Networking Sites... When and How?

Sam Glover, over at Lawyerist had an interesting post on LinkedIn that brought up some good questions. (video attached below)

This brings up the question about what are the social networking sites out there, and what is the best way to use them for your business.  Taking a quick look around we can find a wide variety of social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MyPractice, Orkut, and many many others. (Wikipedia list)

Now after reviewing the Wikipedia list, it's obvious that many of these are not intended for the business setting.  (match.com, Adult Friend Finder, ect.)  The following is based simply on my perceptions, I welcome your insights.


Facebook: This social networking site is almost in a league of it's own.  It seems to have grown from the random computer nerd to everybody and their mother (yep, even my mom).  I've seen nephews and nieces that are still in elementary school, to someone's 90-year-old grandmother.
This is not lost on the business community, you can find fan pages, and groups of every type out there.  Many businesses find this a great way to keep in contact with potential clients.  While most people use Facebook for interacting and staying in touch with friends and family, this allows the company to occasionally send out a reminder to everyone that "Hey, remember we're here."

Beyond advertising, it can also be useful to keep in contact with business professionals.  I still remember being the 2L at William Mitchell, studying for finals at Nina's.  While I'm trying to remember which tax code goes with which tax break I over hear the two elderly gentlemen sitting next to me (ok, they were probably only 60).  They were trying to close a business deal, but needed to know if so-and-so would go for it.  Neither of them had his contact information on hand.  The simple response was "Pull up his Facebook."

LinkedIn and the Ilk: These sites can very from place to place, such as MyPractice (primarily seems to be MN Lawyers), Xing (Europe and Asia market), Talkbiznow, Ryze, PartnerUp, ect...  These can be great ideas for social networking sites, but their application seems a little weak.  This may be due to the fact that the clients that most people are looking for are not on the site.I do like the fact that, for a small firm like ours, the LinkedIn account can be essentially a resume/ad to potential clients, and can be easily viewed by people outside the network. It also seems to come near the top on google searches.

But for the most part, I'm not sure it extends to networking as much as it could. Say you were looking for a CPA or private investigator among your contacts. Unless you have been diligent at keeping up your "Profile Organizer," chances are, you will be searching in the dark.

Summation: nice for advertising your business resume, not so great for networking.

Twitter: These “micro-blogging” sites seem to be less focused on keeping people interacting, and more about allowing you to tell everyone what your doing.  Sometimes this seems to be a valuable resource, say when a new blog just came out that you really liked and want to spread the word.  Or maybe when you made the decision to go to Buffalo Wild Wings instead of the YWCA.

As you can see, the usefulness is only there if the reader actually cares.  Personally, one of the biggest uses of Twitter for Ascheman & Smith, is their willingness and ability to integrate with Facebook and LinkedIn to essentially “RT” our status updates.

Conclusion: As I mentioned, this is only my perception of how the social networking sites can be used for businesses.  I know that many of you have different opinions.  Leora Maccabee also has some great insights into social networking for lawyers. Please let me know what you think.


Thank you,

Landon J. Ascheman, Esq.
Landon@AschemanSmith.com
(B) 612.217.0077 (F) 651.344.0700
Contact Me

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we hope that everyone is having a wonderful year.

Here, Landon Ascheman & Grant Smith are thankful for all the friends and family that have made this year a success. 

While Ascheman & Smith primarily represents Criminal Defense & ADR clients,  if your looking for help in another area, we have many highly qualified friends we can suggest.

Although we hope you never need us, please remember that we are here if you do.

To keep in touch with us, please follow us at any of the links below.

Thank you, 
Landon J. Ascheman, Esq. 
Landon@AschemanSmith.com 
(B) 612.217.0077 (F) 651.344.0700 
Contact Me

Social Networking and the Law

Recently a 19 year old boy was saved from being wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn't commit, by a very unlikely source - Facebook.  In fact as the story goes, Rodney Bradford updated his Facebook page, at 11:49 a.m. on Oct. 17. The words were typed from a computer in his father’s apartment in Harlem. The next day, Mr. Bradford was arrested as a suspect in a robbery at the Farragut Houses in Brooklyn, where he lives

That simple Facebook update became something more.  It became Mr. Bradford's alibi.  After discussing the Facebook update with Mr. Bradford's defense attorney, Robert Reuland, the prosecutor verified the information and the charges were dropped.  Mr. Reuland admits that the posting could have come from someone other than Mr. Bradford, but “This implies a level of criminal genius that you would not expect from a young boy like this; he is not Dr. Evil.”  It also appears that there were other witnesses to support the alibi.

This appears to be one of the first cases where a social networking site has been used to help a defendant.  In most cases information posted on these social networking sites is used against the defendant.  Although we hope that there will be more cases like this.  The chances seem slim.  Just as the Miranda warnings let you know that anything you say can and will be used against you, things that you post online can also be used against you, and likely will be.

Here are a few examples of some prior social networking blunders, and how they were used against the defendant.

• In Santa Barbara, CA, 2007, Jessica Binkerd was driving under the influence the resulting car crash killed her passenger.  She and her defense attorney were hoping for probation. The prosecutor produced photos from Jessica’s MySpace page showing her partying with friends and wearing an outfit with a liquor company’s T-shirt and bandoleers of shot glasses.  The judge was convinced that she had shown no remorse for the tragedy and sentenced her to 5 years and 4 months in prison.
  

• In Santa Barbara, CA, 2007, Jessica's incident was followed closely by Laura Buys, in a near identical case.  Where a picture of her drinking wine and posting drinking stories resulted in convincing the judge that she also had no remorse.  She was sentenced to 5 years.

• In Martinsburg, Pa., Jonathan Parker, 19, was charged with one count of felony daytime burglary.  In this, slightly more interesting case.  Mr. Parker apparently paused while in the house to stop and check his Facebook account while on the victim's computer.  Unfortunately, he forgot to log out before leaving the house. 

Even if your not talking about the crime, these social networking sites can lead to bad character evidence in some situations.

• In Ind., Defendant Ian Clark was found guilty of murdering a two year old girl.  In support of the prosecutions claim that Mr. Clark committed the crime, evidence was introduced of his self statement on MySpace.  "Society labels me as an outlaw and criminal and sees more and more everyday how many of the people, while growing up, and those who judge me, are dishonest and dishonorable.  Note, in one aspect I'm glad to say I have helped you people in my past who have done something and achieved on the other hand, I'm sad to see so many people who have nowhere.  To those people I say, if I can do it and get away. B ... sh.... And with all my obstacles, why the f ... can't you."  Although he appealed, the courts found that the character evidence was admissible.

In conclusion, it's important to keep in mind that anything you post online can probably be obtained by the state, and may be used against you.  Keeping your profile set to private does not protect you from having the information used against you.  

Thanks, and be safe with your posts.

-Landon Ascheman

612.217.0077

www.AschemanSmith.com

Landon@AschemanSmith.com

DWI... Driving a What?!?

DWI Laws in Minnesota and across the nation can sometimes get a little out of hand.  

Sometimes you look at the news reports and think to yourself, "that was crazy and dangerous."  In 2007, a New Jersey Judge ruled the Zamboni driver can not be prosecuted for DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI because the Zamboni can’t be used on the highways nor carry passengers.  (AP)  Another man tried to get away with the same act in Portland, ME, in 2008, his luck was not so good.  (AP)  

But in other cases you start to wonder if the laws are being stretched too far.  We all have a general understanding of the "intent" of DWI laws, even if we question their actual application.  In Alabama, 2007, a young woman was arrested for a DWI when her vehicle had a mind of its own, literally.  She was arrested while riding a horse.  (AP)  The same thing happened to a 42 year-old man in Kentucky, 2005.  (TheLouisvilleChannel.com)

In Minnesota, I feel that we are at least a little more reasonable about what constitutes a vehicle for the DWI statutes.  62 year-old Dennis Anderson probably thought so as well.  That is until he managed to modify his La-Z-Boy to include a stereo, cup holders, and a converted lawnmower.  Eventually on his ride home, he hit a parked car and was arrested for driving while intoxicated.  Mr. Anderson received 180 days stayed and two years of probation after pleading guilty.

Since then it appears that Mr. Anderson's La-Z-Boy was seized after the arrest and sold through its eBay auction.  The city managed to receive a winning bid of $10,099.99.  More information can be found at Law.com

-Landon Ascheman

612.217.0077

www.AschemanSmith.com

Landon.Ascheman@gmail.com

In the beginning...

Welcome to Ascheman & Smith!  With our first blog entry it seems important that we let you know a little about us. 

We are fairly new to the world of independent small businesses.  Although, Landon had some experience as a contractor for the Red Cross, that was the extent of our experience.  But as we approached graduation and began looking around, we found a rather rough looking economy.  (You may have noticed it wasn’t looking so hot there for a while). 

Instead of sitting back and waiting for someone to offer us a job, we decided to venture out on our own.  Grant lived and breathed criminal defense while in law school, a more dedicated defense attorney you'd be hard pressed to find.  Landon worked with prosecutors in various cities and counties, where better to under the mind of the prosecutor than with one who worked with them.  Between the two, we knew we could get the firm up and running and help those around us.  Now we just had to face the challenge of getting a small business up and running.

We managed to find a nice office location, thanks to the Neighborhood Justice Center, and we are off and running...

Future blogs will include some information about each of the attorneys at Ascheman & Smith, LLC.  The intent of this blog is to pass along important and interesting information about us, and more importantly the law.

 -Landon Ascheman

612.217.0077

www.AschemanSmith.com

Landon.Ascheman@gmail.com