This according to a few comments posted on a Linked In Board…
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We find the comments interesting because only a week or so ago Martindale were telling us how quickly “Connected” has grown.. How much attorneys were using it and how it had become the social networking site for all tuned in lawyers.
Yet the following comments on the Linked In group “Legal Blogging” tell a slightly different story. One that says they still have a long way to go to actually develop a really useful social networking site for lawyers that gets used on a daily basis.
One person writes?? I have my doubts about Connected. I joined 5 months ago and didn’t do anything. I went back a few days ago b/c of the stories of it growing, and I still didn’t see anything worthwhile.
The groups don’t seem very active. I’m not sure if they are doing anything other than gathering names of people who don’t come back
Another says: Martindale is lawyers talking to lawyers which I not sure is very useful unless as a part of a group with like interest. It sure has very lttile to do with todays social media and marketing. But Martindale is new to the game and maybe they will get it figured out. I think it needs to be opened up to more than just Attys.
Finally, another comment is a little more positive and sees a future for Connected if they can get a few more people involved
I still think Connected hasn’t reached critical mass yet as the overwhelming number of Connected members have two or less connections. However, it does facilitate my primary pre-Connected use of Martindale: finding local counsel. In addition to helping me identify candidates who meet my profile, the LinkedIn integration (a relatively new upgrade to Connected) helps me identify which of my candidates have some connection to me. Thus in addition to my usual analysis of looking at past cases handled by a candidate and other information on their website, I can call/contect intermediate connections for a recommendation/evaluation. This has some value to me.
As to the value of lawyers talking to lawyers, I think this is a happy medium to the exclusivity of sites like Legalonramp and open sites like LinkedIn. That said, the social media parts need more active participants to create value.
