Observed

OK, granted, you’re probably not writing for fans of Fergie or will.i.am.  Work with me anyway, because I see a connection between the digital freneticism of the Black Eyed Peas and your visitors’ non-linear distractability.

If your goal is to get read (much less, remembered), keep your content short.  Probably under 250 words for anything you might consider a page — such as a bio, practice group description, About Us…or, this blog post.

The Neilsen Effect is why.  As in Jakob Neilsen, a Danish software engineer considered to be one of the foremost user experience gurus.

Neilsen and others have found, for starters, that we read online content 25 percent slower than we read the same content in hard copy.  As Neilsen characterizes this and other Web visitor behaviors,

“[U]sers are selfish, lazy and ruthless.”

Here’s a still-timely 2008 Michael Agger post that explains this and more…including the average user’s unwillingness to scroll.

Distractable

We’re addicted to Anything But This.  I check Facebook, listen to BEP on YouTube, look out the window, tweet something…etc., blah.  You?  It’s not in the DSM (yet), but some psychologists label it Fear of Missing Out.

And, my sense is that it’s in our DNA.  That we survived on the ocean or in the jungle or on the savannah or prairie by being hyper-alert and hyper-vigilant.

In other words, we didn’t have the luxury of The Long.  So, keep it short.

Newt Gingrich's campaign for the GOP presidential nomination seems undeterred by his campaign to sell his books. He and wife Calista often drive their handlers crazy by spending time signing books instead of stumping for votes. Or, are those the same things?

Doesn’t it make perfect sense that 2011 holiday book sales are strong…despite the growing popularity of electronic reading; or, perhaps, because of it?  Or, despite the loss of bankrupt Borders’s 650 stores from the retail mix?

Books — real books — are tangible.  All the better to put under the Christmas tree or hand to someone special as a gift.

And, to show that you care. Really care.

Retailers and publishers report, by the way, that sales of non-fiction titles are the strongest sector in their industry.  In addition, big, expensive books seem to be a niche unaffected by the recession or worries about online competition.

When I step into the room created by social media, it's incumbent for me to stick around for the conversation...particularly when I start one myself. In other words, I shouldn't shake your tree if I don't want your peaches. No?

LexBlog’s Kevin O’Keefe wasn’t the only reason going to Boston for most of this week was worth it for me.  But he was a big reason.

Kevin, Igor Ilyinsky, Deb McMurray and other law firm marketing thought leaders were presenting at the annual conference of the LMA New England Chapter.  A couple hundred marketers and vendors met to talk about this year’s topic — the interface between lawyers and technology.

When Kevin moderated a panel on social media, he reminded me of why I still resist Twitter.  It’s because I already feel overwhelmed and over-connected.  Despite the filters and other settings I can use to configure who and what I follow (and vice versa), it just seems like another case of being careful of what I ask for.

I also get what Kevin says about the risks of being technically clever and merely auto-Tweeting new blog posts.  (more…)

Law firm blogs are like gardens. When Boston established its Public Gardens in 1837, everyone knew that the grass, flowers and trees wouldn't take care of themselves. So, too, with law firm blogs...which, with a little of the right attention, will help build awareness for your brand and further your reputation as a thought leader.

Blogs are becoming more and more common with law firms of all sizes and types.  While launching a blog is relatively easy enough, what then???

Here are my Top 5 Law Firm, Sustainable Blogging Do’s and Don’ts:

1. Leverage. Not enough ideas for posts? Remember: Once is not enough.  Turn that client memo into an article. And then turn that article into a speech and a blog post…or, posts.  Three (or more) on a match is OK. (more…)

Imagine a Web site where you could have a seamless, live chat with a customer service rep, 24/7. LiveAdmins does this. Nifty, yes?

When I write content for a site, I’m trying to make the user feel as if they were in a conversation. The sound, look and feel of the copy are meant to engage and involve the visitor.

So, it was really cool to stumble on LiveAdmins.  It’s a Web tool that offers a visitor the option to be part of a real-time conversation that supports the user’s experience while it enhances the site owner’s prospecting.

Or, as they describe themselves on their Facebook page:

We provide online customer support services through Live Chat. Our company is also proactively involved in providing exposure to our clients products through efficient Internet Marketing strategies.

Next time you're stumped in a crossword, put your pencil (or pen) down and walk away. Forget about it. Come back in a few hours or days and you'll be amazed to see solutions where before you were stuck. Same with writing or, perhaps, just about anything else creative.

I rarely do my best writing when I’m trying to do too many things at once.  Or, when I’m too tired.  Plus, I know that the first thing I write is seldom the best I write.  Know what I mean?

Turns out that these observations follow a common thread…and have some science connecting them.

I re-discovered a great story that illustrates this.  Last summer, The New York Times reported about five neuroscientists who spent a week in late May 2010 in a remote area of southern Utah, rafting the San Juan River, camping on the soft banks and hiking the tributary canyons.

It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.

The five reached a rough consensus, agreeing more or less that heavy exposure to technology and other stimulation leaves less room in our brains for storing and integrating ideas.

So, do what I do.  When I get stuck in a crosswords puzzle, for example, I’m amazed how I can solve clues after I put the paper aside and come back to it way later.  Or, when I look at a draft of whatever I’m writing a day or two later…and often discover all sorts ways to make improvements.

Seth, BTW, may have tapped into something similar when he suggested that you get a fresh set of eyes to challenge whatever you’re writing, building or designing.

But before you click on one more thing, turn off, tune out and take a break.  Your brain (and clients) will thank you.

I have no idea how these go with Spam. Don't eat meat. Or, whatever might be in Spam.

Are you over it?  Despite what I’ve heard from Matt Mullenweg, I decided that the minuses (e.g., discouraging legitimate comments) outweigh the pluses (e.g., improving rankings) of laissez-faire spam on my WordPress site.

So, if you’re looking for a great spam filter, check out TanTanNoodles.  Developed by Joe Tan.  Easy to install, donation requested, sweet Captcha feature and more.

It works.  Since I added it to my blog about a month ago, TanTanNoodles has blocked and rejected 4592 spam comments.

To escape their prison on Crete, Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers -- one for himself and the other for his son, Icarus. Before they took off from the island, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun or the sea. Alas, hubris got the better of the young man, clouding his judgment and causing him to believe he and his wings would survive the heat of the sun. He was wrong...and so was Anthony Weiner.

We all feed our egos.  For some of us, our choices take us too close to the sun, despite reason and the wisdom of others.

Anthony Weiner doesn’t have a PR problem.   My guess is he has some kind of gender-related psych condition or addiction, digitally enabled by the echo chamber we call Twitter.

The kind of condition that tells him some rules don’t apply to him.  The little voice that says, “I’m an exception.”

The ancients labeled this hubris.  It reminded them that mortals had better not trespass on the powers of the gods unless mortals were prepared to suffer the consequences.

Time and a lot of hard work may the restore the trust people once had in Weiner.  Just as Nixon was able to pull back slightly from absolute and permanent disgrace after San Clemente.

Clever branding may figure into such a restoration for Weiner.  Probably just not yet.

Meanwhile, he’s the latest (not the last) to fall into the sea.

George H.W. Bush understood the importance of superficial impressions. In 1988, he used this picture of a hapless Michael Dukakis to win the presidential election. Bush's fabled campaign ads featuring escaped felon and murderer "Willie Horton" drove the final nail in his opponent's coffin.

We’re hard-wired to judge others.  And situations.  Some of us (e.g., parents of young children) seem to acquire this urge under the right circumstances.

Judging others factors into how much we trust and feel safe.  This is one reason why chemistry and even small, tangible details seem to figure into the hiring choices clients make and whether they remain satisfied with a vendor’s performance.

So, too, it seems when picking presidential candidates.  A recent story in The New York Times vetted several Republican favorites with an eye toward how they present the qualities it takes to win as opposed to govern. (more…)

There are a ton of conference calling platforms out there. Let me know if you find one better than FreeConferenceCall.com.

For those of us still doing business with the telephone, there’s a tool which seems too good to be true.  Here’s how FreeConferenceCall.com describes itself:

Free Conference Call With Free Recording Only normal domestic long distance rates are charged by the participant’s long distance carriers for the length of the call. Teleconferences can have up to 96 participants for 6 hour period of time per session. Each FreeConferenceCall account remains safe and secure and is never shared or sold. Our free conference call service provides you a great opportunity to connect to many people on a conference call. Loaded with great features, our phone conferencing service has revolutionized the way in which national and international teleconferences are organized.

In addition, you get a report via e-mail when the call has concluded, detailing who participated and the like.

I’ve used it.  It works.