Virtual assistants by 'Zirtual' - I have one now and love it!

I've long been fascinated by the idea of hiring a virtual assistant, first after reading The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, and then again when reading Michael Hyatt's blog post rhapsodizing about his VA experience. I had tried VAs but it never quite worked. Then a few weeks ago I read an article in the Wall St. Journal about virtual assistants, which mentioned a company called Zirtual.com. I was ready to try again so I signed up.

It took about 2 weeks for me to "get qualified" and then accepted, but I've been using the service for a little over a week. I'll have a lot more to say about it in a future blog post (so far it's amazing!), but for now here are some factoids about Zirtual. A January 2013 Venturebeat article and All Things D article reveal some interesting things about the company:

• Tony Hsieh of Zappos is an early investor ($2M), because he likes the company culture and emphasis on customer service.
• ZA's get 7 weeks of training on making customers happy.
• Service is invite-only because demand always exceeds supply of virtual assistants.
• Zirtual charges between $197 and $997 per month for virtual assistant services.

I'm using the $197/month plan and get 10 hours of service per month. The initial challenge is to rewire my brain to start delegating tasks that are easily done by someone else. I didn't think I needed help managing my calendar, but I have found that to be the easiest thing to surrender. And I'm surprised at how much less stress I feel about dealing with calendaring issues. Like I said, I'll do a comprehensive post down the road when I've used the service for a bit longer.

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Update on 4/3/13 (after 1 month of using): I'm even more amazed at how useful this service is. My virtual assistant has been given almost complete control over my calendaring, which makes my life a lot easier. She can call people to set up appointments for me and simply enter the event directly. She then emails me to let me know it's done.

Having a virtual assistant call or email folks who have forgotten to pay an invoice is a powerful way to send the message that you expect to get paid. There are so many other ways that a VA is useful, and no doubt each person will have different needs and find different benefits. I'd say for many solo and small firm lawyers this is a great way to hire a part-time, tech-savvy, well-trained "employee." If you don't like the service you just cancel it. Much easier than how it works with "real employees."

Update on 4/10/13 - My friend Megan Hargroder got a Zirtual Assistant, and her blog post offers more reasons why this kind of thing is packed with potential for most solo and small firm folks.

Security analysis for lawyers: poor, to fairly cloudy

Hardly a day goes by that a lawyer, or a security expert talking to lawyers, doesn’t suggest that “Dropbox is too flawed for lawyers to use.” People who demonize Dropbox (or any cloud service) often offer a flood of verbiage, but rarely offer a balanced, thoughtful assessment. And they almost never offer realistic solutions.

I was recently directed to this ‘securityblawg’ post, because it was proudly cited by a lawyer concerned about Dropbox. The post, drones on for 2,862 words before noting “[u]ltimately, every lawyer will need to make his or her own decision about the appropriateness of using Dropbox for client work.” And then it recommends, of course (since it’s written by a security firm), that lawyers should “encrypt sensitive information before placing it on Dropbox.”

Right. That’s sort of a given. Did we need almost 3,000 words to support that advice?

You rarely hear security experts begin a blog post by pointing out an ironclad security principle: no security system is perfect, and the attempt to craft “perfect security” invariably leads to minimal usability (see e.g. Get Smart’s depiction of the problems with the Cone of Silence for a goofy parody that actually illustrates the point perfectly).

You rarely hear security experts begin by conceding another “security fact of life”: namely, that if a hacker or some evil doer is intent on getting into your data, then the odds are, with enough time, they will.

The way that lazy, marginally-skilled hackers get into your data is typically not through Dropbox, or any other cloud-provider’s failings, but through social-engineering or guessing your bad passwords. Or just camping out at a place where lots of people with bad security habits tend to frequent.

Let’s ask questions that get to the heart of the most common security problems. Here’s a few, and I submit these should be required to be discussed before answering any question that comes up about Dropbox. For example…

How many lawyers out there log into secure accounts while using the free Wi-Fi at a local coffee shop? How many click on links in emails that say “Is this really a picture of you?!!” How many use an easy-to-guess password? How many don’t bother to log out of their office computer while they go to lunch? How many leave it open overnight? How many use the same easy-to-guess password for all their online accounts? How many lawyers use one of the 25 most common passwords, such as “password” or “123456”?

Answer: probably lots. So, let’s not waste words on mumbo jumbo. Let’s get real.

Security is about making assessments, and weighing risks, benefits, and contexts. There is no “one size fits all solution” for security. In the end, the security gurus will wind up saying “it depends.” Some will say this after thousands of words that they copy and paste from prior articles; because they always say the same thing. And they usually end with “and make sure you encrypt your sensitive data.” But what about putting serious security problems in a larger context?

The cloud is only one context; we don’t talk about the ones that have always been problematic, and which are actually the most insidious problems, because we’re too busy obsessing about “the cloud.” What about old-fashioned security mishaps?

For example, I know an attorney who talked on a cellphone with his client about case strategy, while standing next to an opposing counsel in an airport gate. I know because I was that opposing counsel. And, for what it’s worth, I walked away so I wouldn’t hear his conversation. Sometimes ‘not listening’ is the right thing to do.

Conversely, when most people hear about common security problems, and what it takes to address them, they don’t walk away. And they don’t listen.

You can rail about Dropbox and the cloud all you want. The real security problems lie not in the clouds, but in ourselves.

Bar associations should pay attention to comment spam from law-related websites

In addition to this blog I also have one called PDF for Lawyers. Back in October of 2010 I put up a short post called Do More with Acrobat; it’s not that hard. I have comments enabled, but that’s not a post that many people wanted to comment on. Until a few minutes ago.

I got a notification that some entity wanted to post the following comment:

I am very much interested to have every bit knowledge about Acrobat.But the link you have provided with this post is not working.I was curious to know more things i can do with Acrobat.

There was a link in the referenced PDF for Lawyers post, and it is indeed no longer working. But the commenter wasn’t really as much interested in giving me useful information as he/she/it was in seeding my site with a link back to the online referral mill listed in the image capture below:

The company running it is creating comment spam as a way of boosting their ratings; it’s likely that Google will eventually figure it out and penalize the site in its rankings. Once Google penalizes a site it’s as good as invisible. But meanwhile there’s other folks that should take note.

For example, the Mississippi Bar Asociation should also check into this company. It’d be nice to find out which lawyers are using them, and whether those lawyers know that the company is engaging in shameful behavior. If they don’t know, then why not? Did the lawyers just hire some SEO expert and not ask any questions? Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean the lawyers should not be held accountable.

You can be sure that this is happening in every state in the country. And every state bar association should spend a little time trying to get to the root of this kind of comment spam. Or they should if they care about how the legal profession might be perceived by people who use the Internet.

Your cleverly casual profile picture is totally unhelpful. Seriously.

I'm not one to lecture people away from being "down to earth" or "casual and friendly," but lately I've been itching to tell people who have "cutesie" profile pictures that it's probably not a good idea. You know, the picture of them and their wife, or their boyfriend, or dog, or the college rugby team. 

Such a small thing, you say. What is the problem with this?

Nothing at all, if the profile picture was going to be viewed only by people who already know them. But it's not. These days you have to account for the following harsh truth: something you put out there for one group, and with one purpose, will probably be seen by an entirely different set of people, and used in a way you hadn't contemplated.

Let me give you an example.

My iPhone's contact list pulls data from, among other places, Facebook. The profile pictures that accompany most of the people in my address book come, in many cases, from Facebook. I can't say for sure where they come from exactly, but I know that the pictures are chosen by the contact person themselves and not by me.

Let's say I need to send contact information from my contact list to a new business prospect. My usual routine is to send a vCard by email from my iPhone. I tend to do that very quickly without thinking much about it. So I probably wouldn't notice that my old friend has a weird profile picture. Which means that's what might show up when I send the business prospect the vCard.

Maybe it won't matter you say, if you're one of those who wants to keep your cute profile picture. Maybe it won't. But maybe you haven't thought about all the ways that your profile picture will be used in scenarios you hadn't contemplated.

I like to keep things simple. A profile picture should let people know what you look like so they can remember you, or know who to look for when you meet for the first time in a coffee shop or other public place. A profile picture shouldn't be stuffy and formal, but it shouldn't be so casual that it sacrifices some other desirable aspect. There is nothing wrong with a nice close up of your face, taken in a casual setting. 

But a profile picture of you with your four best friends from high school isn't going to help me remember you or find you in a crowded coffee shop. Just saying'...

How can we improve social media reviews of hotels?

I came to New York to help my daughter get set up in Brooklyn, where she’ll be going to college for her last year. I decided to stay at a Hotel Indigo, which is not “officially open” but got pretty good Yelp reviews. I have been taking notes so that I can post my own Yelp review, and at the same time I’ve been pondering what would I like to see in a Yelp review?

Many reviewers simply provide a narrative of their bad or good experiences, without any attempt at a coherent overview. Since I’ve been thinking about it in a deeper-than-usual way, here are some things I think belong in a hotel review:

• What is the signal strength of your cell carrier like? For example, I get great LTE coverage at my hotel when I’m in my 14 floor room, but no LTE coverage in the 2nd floor lounge. My carrier is Verizon; others would want to know what AT&T’s signal is like (ditto T-Mobile etc.)
• What’s the exercise room like (what equipment etc)? I have taken a couple of pictures of the exercise room on my iPhone and will post those with my review. I took pictures not just of the equipment, but also the bookcase that has yoga mats, hand weights and towels, so that people can get an idea of those small amenities.
• What are the other common areas like? Is the Wi-Fi good? Is the lounge area enjoyable to hang out in, or are there TVs blaring noise and kids running amok?
• What was room rate did you pay? I am paying $109/night because I’m staying at the Indigo for 4 nights. Perhaps the fact that it’s not “officially open” is a factor. It’s January and not a busy time, so that’s definitely a factor. So it’d be nice if people said (1) what rate they paid; (2) how they got that rate, and if it was a busy time for the property.
• Do the rooms have convenient electrical outlets for charging phones, computers, tablets etc? What features show that the hotel operators have upgraded to make the place “tech-friendly”? The Indigo, for example, has an alarm clock that lets you charge your iPhone or iPod and play music through the speaker. They also have really crisp HD channels on their ultra-sleek flat screen TVs.

Things I don’t really want to hear much about are problems that aren’t likely to come up often, like your room wasn’t ready on time and you had to wait 30 minutes. It’s fine if people mention those things in passing because it is a flag that can be compared with other reviewers who mention the same thing. But making small annoyances the centerpiece of a hotel review are low value to others.

Bottom line: we can all probably do a better job of reviewing places if we think about things more from the perspective of what future visitors might appreciate knowing. What kinds of things might those be? I don’t have a definitive answer. Perhaps your comments below would be helpful in figuring that out.

New Years - Resolutions and Random Initiatives

 I’m not big on formal New Years’ resolutions. But, I like to take stock of ideas I found interesting last year, and ones I am intrigued by now. Often these ideas come from books, or are embodied in them.

Books I enjoyed last year:

• Heads in Beds - snarky, insightful account of a young man’s ascendancy in the hotel business. He starts in New Orleans and moves up to New York, and has many interesting adventrues and encounters. He’s an amazing writer, but in addition to being entertaining, he offers practical advice on how to get good deals at hotels.
• No Easy Day - First hand account of the raid that found and killed Osama bin Laden. It was riveting, but the big surprise was the account of how Seals are trained, and how they move up to become members of Team Six. These guys must be the most well-trained athletes in the world.
• The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden by Mark Bowden - I read this right after No Easy Day because it provided detail on how we figured out where bin Laden was. The surprise from this book is learning about the technology related to drones and information sifting.

Books I plan to read this year (or have already started):

• To Sell is Human - by Dan Pink - I always enjoy his take on things. Pink effectively argues that more of us now need to “move” people to adopt our ideas and proposals (e.g. a form of "selling"). Lawyers “sell” ideas or arguments, so this book is relevant to them, and I’m finding lots of good information here on how to be more persuasive.
• The Art of Explanation - by Lee Lefever. The author is the founder of CommonCraft.com, a company that helps companies explain their products by using short videos that make use of visuals. Dropbox is one of their clients and you can see Lefever’s handiwork if you watch the Dropbox video his company created. This book is a great primer on how to explain things better. I’m surprised at how much I am learning, mostly by simply becoming aware of how great explanations work.

New ideas and tools I’ll be paying more attention to:

• Mindmapping - I’ve used these for a few years now, but not extensively. This year I feel like I’ll be mindmapping pretty much every day. The trick will be to develop a workflow that lets me create and tweak my maps from anywhere, and on any device (e.g. computer, iPad, or iPhone).
• Presenting from an iPad - I love walking up to a podium to do a presentation with just my iPad. If I’m standing at a podium it’s really the easiest tool to set up and present from. The only limitation is that once the Keynote slidedeck gets too large it won’t work; and my slidedecks often contain lots of video clips. But if the presentation is not too large it’s the easiest way to present from a podium.
• Webinars - I love doing live CLE seminars. It’s great to get immediate facial feedback, and also I like the social interaction after the event. But the fact is: a lot of what I talk about could be explained better if the audience was at their own computer as I did a live demo from my computer. This is what webinars are optimal for, and I think they’re a great compliment to live seminars. Or they can be useful in their own right. The trick is for potential audience members to know how to log into a webinar, which I think most people now know how to do.

Anyway, that’s part of my list of books and tools I’ll be focused on next year. What about you? What are you reading or trying to learn?

Let your computer or phone type for you: it's like having superpowers!

If you hate typing with a computer keyboard, I feel your pain. Even if you can type pretty well it’s frustrating to have to key in your thoughts. Why can’t you just speak to your device and have it type for you?

 

Well, odds are you now have a phone that can. Your computer can definitely do it, but you may need to buy some software. Either way, the key point here is this: you have this ability lurking around you; the barrier to using it is your failure to take advantage of speech recognition software.

 

Let me help you over the hump. I have experience with this hump, and I know it’s not so much of a tech-barrier as it is a human-nature thing.

 

Most of us think that, since speech-recognition is so magical, it should be really easy to adopt. It’s not, because you still have to learn to issue forth the proper commands. So it’s still a little like learning to use a keyboard. The trick is to persist until you get comfortable enough not to have to think too much about how you dictate.

 

If you have one of the recent edition iPhones then you can start by using the free Dragon Dictation app, or the Google Search app (click here for a 50 second demo video) Apple’s Siri is promising but still too unreliable, and nowhere near the Google app. Other smartphones, such as Android phones, have had speech recognition for even longer. Start using your phone to practice using dictation. You’ll only be allowed to say basic things, like a phrase, followed by some punctuation: “period, comma, new line, new paragraph.”

 

After you master those commands, work up to using commands that invoke capitalization (e.g. “all caps” or “Cap that”). If you can find a master list of the acceptable commands print it out, and resolve to learn a few new commands each week.

 

You’ll also have to develop a way of handling mistakes, but that’s part of the learning curve too. If you can get past the common problems you’ll soon find yourself dictating easily and often. At that point you’re probably ready to start using a full-fledged speech recognition program on your computer. The best one to get is the basic one called Dragon Naturally Speaking, by Nuance. They have a Mac version called Dragon Dictate. The Mac version is $129, and the PC version is about $60 and is much more evolved.

 

You don’t need the fancy “legal version,” just the basic one. What you most need after that is some practice. If you stick with it you’ll soon find yourself blasting out text like a super-human. Believe me, it’s a good feeling. Just make sure you use your superpowers for good, and not evil.

 

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It's the trade-offs, stupid

Technology always involves tradeoffs. Every tool created by humans has situational strengths and situational weaknesses. The trick is to figure out how to balance the risks with the rewards. Then you can make intelligent decisions about how to use technology.

Consider, for example, the question of computer security. Is it safe to use a computer that’s connected to the internet? Depends. If you don’t know how to avoid scams, and you leave the computer open to hackers, then it’s not safe. The hackers are getting smarter, and the scams are getting more clever. But most users are plodding along with the same mindset, generally they’re lax about security. More to the point: they don't understand how to properly assess risk and reward in the digital world.

Why would so many people use passwords like “password” or “123456”? It's because they just want their lives to be easy and believe that picking a simple password is the easy way to remember it. In other words, they’ve traded off easy-to-achieve security for lazy simplicity.

I have a very successful friend who’s made loads of money investing in hundreds of large-scale international businesses. I don’t know anyone better able to weigh the complex risks and rewards inherent in deciding whether to invest in a large company. However, when it comes to assessing simple trade-offs involved in using his trusty laptop computer, he’s completely naive and vulnerable.

For example, my friend can’t make a basic decision about his email. His IT guy set him up with a shared account on an Exchange server. And the IT guy charges him a too much money (according to my friend) to just manage his email. My friend says his Mac-based Outlook program runs slow and constantly spins a beach ball. So, sensing that I know something about technology, he asks me what he should do.

I ask him a few questions about what he wants from an email program. He says his number one priority is to be able to search his 10 years of old emails (which his IT guy reports is 7 GBs of data). He says his old emails are like his filing cabinet of key information from all the business deals he's done. He says it's vital that he be able to quickly search his old emails.

I know what I’d recommend to him, but I tell him to talk to my friend Paul, a smart guy who does tech consulting but doesn't charge too much money. 

Paul tells him that he should migrate his old emails to Google Apps and pay $50/year instead of the many hundreds of dollars he’s now paying. The effect would be (1) save money, and (2) be able to search old emails with the power of Google. This is what my friend said he wanted. After listening to Paul explain the rough method by which the migration would take place I tell him I agree with Paul.

And it seems like my friend is now on the path to a better "email finding system." My friend tell his IT guy what he plans to do, and that he wants him to work with Paul to get it done.

At first, The IT guy says fine.

A few days later, however, he sends an email to everyone (copying me as well) explaining the negatives of “having a cloud based email system,” and of “not having complete control over it.” The IT guy tells him that with Google’s cloud-based email he won’t be able to work on emails while he’s flying. My friend can’t reconcile the negative tradeoffs he’s hearing about from his IT guy with the recommendations he’s getting from Paul. He becomes exasperated and annoyed with everyone for not being able to give him what he wants. He demands that action be taken immediately to end his spinning beach balls.

I read the flurry of emails going back and forth and wince, glad that I am not an IT guy who has to work with people who rely technology, but don't want to do anything to understand it—folks who just want to issue orders, and expect results.

My friend's problem is a common one among tech-unsavvy folk: he wants incompatible things. He wants a result that is the product of no tradeoffs. He doesn’t understand how cloud-based email works, even if it's explained to him several times. My friend (even with access to top-notch advisors) isn’t competent to make basic decisions about his technology, not even the simple stuff that most 15 year olds figure out for themselves. 

Awhile back, my wife set my friend up with a password management program. She explained to him the importance of using tool that would allow him to have strong passwords, and the simplicity of working off of one master password. She set it up for him and then trained him to use it. He tried it for awhile but complained constantly that the program wasn't working properly.

He quickly gave up on the program because he found it too difficult. I’m not sure how he manages his passwords now, but I hope he’s picked something more secure than a phrase that's in every hacker’s “dictionary attack file.” I hope that, but I really don’t expect it. My friend doesn’t understand how to parse tradeoffs that apply to computer technology.

In short, he's the guy at the poker table wondering who the sucker is. Except the poker table is connected to the Internet, and has millions of players. And that's a really dangerous place to be if you don't know how to make sound technology decisions.

My upcoming Louisiana CLE seminars (Baton Rouge & New Orleans)

I'll be doing three live, all-day CLE programs in late December: one in Baton Rouge and two in New Orleans. Each program is 6 hours of CLE credit, with 1 hour of Ethics and 1 hour of Professionalism. If you want to sign up use the promo code ERNIEATTORNEY to save 10% off the price of the program.

Here's a brief summary of the programs.

Digital Lawyering & Tech Tips (Baton Rouge) - Click to Sign-Up

When: Friday (Dec 21st) - 6 hours total CLE (1 hr Ethics; 1 hr Professionalism; 4 hrs LPM)

Executive summary: All lawyers will learn how to use technology to work more productively while out of the office, and to more efficiently handle email in and out of the office. Litigators will learn how to gather information (including social media information), and to better organize that information. All lawyers will learn to avoid ethical problems and how to present a more professional online appearance to potential clients and others. We'll also cover the latest law-related tech tools, and tell you which ones are truly useful and reliable, and easiest to use.

Digital Lawyering & Tech Tips (New Orleans) - Click to Sign-Up

When: Thus (Dec 27st) - 6 hours total CLE (1 hr Ethics; 1 hr Professionalism; 4 hrs LPM)

Executive summary: All lawyers will learn how to use technology to work more productively while out of the office, and how to more efficiently handle email in and out of the office. Litigators will learn how to gather information (including social media information), and to better organize that information. All lawyers will learn to avoid ethical problems and how to present a more professional online appearance to potential clients and others. We'll also cover the latest law-related tech tools, and tell you which ones are truly useful and reliable, and easiest to use.

Paperless Lawyering & Tech Tips (New Orleans) - Click to Sign-Up

When Friday (Dec 28st) - 6 hours total CLE (1 hr Ethics; 1 hr Professionalism; 4 hrs LPM)

Executive summary: All lawyers will learn how to lessen the reliance on paper, and to set up systems that allow them to work with documents more efficiently while out of the office. We'll explain how to create complex documents more easily, ways that allow those documents to be reused later as forms. Litigators will learn to be more effective in advocacy by using tools that help them create compelling visual presentations. We'll finish with a rapid-review of interesting tech tools, focusing on the ones that actually help you get more done in less time, with less stress. 

Email Efficiency Tricks & E-Discovery Tips

Do you use email and practice law? Do you wish that you had some magic ways of making your email easier to deal with? Do you fear having to deal produce or request emails in a lawsuit? Do wish someone would just demystify the tech issues and give you some straight-forward answers?

If you’re a New Orleans lawyer (or live within driving distance), you should consider coming to the next CLE seminar that we’re doing. For those who have been to our CLE seminars you know that we don’t have the usual lame presentation. People who come to our seminars pay attention and ask great questions. Our seminars are informative and fun. Crazy, I know. But true.

The 3 hour seminar we’re doing on Friday afternoon of October 19th is going to be another one of those seminars. What kinds of things might you learn? Here are some questions we plan to answer:

• How can you make it so that the only emails that show up in your inbox during the day are from people that you actually need to do work for?
• What happens to the non-essential emails, and how can you easily process them as well? (The answer to both questions is part of the same trick, and it’s a game-changer).
• If you blind carbon a bunch of people on an email can they look at the metadata and discover who else was bcc’d?
• If you’re doing E-discovery and want to get the metadata associated with email is that going to cost more money? And, if so, how much more money?
• Does it make sense for lawyers to use cloud-based email services such as the ones provided by Google (and, more recently: Microsoft)?
• What ethical pitfalls are most likely to happen when lawyers use email, and is there an easy way to avoid those problems?

These questions and many more (including any you bring to the seminar) are going to be answered. All you have to do is sign up. For more information (and to sign up), click here. In addition to great information you’ll also get 3 hours of CLE credit, including an hour of Ethics credit.

Sudden catastrophes, and why hyperlocal news coverage beats traditional reporting

Put a stake in the ground: we now live in an era where aspects of the "journalistic balance of power" have shifted.

I was in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and blogged about it. My blog posts were of limited value to most people, but for those who knew I lived in New Orleans and had a blog they were apparently very helpful. But back then things were very different than they are just seven years later.

Back in 2005 there was no iPhone, and the "smartphones" that existed didn't have useful cameras if they had them at all. Twitter didn't exist in 2005 and Facebook was just getting off the ground. Use of mobile internet was also not available.

Today we live in a world where iPhones (and similar high-caliber smartphones) are everywhere. Those mobile devices are connected to high-speed wireless networks that reach everywhere, and the people who own those devices know how to do a lot of things with them: text message, tweet, post to Facebook, upload pictures or video, and gather useful information from other similarly armed citizens.

The excellent website, Uptown Messenger, run by Robert Morris has done a fantastic job of keeping tabs on events affecting the Uptown area of New Orleans. During Hurricane Isaac his coverage has been peerless. The Times Picayune has to cover a much larger swath of the city, and the same is true for the TV stations. Their coverage is useful for getting a general sense of events affecting the metro area, but not as useful for getting detail about Uptown New Orleans.

Robert Morris has a background in journalism, so he brings that experience to the job. But he also knows how to gather information from other citizens who have smartphones and familiarity with Twitter. This morning a popular local bar called Fat Harry's had a fire. Robert's twitter post (with picture) was uploaded at 8:32 am. The Times Picayune website has a short story posted 30 minutes later, with a similar picture. The local CBS TV affiliate noted the story about Fat Harrys in a Twitter post, citing @UptownMessenger as the source.

When a local state congressman named Neil Abramson decided to drive around and post useful updates using Twitter, Robert Morris began retweeting his posts. Robert Morris has (at this writing) 3,188 followers on Twitter and Neil Abramson has 1,125.

But it's not about how many followers you have. Just as it's not about how many reporters you have on staff or how many watts your TV or radio transmitter has. The question is: who can quickly provide useful information in a time of crisis? If you live in Uptown New Orleans during and after Hurricane Isaac the answer is: Robert Morris. Look at his map of power outages in Uptown New Orleans, which is created using actual users tweeting about which locations have power and which don't.

Entergy's power outage map, on the other hand, has been criticized for inaccuracy (see sample tweets below).

Uptown Messenger's outage map has been much more accurate than Entergy's map, even though the power company should have better information about where power is available. Is this because Entergy can't provide better information on a timely basis, or that it isn't interested in doing so? Doesn't matter. We now know who can, and will.

After the chaos of Hurricane Isaac is forgotten Robert Morris will probably provide relentless hyperlocal coverage of Uptown New Orleans. He seems to have figured out how to monetize this effort. The larger news organizations don't have the desire (or maybe even ability) to do hyperlocal news well. When the next local crisis event breaks out, I'll be tuning in for Robert Morris's coverage of it. And, like many other Uptown residents, I'll be helping him in any way I can.

Social Media in Lawsuits: Antigone Peyton & I discuss on a legal podcast

From tweets to Facebook updates, social media is rapidly dominating how people communicate with others around the globe. And it’s becoming a significant force in lawsuits, leaving a vapor trail of critical evidence that pleases some lawyers and confounds others. Attorneys Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi interviewed Antigone Peyton and me about the growing role that social media is playing in litigation. The podcast is 30 minutes long, and at the end Antigone and I announced our new project. What’s it about? Well, give a listen (hint: it has to do with social media and lawsuits).

What's time to a pig? Or how to learn to be super-efficient with technology?

In our fast-paced society it's not suprising that there is a thing called speed-dating. Some people claim that it's actually more efficient than regular dating. Who knows if it produces long-lasting results? It doesn't seem to produce worse results than regular dating. So if it's faster, that's good.

In the world of technology, what's the equivalent of speed-dating? It's probably the temptation to download any new piece of software that's got a free 30 day trial (and don't they all have that now?). I've been a practitioner of this for many years, and I can say it's not the most efficient way to find truly useful technology tools. But it is a great way to stay informed of what the latest hot tools are.

For those of you who actually want to get work done, that's not useful.

There's a better technique. It takes more time, and effort, but it is the one way I've found that has helped me find truly useful technology tools.

Here's the better way: find a select group of well-informed tech folks who do the aforementioned experimenting, and who write about what truly impresses them. Finding these folks takes time, but once you've got a core group of, say, 5 or 6 people who are sensible, and who have exacting standards, you're ready for the next phase (which is the easy part).

Wait and see if there is some new tech tool that these folks all agree is amazing (if one person in the core group doesn't comment that's okay; as long as they don't shoot it down). Once you get a strong consensus from that group you start experimenting with that technology. Now, here comes the hard part again.

The kinds of technology that I've found most useful as a result of this method, almost always, is something that I have trouble understanding. And I often don't "get it" until I've made several tries, or really spent time digging into how the program works. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that a core group of really well-informed and exacting technology observers are using the tool and all say it's radically improved how they process information.

Here's a list of some of those tools that I've found, and which have radically improved my processing of information. Most of these tools you will have either not heard of, or tried and not found useful (or comprehensible) the first time you tried it. But trust me, these tools are ones that my core group of tech gurus uniformly adopted and found incredibly helpful.

• Wi-Fi (yeah, we all get it now. But there was a time when few people thought this would be useful, or understood how to use it).
• Mindmaps - very few people who aren't techies use them, but this is a poweful tool that I struggled to understand over a long time. Once I understood how to use mindmaps it changed my writing and brainstorming process in amazing ways. There are lots of mindmapping programs for Windows, Mac, and iOS devices. Pick one you like and stick with it. Which program you use doesn't matter.
• Casemap - this is a case management tool for lawyers who try cases. There is no equivalent software, so it's the only Windows program I still use. Most lawyers have an incredibly hard time understanding how to use this program, even after they grasp its usefulness.
• Scrivener - this is sort of like a word-processor, and sort of like a project manager for writing projects. I can't explain Scrivener here so I won't try. Suffice to say if you write sophisticated documents (e.g. if you're a lawyer) then Scrivener can revolutionlize your life. Everyone who gets over the hump of figuring out how to use it finds it indispensible. I've tried to explain Scrivener to several intrepid tech-savvy lawyers and they've all dismissed it, and not learned to use it. Too bad. There are several lawyers out there who do use it (not because I convinced them) and they all rave about it too. Just saying...
• Text-expansion software - for Windows users this would be a program called Activewords; for Mac-users it would be TextExpander. You can try them for free and if you do you'll might catch the lightning, but many won't. Again, too bad. You're wasting a lot of time and failing to leverage an incredibly useful piece of technology. Oh well, what's time to a pig?
• Dual monitors - everyone who has them loves them. We've reached the point where it makes sense. Yes, you can buy a huge monitor (27" or 30") and accomplish the same effect, but for most people the solution is to have two separate defined workspaces for digital information.
• Omnifocus - a Mac-based task manager. It's better than Outlook, but if you are a windows user you're stuck with Outlook. Although, if you have an iPad you can probably just use the iPad version and do fine. Problem is you'll have to actually make the commitment to use it regularly because unless that happens you won't appreciate what it can do. Sort of a chicken & egg problem.

Most of those recommendations are software tools. Those tools either take a long time to learn how to use, or to just understand. The benefits come from building them into a regular habit. That's the thing that prevents their power from being easily grasped.

The best tech tools are the ones that highly productive people have adopted and all agree are powerful. They're not easily understood. But if you have a core group of tech-savvy and highly productive folks tell you they all agree a particular tool is amazing, why wouldn't you make the extra effort to try it?

I guess you want me to list the folks that are my "core group." I'm not going to because it doesn't matter to you. If you trust me and understand what I'm saying maybe you'll try some of those things listed above and make an extra effort to slog through the initial "I don't get it" period. Or you won't.

Doesn't matter to me if you miss out on a powerful tool. And if you try it and find it powerful don't thank me. You did all the work.

To go paperless with a Mac or iPad get this book

If you use a Mac you probably have an iPad. And probably, like many people with iPads, you’re thinking it’d be nice to be paperless. If so, then you need to order a copy of David Sparks new book (Paperless: The MacSparky Field Guide) right now. It’s available in the iBook Store for $9.99.

The book is a deep dive on paperless workflows for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. The book includes screenshots, interactive images, and short movies. Not only does this book tell you how to go paperless, it also shows you. Trust me, you can do a lot with this book. I can’t believe it only costs $10.

(Oh, and it’s a large file so don’t panic if it takes a little longer than usual to download).

Backing away (slightly) from being paperless

Handwritten stuff is helpful (and I say this despite being a “paperless fanatic”

I’ve been completely paperless for a really long time? How long? Since roughly 11110101001 or since about 1984 if you don’t speak digital. My life is almost completely devoid of paper. I reached a point where the only paper that came into my life was mail delivered through a door slot (where my terrier Buddy would then promptly shred it with his teeth).

Recently, however, I’ve taken to purchasing paper and writing on paper notebooks. I embarked on this process somewhat tentatively, mostly experimenting to see if it was helpful or detrimental. Short answer: it helps greatly in certain kinds of thinking and task management.

I first became curious about revisiting paper when I noticed that several serious techies that I read (follow or otherwise pay attention to) were talking about their Moleskines or their Field Notes. It was hard to get used to the idea of using paper for important ideas, but eventually it clicked. Once I “got it” things started to tumble into place.

I found that incubating ideas was easier, and more productive, when I used paper. Reviewing those ideas (at least the embryonic ones) seemed easier by using paper. There just seems to be something about putting pen to paper that lets ideas come out more readily. Is it because that’s our brains work? Or is it because that’s how the brains of people like me work (e.g. those who learned to write in cursive and have done so for many years)?

This article sheds some light I suppose, but the main proof for me is that using paper seems to enable a certain kind of expressiveness. True, I quickly get nervous if I accumulate too much paper. But I know how to deal with that problem easily, so I am keenly aware of when to shift things over to the digital realm.

One thing that I’ve found works best with paper is planning my day, and keeping track of things. I use Omnifocus to organize my to-dos, and other tools to capture general information (e.g. Notational Velocity and Evernote). Omnifocus is my “can’t live without it” resource for managing my tasks, and it syncs to all my devices. But I’ve learned to shift away from it in the daily planning.

I use Omnifocus to quickly review my list, but when it comes to planning my day I use a plain old to-do list. At first I used a simple notebook, but I recently discovered these tools and they’re even better. Bottom line: for me, writing things down and then keeping track of my daily list is more satisfying when done with paper.

I wonder if that’s true for other digirati who have managed to become largely paperless?

Heading off to TechShow - Hope to see you there!

I'm headed off to Chicago today to speak at the ABA TechShow, which is always exciting. I'll meet old friends, and make a bunch of new ones. Most of all, I'll relish hanging with lawyers who appreciate technology, and crave new information about how to make practical use of it in their law practice.

This year is special because both of my co-speakers are people that I've long admired, but never had the chance to present with: David Sparks and Antigone Peyton. On Thursday, Antigone and I will cover "Social Media for Litigators," which is a hot topic and ever-changing. On Friday, David and I will talk about how to be paperless using Mac computers. Both of these talks are going to be really special.

TechShow is an amazing event, and frankly it's impossible to convey how useful, entertaining and enjoyable it is. If you are a lawyer who owns a smartphone and a computer connected to the Internet then you should be here. If you own an iPad then for sure you should be here. The fastest way to learn how to use technology in your law practice is to come to TechShow. And it's the most fun too.

Two rules of efficiency & automation

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” – Bill Gates

Useful information for new iPad owners

The new iPad is coming out today, and no doubt a lot of lawyers will be getting one. For some of those lawyers this will be their first iPad. For those lawyers I recommend two books that they should purchase immediately.

1. Tom Mighell's iPad for Lawyers in One Hour for Lawyers (available: Apple iBook store). This is great for novice iPad users because it literally walks you through the basics in about one hour.
2. David Sparks' iPad at Work (available Apple iBook store). Not written specifically for lawyers, per se. But David Sparks is a lawyer and he used the iPad in his work, so all of his recommendations apply to lawyers. This is a must have book for anyone who owns an iPad.

For updated information on what legal apps to get (and other iPad and iPhone related news) you should subscribe to the email version of Jeff Richardson's iPhoneJD blog. Jeff practices commercial litigation in a large firm, and started his blog to discuss iPhone stuff, but everything he says (for the most part) is applicable to iPads. This is how you learn about what legal-specific apps are useful.

Josh Barrett's Tablet Legal is a good site too. As he said in a recent post, most lawyers will want at least the following two apps:

1. PDF Expert, and
2. DropBox

I'd add GoodReader as the number one app, and then whatever legal apps are relevant to your law practice (Tom Mighell's book will give you a good running start on those kinds of apps).

3 tips to reduce noise & simplify a complex world

1. Look for simple, but valuable, information inputs. If you want to improve your eating habits easily read Michael Pollan’s book Food Rules. If you want to learn how to communicate better (and get tuned into marketing in the social media world) read Seth Godin’s weblog. Find more books and websites like these.
2. Filter out the simplistic and low-value information sources: mainstream media such as network news or CNN. Try watching Charlie Rose and The Daily Show for a week instead of watching any traditional news and see how that feels. Notice how many interesting new books you’ll learn of by watching these shows (one of which is a “comedy show”).
3. Learn to communicate in new, more effective ways: read Dan Roam’s book The Back of The Napkin, or Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment.

Best of the 60 Tips presentation

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a 60 tips in 60 Minutes session with several good friends and follow law-techies. Even though I’ve done dozens of these 60 tips programs in the past few years, I always wind up learning something. Here are a few of the most interesting tips I picked up:

• Asana - An online collaborative project management tool, sort of like Basecamp, but free if you have less than 30 team members. This one was recommended by Catherine Reach Sanders (who just moved from the ABA Technology Resource Center to the Chicago Bar Association).
• Pathagoras - a document assembly tool that works with Word for Windows. It’s free to try for 90 days, and from what Jim Calloway described, it’s a powerful tool for transactional lawyers who create variations of form documents and need a tool that makes it easy to do this.
• How to create a Digital ID for using with Adobe Acrobat, which Nerino Petro says is a surefire way to have true digital signatures that actually get accepted by the recipient. I’m going to start using this for sure.
• Let Me Google That For You - I forgot about this one, but it’s a classic. If you’re adept at using Google but find that you get annoyed when people ask you for information that they could just as easily have googled themselves, you need to check it out. I won’t ruin it for you; just go do a sample search and you’ll see what this tool does.

If you want to see all the tips that we did, here’s the link to our presentation.