\par What Does Social Media Have To Do With Networking? \par

Last week we heard from social media guru Amanda Ellis, who presented a wide range of issues and practical suggestions for how a law student and/or lawyer can best utilize this still-emerging tool. I wanted to provide some highlights I took away from the presentation, as well as put it in context of my own social media advice, and the broader issue of networking I’m going to present in an event next quarter.\par \par Ms. Ellis spent most of her time discussing LinkedIn and Twitter, where more users approach their platforms from a professional perspective. She and I agree it really is essential for you to have a LinkedIn profile that is substantial and impressive. A key advantage of Linkedin is once you get your profile built, you can pretty well just let it sit there and it can be effective. If you want to take it a step further you can join groups and engage other group members in conversation. Recently added is a feature where you can use LinkedIn as a platform to write your own blog posts.\par \par So what are some practical tips for LinkedIn? If all you do is connect with each new person you meet who also has a LinkedIn profile, you’ll be ahead of the game. It’s such an easy way to follow up with someone after a meeting or encounter, and even if the person doesn’t respond or accept your invitation (which could happen), it is an appropriate way to reach out and does make a positive impression. There is a default message which accompanies the invitation that’s fine to use with people you know well. As Ms. Ellis mentioned, however, connecting with people you just met or barely know probably requires tweaking that message to make it more personal. \par \par If you just want to keep up with someone or read their content on LinkedIn, you’re permitted to “follow” them much like you would follow someone on Twitter. This doesn’t require any action from the person being followed, and is another appropriate way to connect with someone you don’t or barely know.\par \par Twitter, I would argue, is not as essential as LinkedIn. Employers aren’t scouring the web looking for your Twitter profile the way they are with LinkedIn. And if they are, it’s to find something disqualifying about you rather than qualifying. Twitter also requires you to be somewhat active if you’re really going to use it to advance your personal brand and authority in a subject. You can certainly use it as a news service and build lists to follow certain people (which I definitely recommend) and remain informed, but this won’t gain you followers or help you build credibility. \par \par Ms. Ellis also had some good recommendations for third party resources to assist you with building and protecting your social media presence: 1) newsle.com, 2) followerwonk.com and 3) simplewa.sh. Newsle is a website which allows you to get news alerts for anyone in your network. Followerwonk helps you identify your Twitter audience as well as identify other Twitter users in your field. Finally simplewa.sh is a website which searches your Facebook profile for potentially damaging images/status updates/likes you’d like to clean up.\par \par “How does any of this help me with my job search?” you might ask. It’s simple: using social media as we’re discussing it here is nothing more than networking, moved online. And as we’ve said time and again, the majority of you will get your first job through some type of personal referral or networking connection. I know you don’t want to hear that; but the fact you don’t want to hear it doesn’t make it any less true. \par \par On November 24th, I’m going to lead a discussion on the topic of networking. We’re going to tackle all the objections to it head-on, with the goal of you coming away with practical steps you can take to increase your professional network in a steady, effective manner. I encourage you to attend, and in the meantime I would love to hear what questions you have about networking so I can include them in my presentation and/or discussion. \par \par Whether it’s through new methods like social media, or old ones like going to a happy hour, networking is still a major source of not only jobs, but referrals of all kinds that will benefit you long after you’ve left law school. I look forward to continuing this conversation over the coming months.\par \par Connect with Daniel at Daniel_Hare@Baylor.edu and/or @BaylorLawDaniel on Twitter.\par \par Job of the Week: Each week I highlight a job in Symplicity you might be interested in but may have missed. This week's job is: Prosecution Internship with the Williamson County District Attorney's Office(2L, 3L) Log in to Symplicity to view this job and apply. \par ]]>\par