Staying competitive as a law firm is likely your prime goal each year as you realize how ubiquitous the profession continues being. While you've perhaps managed to differentiate yourself from others through niche legal expertise, you still need to stay on top of legal trends to expand your knowledge and find clients.
Many attorneys have turned to social media in the last few years to market themselves, find clients, and follow discussions on the most interesting legal topics. Out of all, though, Twitter seems to stay a leader in being the most informative in real-time.
What makes this the most useful is the hashtag, which evolved from being a pound or number sign a generation ago to a symbol of social media sharing. Getting there, however, was a slightly circuitous path.
If you've put off using Twitter for legal research, it's time you learned about how the hashtag developed. You'll want to know how to use that and other Twitter features to find the latest legal information to help you stay one step ahead.
How The Hashtag Developed Into A Powerful Symbol
Even before the hashtag became what it is now, the “#” symbol already had several meanings, depending on what country you were in. For a time, it became a pound because it related to a weight measurement. It also became a number sign due to confusion over the British sterling.
Later, it became a tool used by computer programmers. This started the path toward use on Twitter, despite some initially objecting based on possible confusion. The first use of a hashtag on Twitter was in 2007 by a social technology expert named Chris Messina. He and a blog-writer named Stowe Boyd get the credit to this day for getting the hashtag ball rolling.
Regardless, it was daily news that made the hashtag relevant. The earliest use of these started with San Diego wildfires and a political energy bill in the fall of 2007. It kept people in the know about what was happening, at least in the U.S. Then it became a worldwide phenomenon when events like the Arab Spring occurred.
Maybe your law firm started on Twitter only within the last few years. If so, you're probably wondering how the hashtag can get used as a legal research tool when it only seems apropos for world events.
Here's how you can, with other simple methods to follow conversations.
Using Twitter's Search Feature
It's easy to look in on what people are talking about by searching any hashtag imaginable. In the world of law, you'll always find information and conversations under numerous categories. Simply use the advanced search box to type in a hashtag with a legal topic that fits your niche.
Twitter shows you conversations, articles, and other pertinent information in one stream related to the hashtag keywords you used. All of these get added in real-time so you see what people are talking about up to the moment. Still, you'll see older tweets the more you scroll down.
Keep in mind the more you use and interact, Twitter customizes recommendations for you to find information (and people) you can connect to.
Starting Conversations
Replying and re-tweeting people's legal comments can lead to gaining more knowledge in certain practice areas. Conversations are important on Twitter since it can lead to finding clients, yet also tell you a lot about what legal subjects people discuss the most.
While you can't always expect to find scholarly legal articles on Twitter, knowing what the people want and need in the world of law can tell you more than any scholar can.
Contact us here at The Friedman Group, LLC so we can help your law firm navigate social media challenges.
