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'...

Is social media useful in negotiations?

I often try to persuade lawyers and business professionals that social media is useful. I downplay the fact that social media is mostly used for random daily life observations; I emphasize that it’s a great research tool for investigative purposes.

Turns out, the trivial discussions can be helpful in negotiations. And this is a scientifically proven principle.

First, let’s review Twitter. Watch this excellent explanation of Twitter in Plain English by Lee Lefever of CommonCraft. He emphasizes the part that I’ve long downplayed—namely, that Twitter is a way to learn more about the people you know.

In the 2 minute video we are told that Carla didn’t know, until she started using Twitter, that her friend Steve in Seattle was a baseball fan. She didn’t know that Julia in London was reading a new investment book. And, until she started posting to Twitter, most of her friends didn’t know she had developed a passion for the music of Van Halen.

So what in the hell does this have to do with negotiation? The specifics of what Carla, Steve and Julia like has nothing to do with negotiation. But what if Carla and Steve didn’t know each other? And what if they were able to uncover a little about each other via social media tools like LinkedIn or Twitter?

How might that influence their email negotiation if they had to hammer out a deal? According to the principles of persuasion identified by Robert Cialdini, it might lower the chances of a deadlock from 30% to 6%. Cialdini is the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He is also the author of the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, a best-selling book that scientifically identified core principles of persuasion.

I recently had the chance to listen to him on a podcast with Dan Pink (author of To Sell is Human). In the podcast he cited a study that showed the importance of making small talk before engaging in a negotiation. Westerns tend to think this is unnecessary and inefficient (I would have been one of them). In fact, small talk not only helps build rapport, but also helps the participants identify similarities and common interests.

The study showed that email negotiations resulted in only 6% deadlocked situations when small talk and trivial information exchange happened first. That’s down from 30% without the trivial preliminaries.

The study didn’t involve social media. But obviously social media helps you understand (via seemingly unimportant trivia) what other people are interested in. And, if Cialdini is right (and he’s got data to back up his claims, so odds are he is) then it’s easy to see how social media can help fuel the kind of preliminary discussion that, in turn, leads to successful negotiations.

Interviewed by WVUE Fox8 News regarding social media legislation

I was interviewed by Evan Anderson for a TV segment on New Orleans’ Fox8 News regarding the recently enacted Louisiana law (Act 375), which prohibits online impersonation. The Act makes it illegal to:

• sign up for an email account, if
• you don’t have permission of the person in whose name the account is being created

The maximum fine is $1,000, and the maximum jail sentence is six months. It’s not a crime with harsh penalties, but it would seem to be pretty easy to prove.

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).

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.

Speaking at ABA TechShow next March - great topics & co-presenters!

I’m pleased to be invited back to speak at the American Bar Association’s TechShow next year (March 29–31, 2012). But I’m especially excited about my topics and co-presenters.

On Thursday, March 29th I’ll present “Social Media for Litigators” with Antigone Peyton. I saw Antigone present on a Social Media topic last year at TechShow and she was awesome! We ran into her afterwards in the speaker’s prep room had a great time chatting with her. She’s a super-smart lawyer who left her large firm to her own firm (about a year ago). She’s adept with technology, and she loves Mac computers. All of that will make it easier to develop a great presentation.

On Friday afternoon I’ll present “Paperless Productivity on a Mac” with David Sparks. I can’t say enough about how much I admire David, and how much I appreciate the opportunity to do a presentation with him. I discovered David’s Mac PowerUsers podcast a couple of years ago, and I’ve been listening to it regularly since then. David also has a great weblog, and he’s written two very useful books for us Mac lovers: Mac at Work, and iPad at Work, both of which I highly recommend. David is an amazing presenter as well, and so I can’t wait to do our session.

Hopefully, some of you lawyer blog-readers will be there too! Early bird pricing for TechShow ends in mid-February. I’d sign up now, and also see if you can guess the Keynote speaker (you have until tomorrow I think) so you can qualify for another discount.

The reasons to go to TechShow are many: (1) you’ll learn a lot about technology from lawyers who use it in their practices; (2) the speakers are excellent, and know how to explain technology; (3) the Expo is the best place to find new technology and sort through the stuff that is most relevant to your law practice; and (4) there are many opportunities to meet the speakers and other attendees, and thereby increase the circle of “tech-savvy lawyers” that you can later call upon to help you when you have questions about technology.

If you’re a lawyer who uses a computer and you want to learn how to use it better in your practice you should go to TechShow. I guess another way to put it is, “if you want to do a better job in your law practice and you own a computer and/or a smartphone you should go to TechShow.” Or if you can’t go send someone from your office.