, but as with any major projects, this is crunch time.

Social Intel: Grab the Popcorn

Published April 21, 2008 Law , Marketing , Technology 1 Comment

I had a few days off last week, so Friday’s “Social Intel” post had to wait for today.

Most industries are jumping on social and interactive technologies. I am trying to reduce the use of “2.0″ as it’s really tiresome. Law firms lag a little bit behind others, which isn’t news to most people. However, there is some polarization of the community as social awareness is formed. Take Kevin O’Keefe, champion of blogs and President of LexBlog, who views blogs and other tools as a low-cost marketing tool with a big punch.

In the other corner, we have organizations who take a different view. Legal technology at law.com, with posts such as Is the Party Over for Social Networking? and Web 2.0 Can Be a Pandora’s Box of Liability, takes a limited view on the medium. Others view the space as an opportunity to promote content services, something that already has caused waves within legal marketing.

Which outlook will prevail? Take a look at the landscape. Blogging on the rise and open standards in social networks are being hacked together. This is a resource that is still in its infancy and I don’t think anyone has a clear picture on how it will impact law firms.

In the meantime, add the aforementioned sites to your reader and grab some popcorn.

Law Firm Declares Device-Free Zones

Published April 15, 2008 Operations , Strategy , Technology 0 Comments

The WSJ Law Blog highlighted actions taken by a firm in Mineola, NY to help people focus on important tasks. The groundbreaking initiative: cell-phone and BlackBerry-free zone for major meetings to discuss issues, such as key law changes, that might affect clients or significant internal developments.

Continue reading ‘Law Firm Declares Device-Free Zones’

Twitter: Brand Registration

Published April 12, 2008 Law , Marketing , Technology 0 Comments
Tags: twitter, brand protection, copyright

I’ve been cruising twitter for more companies to add to the Twitter Brand Index. As I’ve been looking around, a number of accounts have been registered and may even have branding (pic, background) but no updates. Take this one for example: http://twitter.com/USArmy

Could this be an initiative by a savvy PR person in the military?

Twitter seems to be ripe with situations where someone could register an account and cause mayhem for a company by blocking their use (passive) or outright spam (active). What if I registered http://twitter.com/HondaMotors and mentioned how Toyota makes a better product, linking to reviews and toyota.com? Or perhaps using it as a personal dumping ground for dealership experiences.

I would be curious as to hear some comments from any IP/trademark attorney.

FoodFind: Lollyphile

Published April 12, 2008 Food 0 Comments
Tags: bacon, gastronomy, lollyphile, pork goodness

I prefer to keep my blog focused on the Web, social networks and operations, but this is something I have to share. My favorite guy-focused gear site, uncrate.com, covered off on a company called Lollyphile. They produce small-batch lollypops that impart a sense of gastronomic adventure. Current offerings include absinthe and maple-bacon. Being fond of pork and related products, I had been meaning to order the maple-bacon pops for a while and was disappointed to see that they were sold out!

Fast forward to last weekend. I received an email from Lollyphile that the pops were back! I quickly placed an order and just received the box today. The box is very much like the one pictured here. While this is something best experienced (gnostic gastronomic?), it’s like enjoying sunday brunch on a stick. Maplely-bacony goodness! I would recommend anyone with a sense of adventure and a love of pork and sweet treats to get a box before they sell out!

Twitter as a Customer Service Learning Lab

Published April 11, 2008 Marketing , Operations , TechBrief 0 Comments
Tags: Customer Service, twitter

I’m sure you’ve heard of twitter and how a lot of people love it (including yours truly). If you haven’t joined the conversation, you need to today. You wouldn’t believe the great comments floating back and forth about twitter as a customer service tool, the transformation of service and how the lines between PR, marketing and sales are blurring.

ReadWriteWeb had a great post covering the various aspects twitter:

There has been a lot of talk lately of companies monitoring social media, be it Twitter, blogs, or social networking sites, for mentions of their company name and responding to customer service issues. Some of this interaction has been in the Twitter community, with Comcast being one of the more active participants as of late. Although in some cases, customers twittered their frustration after failing to receive the support they needed through traditional methods, in many cases, Twitter was the first place the customers vented their frustration, and then were surprised when they received a response from a support rep or company spokesperson.

There are also a number of brands that use twitter, as noted in an earlier blog. Rather than write anything further, go to twitter.com and setup an account. Be sure to follow the general guidance given to all businesses looking to start a conversation: first listen.

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