To Ernie Svenson, Blogging is ‘Largely a Selfish Activity’

Ernie Svenson
Photo by Jackson Hill/Southern
Lights Studio

Ernie Svenson
Ernie the Attorney, ernietheattorney.net
Solo practitioner, Svenson Law Firm, New Orleans

Svenson’s Ernie the Attorney blog is a blogroll favorite, whether for his aw-shucks, down-to-earth style or the fact that he blogged his way through two major hurricanes—first Katrina, then Gustav.

By the time of Gustav, Svenson had graduated from a structured blog format to microblogging via cell phone and text on Twitter. That way, even when his power was out and Internet access limited, he could post updates by using text-messaging features.

It was shortly after Katrina, and his harrowing escape from the city center after levees failed, that Svenson decided to hang his own shingle after nearly two decades of midsize-firm practice.

As with the blogging, he went solo in 2002. His practice is built on the principle that to be successful one must embrace change, and look at the world and issues with fresh eyes to find hidden advantages, as well as properly assess risk. But Svenson acknowledges that blogging isn’t for everyone.

“If you aren’t driven to blogging on your own, then you aren’t going to find it satisfying and you’ll probably stop doing it and conclude that it was a waste of time,” he says.

For the blogging-inclined, he offers this advice: “Explore the world of blogs and get a sense of what people are doing, hopefully with this result: You see that many things are possible, and that there are a wide variety of voices. Find something you feel passionate about and see if you can explore it in a unique way.”

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