In my continuing quest to do little, and even less, work by promoting others’ ideas for my own self-aggrandizement, Twitter has really been a boon. Twitter is the lazy man’s content generation machine. Let me repeat, it’s the Big (Red) content Machine for the Doritos set. It’s the broadcast medium equivalent of popping a burrito into the microwave, waiting a minute, and then finishing it right quick, after burning your mouth a little with the first bite. (I do believe that that should be Twitter’s description of its service at its own website. Well, one of those, at least.) You just know that there’s some dude who died in the 1880s who is pretty pissed off right now, because he hated reading all those squirrely-texted newspapers, and only just wanted his useless information streamed in instant fashion based on category listings that he could have derived. He’s British, by the way, in case you’re interested. We’d be friends, the he and I. But, What methodology would he use to separate the Jim Wheat from the Ronan Chaff from the John Barleycorn? Lists. Sweet, notorious lists. I used to use what were called “Groups” in Tweetdeck (wow, I had an old version); but, I wanted to switch to HootSuite, mostly to create and use Lists in a program that I would be likely to use going forward. (More on the switch from Tweetdeck to HootSuite coming up at the LOMAP Blog . . . You didn’t think I’d miss a chance for a follow-up post on the same subject, did you? Do you even know me?) Christmastime provided me the opportunity to make the move.
And, What do we do at the holidays? We celebrate. (By the way: Why did this song suddenly become ubiquitous during the Christmas seasons 2010?) I celebrated by creating a couple of Twitter lists using HootSuite. And, a glorious celebration it was.
In my quest to read as little Twitter-related jettisoned flotsam as possible, I decided to create a list of folks related to law practice management whose content I like/trust. That way, I can stream the list at HootSuite (for ease of retweeting), and also promote these folks via a published list page linked off of my main Twitter account. Win-win, right? Yup. I’ve labeled this list of most excellent law practice management-style twitter users as “GTL: Go-to Legal”. I could have named it any old thing; but, if you enjoyed the passing reference to MTV’s Jersey Shore, well, then . . it was all worth it. Of course, I’m starting to feel like a huge tool now, because no one seems to get the joke. In any event, while this is not, perhaps, as exciting as T-Shirt Time, this list merits monitoring, due to the stark quality of the inclusions’ frequent and incisive posts. You can follow the Go-to Legal List here. (I thought, at first, that I might find a cease-and-desist order from the attorneys representing The Situation for this; but, that hasn’t happened yet. Apparently, that dude is doing alright, and probably has bigger fish to fry. I should have worked on my abs more in high school. Damn.)
But, I wasn’t done yet. I also produced a list of Practice Management Advsisors (PMAs), like myself, who also tweet. (Then, I was done.) The PMA List can be found here, at PMA Central. (Far less infringement.) If you want further contact information, or contact information for those PMAs who do not tweet, check the ABA’s listing page for the PMAs of North America.
Maybe there’ll be more lists in my future; and, maybe, I’ll just keep working on burrowing my way out of this office using a rockhammer.
. . .
Liner Notes
There’s more to New Jersey than the Jersey Shore, of course. (Not that I wouldn’t be shocked to see Snooki on the license plates one day. Perhaps that should read making license plates one day. . .) It’s the Garden State. It’s got the Nets, for a little while longer. There’s a Parkway and the Turnpike, the Thruway being stopped at the border. And, it’s the only state that’s shaped like the number 8. (See, I just drew New Jersey.) Now, I know the Boss is from New Jersey; but, I’m not a big Springsteen fan. (Although, I did pretend to be for a semester in college in order to secure a passing grade in a science class.) Neither do I enjoy the stylings of Bon Jovi, although Bon Jovi/Jon Bon Jovi’s western forays (“Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Blaze of Glory”) are not that insufferable; of course, I’m a sucker for cowboy lullabies. My tastes run, perhaps, to the little bit more obscure, in this arena; and, if I had to pick an underrated members group of the Jersey Shore sounders, it would have to be:
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
I’ll admit that, when my uncle (lives in northern New Jersey) gave me a Southside Johnny tape (yes, that’s right, a cassette tape) a number of years back, I had no idea who the hell they were. But, being the curios beaver that I am, and never willing to pre-judge any band (I only post-judge), I checked out the tape.
It was good stuff, and still is good stuff, even though, for whatever reason, Southside Johnny’s popularity never extended much beyond New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Southside Johnny has something like a Smokey sound (I imagine they’d fit in well jammin’ in one of those (fast-vanishing) cigar-infested barrooms), which is exemplified by lead singer Southside Johnny’s unharsh (and even, at times, gentle) rasping. Southside Johnny (the band, not just the singer) has a pretty unique fusion sound (kind of like a toddler’s Steely Dan cover band), sort of rock, kind of jazzy, with some pop, and an increasing measure of old soul and R & B creeping in. They use more instruments than you might suspect, including brass and strings. Southside Johnny’s lack of popularity, I think, is not consistent with the obvious talent on display in the band; and, although talent is one thing, and bringing it all together to achieve a successful result is another thing, I think that Southside Johnny brings it all together.
The only thing you can really do at this point is to take a listen, to find out for yourself . . . Try these tunes on for size:
“Love on the Wrong Side of Town”
And, that was . . . “Greetings from Asbury Park”. Or, perhaps not.
