Wednesday, February 05, 2003 11:51 PM
The blawg concept, and the derivative technologies of weblogs in general, have great potential in the field of legal research. At the outset, blawg headline feeds offer an efficient and inexpensive means to notify a large audience of a research question or need. These efficiencies will only increase as the methodologies for collecting, organizing and disseminating large volumes of content from worldwide blawg feeds are enhanced in the coming years.
Beyond the existing "Ask Jeeves" or "Google Answers" approach to research Q & A, the blawg feed concept lends itself to finding answers to unique questions in complex or arcane areas of law. For example If the world's leading experts on a given topic of law are spread across multiple continents, a widely disseminated blawg feed could serve to efficiently connect these individuals on a common question or issue. Or, in a more commonplace example, wide dissemination of a topical blawg feed could assist an attorney researching a novel topic in Washington in connecting with the law librarian in Texas who could point him/her to the best materials.
Judging from the early adopter positions of legal librarians and law professors, I expect that this category will be the first to truly leverage the information-sharing and collaboration benefits of blawgs. Moreover, the more technically-skilled individuals in the blawg community are already working to create new and better methods to collect and disseminate blawg content in an organized, topical, manner. Ultimately, when looking for first movers and trends, I think Research will be the area to watch closely. And, more to the point of this brief article, Research is clearly a valid and useful Purpose for Blawgs.
Purpose 2: Gaining New Clients
Bookmarks: Intro | Research | Gaining New Clients | Supporting Existing Clients | Marketing Lawyer Expertise
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