Why bother with a law blog?
“…[Y]ou know, it reminds you that you gotta pick important stuff, because you only have a limited time.”
This from Bill Gates in an ABC interview when asked about the impact Steve Jobs’ death had on Gates.
Well, it’s very strange to have somebody who’s so vibrant and made such a huge difference and been … kind of a constant presence, to have him die. It makes you feel like, ‘Wow, we’re getting old.’ I hope I still have quite a bit of time for the focus I have now, which is the philanthropic work. And there’s drugs we’re investing in now that won’t be out for 15 years — malaria eradication, I need a couple of decades here to fulfill that opportunity. But, you know, it reminds you that you gotta pick important stuff, because you only have a limited time.
Reading what Gates said reminded me that I need to make a difference while I am here, because I only have a limited amount of time. For me that’s using the Internet, this blog and social media today, to teach legal professionals how to leverage the net to make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others.
Maybe even see it through to the point where lawyers use the net in a way that improves legal services and the image of our profession as a whole.
Gate’s statement also reminded me about something which New York Attorney Scott Greenfield penned last December about the reason he blogs.
…I don’t write for the appreciation of lecturers or judges. I don’t write to impress potential clients with my expertise. If anything, this blawg chases clients away, fearful that I won’t love them as they want to be loved, that my lack of emotional devotion to lost causes, my refusal to engage in lies or deception will limit their likelihood of winning, my slavish adherence to integrity will thwart their dreams of pulling a win out of their butts.
Why does Greenfield blog?
I’m going to die one of these days. Maybe sooner rather than later, and likely sooner than most of my readers. I’ll be damned if I die without having anything to show I was here. I lack the skills to build the Taj Mahal, or write a symphony, or create a tourbillon. But I can type words onto a computer screen fast enough to put some ideas on virtual paper that serve to demonstrate, at least for a day, that I was here.
A Seattle lawyer, who recently met with LexBlog President, Kevin McKeown, let Kevin know at the end of their meeting that he was inclined to join the LexBlog Network and become a client. Not because the lawyer needed more work, but because the lawyer wanted to maintain his thought leadership status so as to advance certain issues in the law.
Most folks presume law blogs are about marketing one’s legal services. To get one up on the next guy. To get high search engine rankings. To increase visibility. You know what I mean.
That’s not always true. Some lawyers blog to leave a legacy. To make a positive dent in the world before they’re gone.
Stephen Covey, the author of the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says people are internally motivated by their own four needs: to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy.
Harmed with a law degree and being part of a what many still consider a noble profession, it seems to me that blogging to leave a legacy is a good enough reason to blog in and of itself.
Agree?