Help This Underdog

It was an honor to learn that Above and Beyond KM has been nominated for The 2011 ABA Journal Blawg 100. In this fifth anniversary of their annual contest, the editors of the ABA Journal sought recommendations from readers and then selected the final 100.  Now, the hard part begins.  The ABA Journal would like our readers to vote for the blogs that they believe should win in each category.  Because of past “voting irregularities,” each voter must register before voting. You’re allowed 12 votes, so you can vote several times in each category that interests you. May I request that one of your votes in the Legal Tech category go to this blog? (Just click the icon at the top of the right-hand column of this page or at the bottom of this post to vote.)

One of the challenges of this process is that not every reader will be sufficiently motivated to take the time to vote.  So, if you don’t wish to end up as the blogger with no votes, you have to get down on bended knee and beg your friends and family to visit the ABA Journal site just for you. I’m exceedingly grateful to my friends and family who have done this in the past for me, but I’ve been conscious of the fact that we solo bloggers have a tough battle when we’re in the same category as group blogs.  For example, my good friends the great geeks (3 Geeks and a Law Blog) are also in the Legal Tech category.  If all of us get down on bended knee to beg for the support, then on straight numbers alone I’m out of the running since the great geeks combined have many more friends and family than little ol’ me.  (Thankfully, the ability to vote for more than one blog in a category could level the playing field — you can vote for both of us!)

Rather than prematurely exiting the field, however, I thought it might be helpful to remind myself and my readers of some of the blog posts you’ve told me you’ve enjoyed this year:

• A Better Way for Lexis and Westlaw — why their approach to legal research doesn’t make sense for lawyers
• Is KM a Real Force Multiplier? — determining which KM activities really add value and which ones don’t
• The Purpose-Driven Organization — this posts asks if you know the WHY of your organization
• Fighting the Knowledge Hiding Epidemic — why we are so bad at knowledge sharing, and what to do about it
• What Makes Lawyers So Challenging — how the special personality traits of lawyers make it hard for them to collaborate
• The SharePoint Swiss Army Knife — what we love and hate about the platform Microsoft has insisted we use
• Tier 1 Law Firm: Know Thyself — why even Tier 1 firms need to understand their business model and explain their value proposition
• Law Firm Investment Portfolio — why law firms should manage their practices like an investment portfolio
• Seyfarth’s Success Story — how Seyfarth Shaw has won acclaim through its adoption of Lean Six Sigma
• Steve Jobs and Legal KM — what law firm knowledge management personnel can learn from Steve Jobs
• Cleopatra and Law Librarians — about the shocking pay inequities suffered by female law firm librarians

As you can see, it’s been an interesting year.  So please excuse this shameless self-promotion. I’d be grateful for your vote if you are so moved.  But regardless, please know that I am always grateful that you read my blog and even comment on it or tweet it from time to time. You definitely make it worth my time.

Cheers!

– Mary

 

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