Protocol

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9
Apr 13

Dos & Don’ts of LinkedIn’s Mention Feature

LinkedIn recently introduced a new feature—mentions—that is similar to tagging connections in a post on Facebook or mentioning someone in a tweet.  I encourage you to view the slides in this post to learn how the feature works.  The feature is not available to all users at this time; according to this tweet from @LinkedInHelp, LinkedIn is “slowly rolling it out to everyone.”

Overall, I think the mentions feature will be effective, but I also think there’s potential for spam.  I’ve outlined several dos and don’ts on how lawyers and law students can use the mentions feature once it’s available.

DO:

  • Thank a LinkedIn connection for inviting you to speak or a company for sponsoring the event:
    • I enjoyed speaking at XYZ Symposium yesterday – a big thanks to Sally Smith for inviting me to participate!
    • I enjoyed speaking at XYZ Symposium yesterday – a big thanks to the host sponsors:  Smith Jones LLP, Hunter Thomas LLP and Perkins Cox LLP.
  • Acknowledge your LinkedIn connections who are speaking at an upcoming event:
    • This seminar on salary negotiations looks like a great event for women lawyers – speakers include Sally Smith, Jane Doe and Molly Jones.
    • My colleague, Paul Hunter, is speaking at the HNBA Annual Conference.  If you are attending, he’s speaking on April 1 at 11am.
  • Share a link to an article, post or video that’s by or about one of your connections:
    • Such an important topic for all lawyers – great piece (or interview) by Mike Smith.
    • Congratulations to Tom Moore on his promotion!

DON’T:

  • Don’t share links (especially links to your own content) and mentioning people just so they will see/read the article, post or video. A private message is more appropriate to send this type of content.
    • Sally Smith, Jane Doe and Molly Jones – I think you’ll love this article!
  • Don’t mention LinkedIn connections who are attending an event unless you know (with 100% certainty) they don’t mind your mentioning them.
    • I loved the session on how to find a job in the current legal market and enjoyed visiting with Tom Moore and Mike Smith.
  • Don’t list companies or firms where you’d like to work.
    • I’d love to work at Smith Jones LLP, Hunter Thomas LLP and Perkins Cox LLP.
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7
Apr 13

When You Can’t Send a Personalized LinkedIn Invitation

It is common for lawyers and law students to connect on LinkedIn with other legal professionals they may not know very well.  However, most legal professionals prefer to receive a personalized invitation where the lawyer or law student explains why he or she wants to connect on LinkedIn; the default message (“I’d like to add you to my LinkedIn network…”) annoys many legal professionals.

In my presentation at the University of Georgia School of Law last month, one of the attendees correctly noted that sometimes you can’t personalize your LinkedIn invitation.  He’s correct — sometimes when you click “connect,” you have the opportunity to write a personal message and other times you don’t.

The inability to send a personalized invitation arises when you use the “People You May Know” feature on LinkedIn–specifically, when you choose the “See more” feature of the “People You May Know” section.  From your LinkedIn home page, you’ll see a section in the upper right corner called “People You May Know.”  As shown below, LinkedIn usually displays three people that it thinks you might know.  Below each person’s name or picture is a link to “connect.”  If you click the “connect” link, you have the option to personalize your invitation.

However, if you click the “See more” link at the bottom of the section, you are taken to a page with rows and rows of people LinkedIn thinks you might know.  If you click “connect” on this page, LinkedIn automatically sends the person an invitation to connect, and you don’t have the option to personalize the message.

To send a personalized invitation to people LinkedIn displays on this page, you can click on the person’s name to view his or her LinkedIn profile, then click on “Connect” in the snapshot section of the person’s LinkedIn page and then customize the invitation to connect.

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24
Jan 13

FaceWash Scrubs Naughty Words From Your Facebook Profile

A new app, FaceWash, scans comments on users’ Facebook posts, pictures, likes, as well as posts and pictures in which users are tagged.  The app highlights posts with certain naughty words, including profanities as well as words like “sexy,” “butt,” and “xxx,” as shown below.

Users can then click a link and delete the post if they wish.    Users can also enter words they want to the app to search.  For example, maybe you’ve vented about your job or certain co-workers on Facebook.  You could enter your company’s name or colleague’s name to see if you’ve mentioned them in a negative manner.

Final note – I tried the app earlier this week and it eventually timed out.  However, I had no problems on my second attempt (and the app identified the picture above).  I recommend that all job seekers and professionals use the app to scan their Facebook profiles–it can’t hurt!

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19
Apr 11

Diversity Tweets

I have the pleasure of speaking on a panel about brand/image management at the 2011 NALP Annual Education Conference.  This panel is part of the Diversity and Inclusion track of programs.  To prepare for the program, I compiled a Twitter list of users who frequently tweet about diversity issues in the legal profession.  I’ll incorporate this list in the presentation and share the list with all attendees.  Click here to view the list, and please let me know if you frequently tweet about diversity issues and would like to be added to the list.

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14
May 10

National Etiquette Week Tip #5 Edit Your Facebook Wall

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week – one tip each day.

Today’s tip …

Tip #5:  Edit your Facebook wall.

There are three categories of potentially annoying or offensive information that appear on job seekers’ Facebook walls.  Job seekers should be aware of the potential negative effect and control it by either refraining from posting or deleting when necessary.  For example:

  1. Political Commentary. Political views and intelligent discussions are acceptable in my opinion.  Job seekers, however, should be careful not to offend potential employers or referral sources with hateful content which can arise in a heated moment.  For example, I would refrain from calling President Bush and Vice President Cheney “war-loving bast@#*$”" or posting a poll asking if President Obama should be assassinated.
  2. Mafia, Farmville, Quizzes oh my! Perhaps the most annoying feature of Facebook to many are the games and quizzes.  Because these annoy so many people, I recommend that job seekers delete this information from their walls on a regular basis.   Also, refrain from inviting your entire friends list to play these games and quizzes.  Many people are also annoyed by the invitations.  I would only invite close friends if I knew for sure they wanted to play these games/take these quizzes.
  3. 30 Links in 1 Day. I love sharing links to articles and blog posts on Facebook; I receive a lot of useful information by reading other friends’ links and many friends have told me they enjoy my links.  But, how many links is too many to share in one day?  One of my friends recently shared 30 links in one day – articles, videos, blog posts, etc.  People commented that she shared too many links; some even asked what she did at work all day (and, the person who posted is a lawyer).  I would refrain from posting 30 links in one day.  I would actually try to keep your postings under 10 per day.  Here are three reasons not to post more than 10 links in a day:  (1) people don’t have time to read all of the information so they will likely miss some of the information you share; (2) people grown annoyed; and (3) people question your work ethic.

Other thoughts?  What other features annoy you on the Facebook wall?

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13
May 10

National Etiquette Week Tip #4 Don’t Spam LinkedIn Groups

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week – one tip each day. On Monday, I shared three reasons why job seeking attorneys should not sync their status updates on social networking sites.  On Tuesday, I explained why you shouldn’t abuse the “Pls RT” feature on Twitter.  And, I provided a bonus tip for law schools and firms – don’t post links on Twitter that open to a Facebook Business Page.  On Wednesday, I stressed the importance of understanding LinkedIn’s Introduction feature and using it properly.  Today’s tip …

Tip #4:  Don’t Spam LinkedIn Groups

I encourage job seekers (and, attorneys looking to develop business) to participate in LinkedIn groups by initiating discussions or sharing news articles, including blog posts and articles written by the attorney and articles mentioning the attorney or his area of expertise.  I often post articles I write for my monthly e-newsletter in LinkedIn groups.  But, how much posting is too much?

Here are 5 signs you might be a LinkedIn Group spammer based on complaints I’ve heard from other attorneys:

  1. You posted five different blog posts or articles for five consecutive days in the same group.
  2. You post the same blog post or article in multiple groups at least five times in one month.
  3. There are zero comments on the links you post.
  4. There are zero views on the links you post.
  5. You only post your own material (blogs or articles) and never comment on other posts or ask discussion questions to group members.

Other thoughts?  I would argue one needs 3-5 of the above “offenses” for 3 or more consecutive months to be considered a true spammer.  Thoughts?

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12
May 10

National Etiquette Week Tip #3: Understand LinkedIn’s Introduction Feature

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week – one tip each day. On Monday, I shared three reasons why job seeking attorneys should not sync their status updates on social networking sites.  On Tuesday, I explained why you shouldn’t abuse the “Pls RT” feature on Twitter.  Today’s tip …

Tip #3:  Understand LinkedIn’s Introduction feature.

Job seekers often want to tap their 1st degree LinkedIn connections for introductions to 2nd and 3rd degree contacts. The Introduction feature on LinkedIn allows job seekers to write a note or introduction to the 2nd or 3rd degree contact they wish to connect with and LinkedIn sends the note to your mutual contact.  The mutual contact will decide whether to forward it to your 2nd or 3rd degree contact.  Essentially, it’s a virtual introduction.  Instead of one of your contacts introducing you to one of his contacts at a cocktail party or business meeting, the introduction takes place via LinkedIn.

An issue may arise, however, if the job seeker’s mutual contact doesn’t know the job seeker’s 2nd or 3rd degree contact that well.  Remember, many people connect with other industry professionals on LinkedIn without having a solid relationship.  Unless the job seeker is a mind reader, there’s no way for a job seeker to know this.

My recommendation to job seekers is to also include a note to your mutual contact when requesting the introduction.  Acknowledge that you are aware your mutual contact may not know the 2nd or 3rd degree contact that well.  Let your mutual contact know that if that’s the case, you completely understand why your mutual contact wouldn’t forward the introduction to the 2nd or 3rd degree contact.

For example, pretend I am a job seeker and want to connect with Lisa, the Recruiting Manager at a firm on my wish list.  I’m not connected to Lisa but my friend Justin is connected to Lisa on LinkedIn.  Thus, Lisa is my 2nd degree contact.  I could draft an Introduction to Lisa and ask Justin to forward the Introduction.  Here’s the Introduction form.

LI compose introductions 2ED

The first section contains my contact information.  The second section contains my message to Lisa, my 2nd degree contact.  And, the third section allows me to write a note to Justin, my contact, explaining why I want an introduction to Lisa.  This is the section where you can mention that your contact should only forward the Introduction if he feels comfortable doing so.

Don’t take it personally if your contact doesn’t forward the Introduction.  In the above example, Justin and Lisa may not know each other that well.  They may have never met in person but just happen to work in legal recruiting.  In that case, Justin might not feel comfortable making an introduction.  Or, some LinkedIn users may have their own personal policy where they don’t forward any introductions – if that’s the case, don’t take it personally.

Finally, don’t abuse the introduction feature; only ask people who know you well to forward introductions on your behalf.

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12
May 10

National Etiquette Week Tip #2: Don’t Abuse “Pls RT”

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week – one tip each day. On Monday, I shared three reasons why job seeking attorneys should not sync their status updates on social networking sites.  Today’s tip …

Tip #2:  Don’t abuse “Pls RT” on Twitter

A common practice on Twitter is to include “Pls RT” at the end of urgent, important messages.  The “Pls RT” stands for please re-tweet and tells other users that you want them to re-tweet your message.  Think of the of the red exclamation points that people sometimes use to flag urgent emails; “Pls RT” is the red exclamation point of tweets and should be used with the same level of caution.

Here’s an example of the proper use of “Pls RT”:

PLS RT proper

The message is important and the person only tweeted it once.  Moreover, this is the only tweet in over a one-week period where this person used “Pls RT.”  This one use of “Pls RT” does not rise to an abusive level.

Job seekers may wish to use “Pls RT” if they tweet a question about an interview or their job search.  But, follow the example above and use it sparingly for it to be effective.

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11
May 10

National Etiquette Week Bonus Tip for Law Schools, Firms

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week — one tip each day.  Today, in addition to an upcoming post with Tip #2, I also have a tip for law schools and firms that’s related to my tip from yesterday … consider it a bonus tip since it’s not exactly for job seekers.

Bonus Tip:  Ignore the middle man when posting links to articles, blogs

My post yesterday provided three reasons why job seeking attorneys should not sync their status updates on social networking sites.  Law schools, firms and other businesses may want to follow this same advice when posting links on their Facebook Business Pages.   I am guilty and didn’t realize the offense until a law student on Twitter raised the issue in a tweet yesterday.  I will illustrate with my own example.

Many law schools, firms and businesses sync their Facebook Business Pages to a Twitter page.  When they post a link to an article or blog post on the Facebook Business Page, it automatically appears on the Twitter page as follows:

Facebook Post – Link to blog post re The Weekly Law School Roundup

FB Biz page blogger link

When you click on the link in the Facebook post, you go directly to the blog post.

Tweet – link to blog post re The Weekly Law School Roundup

Twitter link to FB biz page

Annoyance: The annoyance arises when you click on the link in the tweet.  Instead of going directly to the blog post, it takes you to the Facebook post as follows:

Twitter link to FB biz page 2

You must click again to get to the blog post.

As you can see from the following tweet by a law student, this is not the preferred method.

Twitter middleman comment

Since the above tweet was from a law student, I thought it was worth sharing.  Many other students likely feel the same way – several other Twitter users agreed with this student’s tweet – they want to go directly to the article or blog post.

Solution: Instead of syncing your firm, school or business Facebook Business Pages with Twitter, just post separately on Twitter so that the link you post on Twitter goes directly to the article or blog post you seek to share rather than to a middle-man like Facebook.

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10
May 10

National Etiquette Week Tip #1: Don’t Sync all Status Updates

To celebrate National Etiquette Week (May 10-14), I’m covering social networking etiquette tips for job seekers this week – one tip each day.

Tip #1:  Do not sync all status updates on all Big 3 sites.

Some people sync their Twitter and Facebook status updates; others sync their Twitter and LinkedIn updates.  Is this a good idea for job seekers?

Generally, no.  Here are three reasons why job seekers shouldn’t sync all status updates.

  1. Audience. You communicate with a different audience on each of the Big 3 sites.  For example, your Facebook audience is more personal than your Twitter audience.  Do you really want to share your status updates about the struggles of potty-training your child on Twitter (and, thus with potential employers)?
  2. Frequency. Twitter is conversational.  You may post 20 times a day while sharing information and responding to other users’ tweets.  You are lucky if your LinkedIn audience reads status updates once a day.  Most people must log on to LinkedIn to read updates and this usually happens weekly when they receive their network updates via the weekly email.  Your LinkedIn audience is likely going to miss one or several of your updates if you share 20 in one day.  Moreover, your updates will clog your LinkedIn connections’ news feed.  The LinkedIn news feed displays only three status updates from connections; it displays eight updates if you click to “see more updates.”  It annoys employers to see all three updates from the same person.  They want to see updates from three different connections, not the same person.  For example, 6 of the 8 LinkedIn status updates in my news feed this morning were from the same person because they were synced to his Twitter feed.  I’d much rather read eight different updates from eight different connections.
  3. Confusion. Your Twitter updates may confuse your non-tweeting LinkedIn and Facebook audiences – especially if they contain RT or @ or DM.   What if your potential employer is only on LinkedIn?  You don’t want to annoy or confuse him with your Twitter lingo.