But you've convinced me I need to complete my LinkedIn profile that is woefully incomplete.

Not so important to my business nor, I believe, to most lawyers. They need (1) a good reputation among clients and lawyers and (2) to be noticed by potential clients.

I don't see how Twitter provides any paradigm-shifting benefits to either. It helps you connect in a near-real-time, highly personable manner to maybe a couple dozen people. For most people, it's microblogging, which is like blogging except without the benefit of showing any sort of expertise or ability, just endlessly links and pithy comments.

I can see the merits, but, well, I don't see it as a major part of a lawyer's marketing strategy.

Few thoughts responding to questions/concerns.

Twitter expands my influence way, way beyond those who twitter. 95% of the people in this country are influenced by 5% in their purchasing and decision making process. No question the info I share and word of me gets passed to people who do not use twitter from the people who do.

Business lawyers are getting business from meeting people on twitter. That's fact, not just rumor. One Milwaukee lawyer got 5 business clients in 6 weeks off twitter.

Twitter allows to meet with and network with lawyers and other business associates. I see a ton of personal and professional development taking place via discussions taking place on twitter.

In case on Bill Marler, a plaintiff's trial lawyer who does foodborne illness work, getting on Twitter, he had experts and government officials connecting with him on twitter within a day of when he started. He sees upside in that.

If I were still practicing, I would be sharing info and links to spread my brand as an authority in a niche and as a way to build a community of like minded people - clients, prospective clients, and influencers of those 2 groups.

Great summary. You know I am a big fan of Twitter. My one concern is its business model (or lack of one). They do not have any revenue and I have not heard of any model for generating revenue.

At some point in the near future, Twitter will change. I am on the ride for now.

As for ignoring other sites, I am more open than you. In part because a year ago I thought it was two modes: blogs and facebook. Twitter was less useful and LinkedIn was less dynamic. A year from now, our lists of top sites will probably be different again. (Except for blogs)

I enjoyed meeting and hearing you speak at the Get a Life conference in Chicago.

With regard to your position that 5% of the people influence the buying habits of the other 95%, I couldn't agree with you more. That pattern is what Malcolm Gladwell discusses in The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference. Specifically, he explains why word-of-mouth is so powerful an influence.

Many argue that the thought leaders across a wide range of disciplines are now using twitter to communicate and establish their reputation as a subject-matter expert.

Determining a metric to measure the ROI of social media may be difficult at this embryonic stage in its development. That said, few who make the necessary investment question its commercial value in establishing a professional on-line presence and creating a personal brand for their practice.