www.texasbar.com/tbj
Vol. 72, No. 7 \u2022Texas Bar Journal553
COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
One definition of competitive intelligence, provided by the
social media sitewikipedia.com, is \u201cthe action of gathering,
analyzing, and applying information about products, domain
constituents, customers, and competitors for the short term
and long term planning needs of an organization. Competitive
intelligence (CI) is both a process and a product.\u201d In recent
years, law firms have increasingly found that they require not
only an outstanding library staff, but also intelligence profes-
sionals to research, analyze, and draw conclusions from pri-
mary and secondary information sources. CI professionals
contribute real value to law firms by creating intelligence
reports with actionable findings relating to firm leadership\u2019s key
business strategies and development goals. The information
contained within these reports is typically derived from an
increasingly diverse set of resources, including social media.
COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS
Communications tools include blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Facebook, and Ning. Blogs can be used both to collect intelli-
gence and deliver intelligence results. Many experts in legal
fields write blogs and publish information about legal special-
ties, markets, and developments as related to various industries.
RSS feeds, frequently provided on blog sites, are a convenient
delivery vehicle for expert blogger commentary, as well as gov-
ernment news, legislation, competitor and client websites, press
releases, and current events news. Researchers may use these
\u201cfeeds\u201d to develop complex intelligence-delivery systems, track-
ing news and comments relating to competitors, clients,
markets, industries, business and finance, politics,
local/regional/national cases and legislation, and any other key
intelligence topics.
In addition to traditional blogging, microblogging has
recently increased in popularity. According to social media sta-
tistics siteCompete.com, Twitter had 54 million visits in Jan-
uary 2009 alone and is currently the most popular
microblogging service (www.twitter.com). Twitter allows users
to write 140-character entries, or \u201ctweets,\u201d that are then dis-
played on users\u2019 public websites. These \u201cTwitterers\u201d can \u201cfol-
low\u201d one another, forming loose networks of authors who
share, or \u201cretweet,\u201d popular posts. The site permits direct mes-
saging with those a user follows, as well as those who follow the
user. In this way, the service is a little like a social network com-
bined with a blog, with instant messaging functions.
Notable legal scholars, judges, managing partners, and cor-
porate counsel may be found on Twitter, sharing information
and relevant news items connecting their personal and profes-
sional networks. These sites offer CI professionals and
researchers the opportunity to track real-time conversations,
conduct trend analysis on popular topics, and learn what lead-
ers in the legal field or client industries are reading, thinking,
and talking about. They are also a forum to ask and answer
questions from clients and colleagues. It is this sharing that
makes communities like Twitter so valuable.
Twitter profiles may be searched using a number of profile
directories and search engines, including Twellow
(www.twellow.com) and TweepSearch (www.tweepsearch.com).
Hashtags also may be searched. Hash marks (the pound or \u201c#\u201d
sign) in a post indicate a meta tag, which is a means of group-
ing related posts together. For instance, State Bar of Texas
Annual Meeting attendees may create a hash tag such as
\u201c#SBOT09\u201d to apply to all posts about the conference. By
searching for the tag \u201c#SBOT09\u201d you can instantly uncover all
posts relating to that topic, whether the keywords \u201cState Bar of
Texas\u201d or \u201cAnnual Meeting\u201d appear at all. The Hashtag Direc-
tory (http://hashtags.org/) is a site that is attempting to cata-
log all hashtags, and, while it\u2019s not complete, it may be useful
in uncovering obscure tags.
LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is another networking group,
but unlike Facebook or Twitter, the service allows individual
users or groups to be directly linked to their current and former
places of employment. In this way, the site resembles a tradi-
tional directory, only the site is more intuitive than most data-
bases, more current than an annual directory, and very easy to
use. Recent statistics indicate that this site is gaining acceptance
among professionals in a variety of industries, including legal
services. Many, if not most, of the AmLaw 100 firms\u2019 members
participate in this site and have begun building profiles and
joining groups. Valuable information and networking opportu-
nities abound among these groups of colleagues.
Social Media Tools for
Law Firm Competitive Intelligence
RUSHING
S o c ia l M e d ia T o o ls fo r
L a w F ir m C o m p e titiv e In te llig e n c e
R U S H IN G
C O M P E T IT IV E IN T E L L IG E N C E
s h a re , o r \u201cre tw e e t,\u201d p o p u la r p o s ts . T h e s ite p e rm its d ire c t m e s -
O n e d e fin itio n o f c o m p e titiv e in te llig e n c e , p r o v id e d b y th e
s a g in g w ith th o s e a u s e r fo llo w s , a s w e ll a s th o s e w h o fo llo w
th e
s o c ia l m e d ia s ite w ik ip e d ia .c o m , is \u201c th e a c tio n o f g a th e r in g ,
u s e r. In th is w a y , th e s e rv ic e is a little lik e a s o c ia l n e tw o rk
com -
a n a ly z in g , a n d a p p ly in g in fo r m a tio n a b o u t p r o d u c ts , d o m a in
b in e d w ith a b lo g , w ith in s ta n t m e s s a g in g fu n c tio n s .
c o n s titu e n ts , c u s to m e rs , a n d c o m p e tito rs fo r th e s h o rt te rm
N o ta b le le g a l s c h o la rs , ju d g e s , m a n a g in g p a rtn e rs , a n d c o r-
a n d lo n g te r m p la n n in g n e e d s o f a n o r g a n iz a tio n . C o m p e titiv e
p o ra te c o u n s e l m a y b e fo u n d o n T w itte r, s h a rin g in fo rm a tio n
in te llig e n c e (C I) is b o th a p ro c e s s a n d a p ro d u c t.\u201d In re c e n t
a n d re le v a n t n e w s ite m s c o n n e c tin g th e ir p e rs o n a l a n d p ro fe s -
y e a rs , la w firm s h a v e in c re a s in g ly fo u n d th a t th e y re q u ire n o t
s io n a l n e tw o rk s . T h e s e s ite s o ffe r C I p ro fe s s io n a ls a n d
o n ly a n o u ts ta n d in g lib ra ry s ta ff, b u t a ls o in te llig e n c e p ro fe s -
re s e a rc h e rs th e o p p o rtu n ity to tra c k re a l-tim e c o n v e rs a tio n s ,
s io n a ls to re s e a rc h , a n a ly z e , a n d d ra w c o n c lu s io n s fro m p ri-
c o n d u c t tr e n d a n a ly s is o n p o p u la r to p ic s , a n d le a r n w h a t le a d -
m a ry a n d s e c o n d a ry in fo rm a tio n s o u rc e s . C I p ro fe s s io n a ls
e r s in th e le g a l fie ld o r c lie n t in d u s tr ie s a r e r e a d in g , th in k in g ,
c o n trib u te re a l v a lu e to la w firm s b y c re a tin g in te llig e n c e
a n d ta lk in g a b o u t. T h e y a re a ls o a fo ru m to a s k a n d a n s w e r
re p o rts w ith a c tio n a b le fin d in g s re la tin g to firm le a d e rs h ip \u2019s k e y
q u e s tio n s fro m c lie n ts a n d c o lle a g u e s . It is th is s h a rin g th a t
b u s in e s s s tra te g ie s a n d d e v e lo p m e n t g o a ls . T h e in fo rm a tio n
m a k e s c o m m u n itie s lik e T w itte r s o v a lu a b le .
c o n ta in e d w ith in th e s e re p o rts is ty p ic a lly d e riv e d fro m a n
T w itte r p ro file s m a y b e s e a rc h e d u s in g a n u m b e r o f p ro file
in c r e a s in g ly d iv e r s e s e t o f r e s o u r c e s , in c lu d in g s o c ia l
m e d ia .
d ire c to rie s
a n d s e a r c h e n g in e s , in c lu d in g T w e llo w
(w w w .tw e llo w .c o m ) a n d T w e e p S e a rc h
(w w w .tw e e p s e a rc h .c o m ).
C O M M U N IC A T IO N S T O O L S
H a s h ta g s a ls o m a y b e s e a rc h e d . H a s h m a rk s (th e p o u n d o r \u201c# \u201d
C o m m u n ic a tio n s to o ls in c lu d e b lo g s , T w itte r , L in k e d In ,
s ig n ) in a p o s t in d ic a te a m e ta ta g , w h ic h is a m e a n s o f g r o u p -
F a c e b o o k , a n d N in g . B lo g s c a n b e u s e d b o th to c o lle c t in te lli-
in g re la te d p o s ts to g e th e r. F o r in s ta n c e , S ta te B a r o f T e x a s
g e n c e a n d d e liv e r in te llig e n c e r e s u lts . M a n y e x p e r ts in le g a l
A n n u a l M e e tin g a tte n d e e s m a y c re a te a h a s h ta g s u c h a s
fie ld s w r ite b lo g s a n d p u b lis h in fo r m a tio n a b o u t le g a l s p e c ia l-
\u201c# S B O T 0 9 \u201d to a p p ly to a ll p o s ts a b o u t th e c o n fe re n c e . B y
tie s , m a rk e ts , a n d d e v e lo p m e n ts a s re la te d to v a rio u s
in d u s trie s .
s e a rc h in g fo r th e ta g \u201c# S B O T 0 9 \u201d y o u c a n in s ta n tly u n c o v e r a ll
R S S fe e d s , fre q u e n tly p ro v id e d o n b lo g s ite s , a re a c o n v e n ie n t
p o s ts re la tin g to th a t to p ic , w h e th e r th e k e y w o rd s \u201cS ta te B a r o f
d e liv e r y v e h ic le fo r e x p e r t b lo g g e r c o m m e n ta r y , a s w e ll a s g o v -
T e x a s \u201d o r \u201cA n n u a l M e e tin g \u201d a p p e a r a t a ll. T h e H a s h ta g D ire c -
e r n m e n t n e w s , le g is la tio n , c o m p e tito r a n d c lie n t w e b s ite s ,
p re s s
to ry (h ttp ://h a s h ta g s .o rg /) is a s ite th a t is a tte m p tin g to c a ta -
re le a s e s , a n d c u rre n t e v e n ts n e w s . R e s e a rc h e rs m a y u s e
th e s e
lo g a ll h a s h ta g s , a n d , w h ile it\u2019s n o t c o m p le te , it m a y b e u s e fu l
\u201cfe e d s \u201d to d e v e lo p c o m p le x in te llig e n c e -d e liv e ry s y s te m s , tra c k -
in u n c o v e rin g o b s c u re
ta g s .
in g n e w s a n d c o m m e n ts re la tin g to c o m p e tito rs , c lie n ts ,
L in k e d In (w w w .lin k e d in .c o m ) is a n o th e r n e tw o rk in g g ro u p ,
m a r k e ts , in d u s tr ie s , b u s in e s s a n d fin a n c e , p o litic s ,
b u t u n lik e F a c e b o o k o r T w itte r , th e s e r v ic e a llo w s in d iv id u a l
lo c a l/r e g io n a l/n a tio n a l c a s e s a n d le g is la tio n , a n d a n y o th e r k e y
u s e rs o r g ro u p s to b e d ire c tly lin k e d to th e ir c u rre n t a n d fo rm e r
in te llig e n c e to p ic s .
p la c e s o f e m p lo y m e n t. In th is w a y , th e s ite re s e m b le s a tra d i-
In a d d itio n to tr a d itio n a l b lo g g in g , m ic r o b lo g g in g h a s
tio n a l d ire c to ry , o n ly th e s ite is m o re in tu itiv e th a n m o s t d a ta -
re c e n tly in c re a s e d in p o p u la rity . A c c o rd in g to s o c ia l m e d ia s ta -
b a s e s , m o re c u rre n t th a n a n a n n u a l d ire c to ry , a n d v e ry e a s y to
tis tic s s ite C o m p e te .c o m , T w itte r h a d 5 4 m illio n v is its in J a n -
u s e . R e c e n t s ta tis tic s in d ic a te th a t th is s ite is g a in in g
a c c e p ta n c e
u a ry
2 0 0 9 a lo n e a n d is c u rre n tly th e m o s t p o p u la r
a m o n g p r o fe s s io n a ls in a v a r ie ty o f in d u s tr ie s , in c lu d in g le g a l
m ic ro b lo g g in g s e rv ic e (w w w .tw itte r.c o m ). T w itte r a llo w s u s e rs
s e rv ic e s . M a n y , if n o t m o s t, o f th e A m L a w 1 0 0 firm s \u2019 m e m b e rs
to w rite 1 4 0 -c h a ra c te r e n trie s , o r \u201ctw e e ts ,\u201d th a t a re th e n d is -
p a r tic ip a te in th is s ite a n d h a v e b e g u n b u ild in g p r o file s a n d
p la y e d o n u s e rs \u2019 p u b lic w e b s ite s . T h e s e \u201cT w itte re rs \u201d c a n \u201cfo l-
jo in in g g ro u p s . V a lu a b le in fo rm a tio n a n d n e tw o rk in g o p p o rtu -
lo w \u201d o n e a n o th e r, fo rm in g lo o s e n e tw o rk s o f a u th o rs w h o
n itie s a b o u n d a m o n g th e s e g ro u p s o f
c o lle a g u e s .
w w w .te x a s b a r.c o m /tb j
V o l. 7 2 , N o . 7 \u2022 T e x a s B a r J o u rn a l
5 5 3
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