A blog is a Web page so simple that its basic functions are well within the grasp of those who may have only basic technical ability. Fundamentally, it's a way to publish a Web page that virtually anyone can figure out. Its hallmarks are speed, ease, and organization. Blogs reduce or eliminate the red tape and expense traditionally involved in Web publishing. They're like a mind-meld with the Internet: think it, refine it, and it's there, recorded for public consumption, in-house collaboration or firmwide or personal record keeping.

Lawyers should care for many reasons, too many to list here but I'll try to highlight the biggies.

1. Currency in topic-specific information. If it's in the news (or, better yet, not in the news but should be or is about to be), it's in the Weblogs. Replacing or augmenting your daily newspaper consumption with a read of your favorite blogs and/or material culled through news aggregation software customized to your interests (pulling from blogs and traditional news sources; this deserves its own independent discussion) will noticeably improve your currency in developments in your field.

2. Adding your own topic-specific expertise, commentary, analysis or random thoughts to the discussion. Write, report, analyze, experiment, share, expound, filter, contribute, and learn from others doing the same.

3. Intra-firm efficiencies. Weblogs provide an easy and robust way to compile, categorize, archive and retrieve information. Augmenting communication vehicles like e-mail and paper with Weblogs will help keep critical information accessible, centralized and up to date. Additionally, Weblogs could be a real breakthrough in keeping firm members connected and in the loop on important case or firm management issues.

Ernie Svenson's (Ernie The Attorney, http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634) response to this TechnoLawyer Question provides a number of blog-related resources and food for thought. Here are a handful of others if you're thinking of starting a personal weblog, a weblog as part of a firm's Web site, and/or putting the technology to work within your firm or practice:

Are You Blogging Yet? (John Foley, Information Week):

http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020719S0001

The Weblog Handbook (Rebecca Blood):

http://www.rebeccablood.net/handbook/

Blogging: Electronic Postings And Links Bring Vital Information To The Surface (George Partington):

http://www1.worldcom.com/digital_source/2002_Q3/articles/blogging/"

Using Blogs In Business (Chapter 8 of forthcoming book, "We Blog: Publishing Online with Weblogs," by Paul Bausch, et al., est. 08/02):

http://www.blogroots.com/chapters.blog/id/4

Essential Blogging (by Benjamin Trott, et al., est. 09/02):

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/essblogging/

The Microcontent News Blogging Software Roundup:

http://www.microcontentnews.com/articles/blogware.htm

Please list and discuss your favorite public Blogs.

This is like asking someone to list and discuss their favorite flavors of ice cream (or, more aptly, their favorite flavors of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, http://www.harrypotterfans.net/fun/beans.html) — there is limitless variety, many blogs appeal to a narrow or wide audience, and it's purely a matter of interest, affinity and taste.

That said, Ernie Svenson and I each are involved in the ongoing and ultimately futile task of trying to list blogs authored by legal professionals, and/or with a legal focus (some blogs by legal professionals have nothing to do with law).

Ernie's wonderful outline of law blogs is here, http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/outlines/Law%20Blogs.html

My list runs down the right side of my Weblog, under the heading "blawgs": http://bgbg.blogspot.com

I find many blogs worthwhile, but here are some favorites with a legal, news, technology and/or policy focus:

Ernie Svenson: http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/

Ernie Svenson's Legal News Headlines: http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/outlines/2002-07-23%20Legal%20Headlines.html

Howard Bashman: http://appellateblog.blogspot.com

Doc Searls: http://doc.weblogs.com/

Dave Winer: http://www.scripting.com

Rick Klau: http://www.rklau.com/tins/

Jenny Levine: http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/

Sabrina Pacifici: http://www.llrx.com/newstand/"

Donna Wentworth: http://www.corante.com/copyfight/

GrepLaw (Harvard's Berkman Center): http://grep.law.harvard.edu/

LawMeme (Yale's Information Society Project): http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/

Delaware Law Office of Larry D. Sullivan: http://www.delawoffice.com/news.html

On those sites you will find many other interesting or useful links and resources.

How does your firm use Blog technology?

It doesn't, but we are exploring the possibilities.

Originally published at: http://www.technolawyer.com

Reprinted with permission.