On Oct. 14, 24 Hours of Rebels produced a live twitterview with early legal tech adopter and New York lawyer Nicole Black.

On Oct. 14, 24 Hours of Rebels produced a live twitterview with early legal tech adopter and New York lawyer Nicole Black.ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel Zahorsky interviewed Black via Twitter. Readers could follow along at @LawScribbler and @NikiBlack or by using the hashtag #RebelBlack.

Meet our guest:

Nicole Black is of counsel to Fiandach and Fiandach, in Rochester, N.Y. She co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a Thomson West treatise and writes a weekly column for the Daily Record. She is also the founder of lawtechTalk.com, a company that educates lawyers regarding technology issues and provides legal technology consulting services. Black publishes four legal blogs, including “Practicing Law in the 21st Century” and is a contributing blogger at Lawyerist.com.

Below is an archive of the twitterview:

@LawScribbler: We welcome legal technology consultant Nicole Black to a twitterview on the top things lawyers should know about social media.

@LawScribbler: Thank you for joining us today on Twitter as part of the ABA Journal’s 24 Hours of Legal Rebels.

@nikiblack: My pleasure. Looking forward to talking to you!

1. @LawScribbler: You’ve said ‘social media’ is a misnomer for web tools with user-generated content, such as Twitter? Why?

@nikiblack: Social” media is not only social. Online & prof’nal networking are not mutually exclusive-they overlap.

@nikiblack: Online connections are invaluable–connections w/ lawyers & non-attys lead to inc. exposure & new clients

2. @LawScribbler: What is the danger of labeling social media websites as fads that can be ignored?

@ nikiblack: The internet is not going away-Online interactions are the wave of the future-Lawyers ignore it at their own risk

@nikiblack: Social media is a phenomenon, not a fad. It changes the game–lawyers must, at the very least, understand it

3. @LawScribbler: Why should lawyers develop goals for their social media platforms, rather than hop online and see what happens?

@nikiblack: W/out goals, lawyers will make a few half-hearted attempts to use soc med, see no results, & give up.

@nikiblack: If you have goals in mind, effectively choose & interact on suitable soc med platforms, your efforts will pay off

4. @LawScribbler: What are some common goals lawyers have in terms of developing a presence on social media sites?

@nikiblack: Soc med goals 4 lawyers: 1) increase online presence, get better SEO, bring in clients 2) network 3) press ops

@nikiblack: Soc med goals 4 lawyers 4) showcase legal expertise, writing skills & knowledge 5) get info. for law practice #rebelblack about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

5. @LawScribbler: Are different sites and tools better-suited for different goals? How do lawyers choose which ones to embrace?

@nikiblack: LinkedIn is online resume & networking, Facebook-staying on the radar of ppl you know, blogs-showcase skills, SEO

@nikiblack: Twitter–gain info, network w/ innovators, create niche for yourself, share knowledge, target nat’l client base

6. @ LawScribbler: What is the best way for lawyers to learn about the numerous social media sites available?

@nikiblack: Research online–read articles & blogs. Or, read book @carolynelefant & I are writing abt soc med for lawyers;)

@nikiblack There are also soc med consultants, should u feel that it’s not effective 4 u to be using ur time for research

@nikiblack I’ve written many useful article abt soc med 4 lawyers-you can find them here: http://bit.ly/3C2WY

7. LawScribbler: How often should lawyers check and update content on different social media sites?

@nikiblack: Varies from person to person & platforms used. Best estimate–anywhere from 15-60 min. per day…

@nikiblack: Blogs take the most time per post, but u need not update them more than 1X per week to be effective #rebelblack

@nikiblack: Other platforms can be maintained by visiting 1X per day, replying to posts, etc. That takes less time.

8. @LawScribbler: What’s your response to lawyers who say they don’t have time to update a blog, Twitter feed, Facebook profile, etc.

@nikiblack: Fine, as long as they’ve made educated choice to ignore soc med, rather than one based on fear & misinformation

@nikiblack: Those who understand soc med realize that some participation is necessary & will pay off if targeted effectively

@nikiblack: For some law practices, soc med simply may not be very effective, but for most, it can help increase business

9. @LawScribbler: Do you have particular law practices in mind regarding the effectiveness of social media?

@nikiblack: No matter what ur practice, soc med can help inc. business-for some more so than others-nat’l client base for eg.

10. @LawScribbler: Is it OK for lawyers to let professional and social interactions overlap online

@nikiblack: Prof’nal & personal should overlap-it’s the most effective way to use soc med-makes lawyers more approachable

@nikiblack: Ppl want to hire other ppl-they want to hire lawyers they can relate to, not stand-offish, unapproachable ppl

12. @LawScribbler: What are some guidelines lawyers should follow when sharing their personal interests on social media websites?

@nikiblack: The mundane is useless. Share interests ur passionate abt-one’s potential clients & other attys can relate to.

@nikiblack: Good examples-sports-hobbies like cooking, wine, woodworking-funny stories abt ur life are ok in small doses

@LawScribbler: Thank you @nikiblack for joining us to share your insights as part of the ABA Journal’s 24 Hours of Legal Rebels.

@nikiblack: It was a pleasure. Thanks for the insightful questions as well.