McLeod Law Offices

There is this whole Twitter craze going around, and I understand that it’s becoming the new hip way to market oneself in cyber-land.  I fear I sound too old for my age when I say that I really just don’t get it.

As I understand it, people can send 140 character messages, also referred to as “Tweets” that let “followers” know what they are doing or thinking.  I honestly cannot fathom who would be even remotely interested in my daily thoughts, musings or activities as they happen.

For example, today I noticed that one of my colleagues (and I use that term loosely) left a comment to the article on Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney.  Comments on this blog are moderated because occasionally, some are not appropriate.  This comment said the following: “Our attorneys have expertise, [sic] our firm goes beyond filing, [sic] we utilize every opportunity in Bankruptcy i.e. Avoid Liens on Property, Redemption, Selling real estate in Bankruptcy. For more details, log on [to our website].”  My colleague (again, used loosely) then proceeded to list out their firm contact information.  The comment left me feeling a bit put off.

I cannot imagine that as I was deleting the comment I would have the wherewithal to mention that I could not believe how infuriating it was that my colleague this dude opted to try and advertise his services here without even the courtesy of a voice mail message saying “hey, I know we have never been introduced but do you mind…?”.  And, I might add, especially the wherewithal to get it done in just 140 characters.

Then, there is this lunch program I attended today.  It was an informative and timely discussion on the role of mediation in bankruptcy cases (a topic I’ll be writing about in the coming days and weeks).  However, could I send a “tweet” about that?  Probably but not without missing something being discussed.  I can’t exactly say “hold that thought, I’d like to ‘tweet’ about it.”  Arguably, I could “tweet” that I wish that the room had better acoustics, but who cares about that?

So what would I tweet about?  There’s the “I just watched Attorney X get his head handed to him by the judge” tweet.  Or I could send this tweet: “I cannot believe how slow Trustee Y is with their creditor’s meetings today. Clearly they didn’t have enough coffee, and I’m going to be here all day.”  Neither are particularly nice Tweets, but these things could happen, and I could Tweet about them.  And I bet some people might feel a tad resentful.  Or bored.

The Tweeting could also end up being something mind-numbingly boring: “I just read a decision out of Florida that a mortgage prepayment may arise to a level of an avoidable preference.”  Or even worse:  “I’ve just scoured three years worth of bank statements.  It’s time for lunch!  And it’s stuffed peppers day at Pace’s!”  Might watching paint dry be more entertaining and informative?

In fairness, I have not ruled out Tweeting, but I am ensconced on the fence.  I do need to learn more about it and really think about whether it is something that my clients and my readers will benefit from…or if it is something that is not nearly as fun as watching paint dry.

It would help if you shared your two cents.  Please comment.  I promise I won’t delete it.  Unless of course, you’re selling something.  Sorry, but we cannot have any of that.