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Media : The value of the iPhone 6 Plus for lawyers

iphone 6plus
January 6, 2015

My iPhone 6 Plus arrived this afternoon. I’m in the late early adopter group — I want the new and shiny, but I’m not willing to wait in a line at the store or a month after ordering a device online.

I got the Plus because of media. The ability to consume media, the ability to share media, socially, and the ability to produce media.

I heard the arguments that it’s too large, it’ll bend, that it’ll look like you’re holding an iPad to your ear and that you just don’t need it — an iPhone 6 is fine. I still wanted the Plus for the media.

We’re all in the media today. You as a lawyer or legal marketing professional and me as the CEO of a company. We report and comment directly to our audience or we’ll not be heard. The days where reporters contacted us, though not completely over, are on the steep decline. The impact of public relations professionals getting us media coverage is also on the decline.

In addition to the change in who is a media producer, how the media moves has changed. An awful lot of media is distributed socially, from person to person, via blogs and social networks. Brand name media companies do not have near the distribution power. In fact they rely on everyday people like you and I to move their stories via social media.

If I can produce media and share media, I’m part of the media. If I do that on a niche, like good lawyers do, I get known, build relationships and build word of mouth. I’ll even get better at what I do by learning via my social network.

How does Plus help with this?

  • Great for reading, listening to, and watching media, whether via traditional sources (news sites), Twitter, Facebook, Twitter, RSS reader, podcasts or video sites. The interface, maybe a third larger than the iPhone 5S, is stunning. Easier and more enjoyable to read/view and easier to navigate. Flipboard, a popular news aggregator among lawyers,  is out of this world. No question I will read more on a smartphone than ever before.
  • Easier for sharing media, including blog posts, traditional news stories, Tweets, and Facebook posts. The larger size makes it easier to read and to key in text as you share items on social media and social networks.
  • Easier for engaging others on social networks. It’s this engagement which leads to relationships and a word of mouth reputation.
  • Easier for producing media (text/audio/video). I am doing this blog post in about 30 minutes on the Plus – admittedly with the help of an external keyboard. Blogging and editing posts on Plus will be easier yet as we upgrade our LexBlog network to a publishing interface with responsive design. Not only blog posts, content will be easier to produce on LinkedIn, Facebook and probably, Twitter.
  • Video production. I watched on Facebook a five minute video interview that tech evangelist and Rackspace startup liaison, Robert Scoble (@robertscoble), filmed last night at the Consumer Electronics Show. It was excellent. Robert confirmed my suspicion that the video was done on his Plus and uploaded with a brief post at Facebook video. My friend, Jake Ludington (@jakeludington), added that if I wanted greater sound quality, there was mic the size of the Plus I could plug right into the jack on the Plus. With a tripod I could even get into the frame. 2015 is being talked about as the year of video on social media – Plus can play a role.
  • Viewing video. Right or wrong, we’re creatures of video, we were brought up on television. With the step up in size, I expect to watch more video on my phone and that there will be more video to watch — especially brief video that will be prepared to share information, insight, and commentary.

I understand the Plus is not all alone in what my kids call the “phablet.” Other manufacturers have had large smartphones.

But Apple tends to deliver superior devices when it comes to the viewing and production of media. In addition, apps for the iOS operating system tend to be more plentiful and more innovative. It’ll be the upcoming apps for the Plus that make it even more valuable for social media.

I am not alone in the legal community. I saw a lawyer from an Am Law 200 firm on the ferry a few weeks ago with his Plus. I asked what he thought.

He explained that the firm gave the lawyers the choice of what they wanted. He said he had to have the Plus. “I read so much online on mobile devices. I am also sharing it with others. The larger interface was the big draw.”

Blogging about telephones for professional development (learning) and business development (relationships/reputation)? Does seem a bit crazy.

Perhaps not. A lot of us thought smartphones, all together, and large flat screen TV’s were crazy. Those things which bring value and improved quality of life we tend to use more. They tend to impact our lives — in a positive way.

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