It has been said that most lawyers are frustrated writers, but, as has also been said, so are most writers.
Frustrated writers will know about Anne Lamont’s “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,” which is a title more metaphorically-melodious than the prosaic “Blog-post by Blog-post: instructions on writing …” (which isn’t really metaphorical at all), but … whatever works for you. Blog-post by Blog-post(ing) may do the trick and here are some tips:
The April 2012 Oregon State Bar (OSB) Bulletin contains a detailed summary of this interesting case about blogging, bloggers, journalism, defamation, and the law: Obsidian Finance Group, LLC and Kevin D. Padrick v. Crystal Cox (3:2011cv00057) (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011) (Motion for new trial denied Mar. 27, 2012) (Appeals filed March 30, 2012, and April 25, 2012)
“The Poster Child: How Oregon’s Blogging Defamation Case Attracted National Attention,” by Janine Robben.
Excerpts:
“Last November, a federal jury in Portland found a vitriolic, Montana-based blogger liable for $2.5 million for defaming an Oregon State Bar member and his company online. On March 27, 2012, a U.S. District Court judge denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial, setting the stage for an appeal that will be followed by First Amendment lawyers, bloggers and traditional journalists around the country.
Tweeting is summertime, which travels at 200 MPH.
Blogging is like the rest of the year, which travels 10-55 MPH.
Tweeting is shorthand and says, now, now, now!
Blogging and other online writing are slow food, and say think, breathe, and think again before acting.
Here are some tips on creating better slow content:
Due to state budget cuts affecting county law library staffing levels and related service cuts, the Oregon Legal Research Blog will cease regular publication until further notice.
There is still a lot of useful legal research content on the blog. Use the search button or click on one of the subject labels (aka tags).
If you are interested in guest blogging, please contact the Washington County Oregon Law Library at lawlibrary@co.washington.or.us
I was working on a blog post featuring studies that show the flow of tax dollars from taxpayers, to federal general funds pools, and then back to the states (and then presumably back to taxpayers), when I ran across a blogger’s instructions to readers who Comment. The instructions are worth quoting, and worth reading.
From Barry Ritholtz at Think Tank (scroll down to the post’s Comments section to see these instructions):
“Comments
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.” [Link to blog post and instructions to Comment writers.]
Journalists have ethical codes and so do librarians and lawyers. (Librarians also have a intellectual freedom codes, which might answer some of your question about why we can be so pigheaded).
Do Bloggers Share an Ethical Code?, posted at attorney Donald Vanarelli’s blog, is worth reading:
Excerpt: “According to a recent study published in the June 2009 edition of the New Media & Society journal entitled doing-the-right-thing-online-a-survey-of-bloggers-beliefs-and-practices, bloggers share a group of ethical principals. This first large-scale survey of blogging ethics identified four underlying ethical principles important to bloggers: truth telling, accountability, minimizing harm and attribution...” (link to full post)
I’ve been talking a lot lately with others about public sector blogging and I thought it might be useful to start posting about the issue.
(And, some of the best, and most productive, discussions I’ve had have been with the people at the Multnomah County Library who drafted these: a) Social Software Policy for Multnomah County Library Users and b) Blog Comment Guidelines)
Blogging issues that arise in the Public Sector World include technological, budget, practical, policy, politics, and literary ones, and, of course, legal questions and puzzles. I’m sure there are others, but one has to start somewhere.
Expert Blogs: Loose Lips Sink…Trials?, by Robert Ambrogi, Editor, BullsEye Newsletter: August 20
Ambrogi’s blog-article is may be a logical companion my previous posts:
I found this post about blog bullying (inter alia) interesting, primarily because it addresses some tough issues that need to be discussed among bloggers, who are becoming better and better at their craft: A Kierkegaardian Leap of Faith in Social Media: Does a Critical Remark About Opinions Expressed By a Commenter or Blogger On Another Blog Constitute Bullying (posted 8/18/08 on the Law Librarian blog).
I am often asked by new (and potentially new) bloggers to talk about blogging and this is a useful blog post to have them read before (homework!) we have that Talking Seriously About Blogging meeting. Most of what I talk, and am asked, about during these meetings are those Blog Housekeeping issues (hosting, domains, design, layout, etc.).
But there are also Blog Ethics, Blog Etiquette, Blog Protocol, and related issues that are equally important. For the sake of brevity, and the What Were You Thinking?! factor that is sometimes forgotten, I will call these the Grown-up Blogger Issues, for those of us who blog seriously or simply with an eye to staying on the side of the angels.
Oregon Legal Research Blog