Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D., is a jury consultant and owner of MMG Jury Consulting in Philadelphia. She tweets @mmgjury and blogs at The Legal Intelligencer. I want to thank her for taking the time to share her twitter experience and for not listening to her cousin.

Twhat?

About a month or so ago, I was sitting at my dining room table with my cousin (who, for his protection, will remain nameless) and he mentions something about this Twitter thing.  “I have heard of that. What is it?” I ask. His answer: “It is the ultimate tool for narcissists. Basically it is folks thinking that they need to share with the world when they drink their coffee, eat a ham sandwich and use the bathroom.”  Hmm. I don’t think I would be very interested in that.

Fast forward a week. I am chatting with my good friend and “social media stylist” (@usegraymatter). I need advice because I am going to be a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer blog, Pennsylvania’s local legal publication, and I had only written traditional (print) articles before. She brings up this Twitter thing again and I share my cousin’s perspective.

I tell her I am not sure how Twitter would be useful for a jury consultant like me. I get an earful.

In a few hours, I have a Twitter profile up and am searching around to see if there is anyone in the legal profession tweeping or tweeting or twipping or whatever they call it. I am not very hopeful. I know that none of my clients have ever set foot on twitter. They barely have time to check their email.

TwaHa!

What I find is something pretty incredible.  Folks in the profession are not only on there, but are really using Twitter as a professional tool. I see folks using Twitter as a platform to share ideas, articles, legal blogs and ask for referrals. Only the occasional ham sandwich rears its head. Pretty cool. So, I start to follow people. And they start to follow me back.

But what to tweet?

I am pretty sure no one is interested in the half-eaten granola bar sitting on my desk, so I start to tweet about what I would be interested in: good quotes, articles about courtroom psychology, blogs, things that jurors tweet about their jury duty experience. More people in the legal field follow. I follow more people.

Twa Moral of the Story…

So far, my take on using twitter professionally can be summed up in a comment I made on @lancegodard‘s  blog posting  “Aren’t you on Twitter yet?”

I think it is important to realize what social media may and may not be for legal marketers. For my business, I find that the point of marketing is to not only look at immediate gratification, but at the long term benefits.

Specifically, I am tapping into a whole new potential client base through Twitter-folks who may or may not need a jury consultant in the future, but who I know are going to be the future leaders in their industry — they are already setting themselves apart as the experts of their field through their blogs and such.

I realize that Twitter will likely not lead to immediate business, but it is getting my name out there in another form and with a new group of folks. That is never a negative for anyone as long as you put yourself out there in a meaningful way.

When I started my solo practice after years at a big litigation consulting firm, a good client advised me: “It doesn’t matter how you do it, just keep your name in front of people in a meaningful way. That way, if something comes along next week, next year or 10 years from now, your name will be the one to pop in their heads.”

I think Twitter is a great way to do that.

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My objective here? To make this the shortest post ever (I fail at this repeatedly) in communicating a very simple idea: the power of information.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/edu

No really. Right now. Go check it out. (Well, here’s a screengrab to keep you here for another second:)

This is all about power. Power in the form of easy-to-access information – on ANYTHING – and it’s getting easier to access by the microsecond. It’s about CONTENT CONSUMPTION (if I could write the code to make that word blink, flash or otherwise pop about on the page, I would…there’s probably a tutorial on it somewhere on youtube!) and what you do with it.

These are amazing times. You can learn something new every day – for free. You can become smarter, more resourceful, better informed…virtually bionic, man.

How cool is that? Still not convinced?

Think all of this doesn’t tie into your business’ bottom line?

Well get your kaizen on, friend, and take a look at this: http://www.ted.com/

Wow. I’m excited. Are you excited?

Web 2.0 is an opportunity for each of us to engage our inner student. Whether you’re on youtube, facebook, twitter, blogs, your iPod, whatever…it’s a chance to absorb new information and feed our hungry brains in a multitude of different, fun and innovative ways. It can actually be entertaining at times, but if you think it’s all about silly videos, irrelevant status updates or how many “friends” have “friended” you then you need to go back to school.

I’ll save you a seat. (I can’t get enough of this stuff!)

Content. It’s everywhere. Tons of it. Anytime you open your web browser, you are opening a virtual vortex.

You search. You learn. You connect. You are in control of your Internet adventure and you can type, click and link your way to anywhere. Sometimes you know where you want to go and sometimes you happen upon an new place after following an unexpected trail of clickthroughs.

The networking possibilities online are mind-numbing. The educational opportunities,  abundant. The chance to make quality connections simply rests in HOW you consume, manage and distribute content. Period.

There is so much information out there…you can truly get lost in it.

Or…you can do your best to manage it.

As the Internet grows and new content is published at incomprehensible volumes, how on Earth can you maximize your Internet experience—and your time? I think it all starts with a 3-step approach.

1. Search. EVERYTHING online comes down to search. That is, it’s all about how you find things and how you can optimize your own content so it can be found easily. There are search tools for everything. Use them. Want a list? Start here.
2. RSS. You guys, I’m telling you…this is the secret sauce to content management. If you do not know what an RSS feed is or if you DO NOT HAVE AN RSS FEED READER, PLEASE learn what it is and how to use it TODAY. Information is currency…whoever finds the best information (and shares it) WINS on so many levels. Find good content, automate its delivery, organize it and distribute it to your network. How? RSS. It takes WAAAAAAY less time than you think, if you take the time to learn how to use it. Speaking of your network, this brings me to my third key to being your own best content manager….
3. Networks/Communities. Still poo-poo the “social media craze?” Be my guest. But what good is having information if you don’t USE it. Write a book, tell a story, pass on a bad joke…whatever. The point is, you distribute content, somewhere and somehow. Every day. You know people – online and offline – you are connected to people. When you have a phone call to chat…there’s content in that call. When you send an email…again, you’ve created new content. When you have a face-to-face chat, your conversation is content. So, you see, you’ve been managing content your entire life – sharing it with your friends, family, coworkers…um…you know, your social circles. You don’t have to “join” a community, because you’re already part of one, or two or three. The question is, how are you managing the sharing of that content with those communities and how much time does it take you. You add an Internet connection to all of the content you were creating and sharing anyway, and you are suddenly positioned to share more content with more people in less time.

This all seems obvious, right?

Well if it were, I wouldn’t STILL be having discussions with people about why I don’t think twitter is stupid and why facebook is about so much more than “information I don’t care about from people I’m not really friends with…” Baloney, I say. I don’t care if you think twitter is a waste of time or if facebook is juvenile. You can use them or not. The fact is, if you have an Internet connection, you consciously or subconsciously manage the content you consume online in one way or another.

So pick your platform(s) – online or offline – and pay attention to managing your time and your content.

Doesn’t matter how you communicate, as far as I’m concerned. But recognize this: the web has put the power of information into the hands of anyone with an Internet connection. There’s content all around you. Do you feel overwhelmed? Or empowered? If you’re dismissive of “social media,” could it be because it overwhelms you? It doesn’t have to…just remember it’s all about three things, IMHO: 1) Search and the tools that enable quality search, 2) RSS automation, and 3) Sharing your content with your network.

Social Media is a contact sport. Get in the game and find out what’s behind door #3. You have nothing to lose…except some really great content.

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I’m desperate to find out why more people aren’t using RSS to automate and manage online information gathering! (I’d also like to know what those who do use RSS feed readers are doing with the content they are culling, but that’s just gravy after the first question gets answered.)

I put together a little poll, if you would indulge me…

I have also posted a similarly worded poll on LinkedIn to reach my non-twittering, non-blog-reading connections. Feel free to click here to view the LinkedIn poll results if that is your preferred venue.

Lastly…if you take this poll and check ANYTHING other than “YES! And my primary use for it is to share what I find with my network,” please do take a look at this (free and downloadable explanation) so you can leverage the RAW POWER of your RSS feed collection in order to:

• Add value to your network with GREAT links and resources.
• Stay top-of-mind with your clients/prospects.
• Stay informed of the latest industry trends.
• Save tons and tons and tons and tons of time searching for the information you need.
• Get the newest information published on the web sent directly to you (automatically).
• Experience the full range of benefits that come with sharing quality information.

Maximize your content consumption!

Thanks to my exposure to a recent blog post, “What Is RSS? Avoid These RSS Feed Syndication Mistakes,” by Lenin AND to a recent speaking engagement, I realize that I can’t understate (nor state often enough) the value of using RSS feeds EFFECTIVELY and EFFICIENTLY, whether you’re a business owner, employee or lucky enough to be neither.

I’m on a mission to spread RSS understanding wherever it is absent.

If you’re going to make the most of your time maneuvering around online, you’ve just got to trust me when I tell you that an RSS feed will revolutionize the way you consume and use Internet content.

Learn what an RSS feed reader is TODAY and start grabbing the content you care about most!

Guess that’s all I have to say about that.