By Gina F. Rubel
I recently had the pleasure to moderate a media panel, “Meet the Legal Blawgers: An Insiders' Perspective on Connecting with the Legal Blogosphere” presented by the Bar-News Media Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, which I chair. We had with us a very distinguished panel of Philadelphia-area journalists.
Before getting into the specifics, and for those unfamiliar with Twitter, please keep in mind that wherever you see the @ symbol below, it indicates a person’s Twitter handle (or Twitter name) so you can use the full name to find them on Twitter. For example, on Twitter, I go by @ginarubel.
Among the panelists were Jeff Blumenthal, (@jeffdblumenthal) Staff Writer, Philadelphia Business Journal; Chris Brennan (@CloutDailyNews), Political Writer, Philadelphia Daily News and Co-Writer, PhillyClout; HughE Dillon (@iPhillyChitChat), Editor, PhillyChitChat.com; Hank Grezlak, Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Legal Intelligencer (@thelegalintel); Catherine Lucey, Staff Reporter, Philadelphia Daily News and Co-Writer, PhillyClout (@PhillyClout); and Saul Segan, Esq. (@saulesq), Contributor, The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com). Also in attendance as special guests were Craig Ey (@PBJeditor), the new editor of the Philadelphia Business Journal and Janine Clingenpeel, the editor of SmartCEO Magazine (www.smartceo.com) who was in town for the launch of the magazine’s Philadelphia edition.
By using wthashtag.com, I was able to capture the Twitter stream from the media panel program. Although there is sometimes redundancy because people re-tweet what has been said, wthashtag captures the transcript and converts it to chronological order, which makes it much easier to read. Read on to see what the panelists had to say from the perspective of the attendees.
Transcript from Sept. 16 to Sept. 17: wthashtag.com/blawgers using hashtag #blawgers
@PhilaBar: Today's presenting #blawgers: HughE Dillon, Chris Brennan, Jeff Blumenthal, Hank Grezlak, Saul Segan & Catherine Lucey
@PhilaBar: Bar News Media Comm Chair Gina Furia Rubel (@ginarubel) welcomes packed room to #blawgers event #fb
@PhilaBar: Furia Rubel (@furiarubel): How has blogging changed the media landscape? #blawgers
@PhilaBar: Grezlak: Provide a lot of flexibility but also increases competition; have to be aware of misinformation as well #blawgers
@LPPowers: #blawgers Tweeting about Philly legal media and bloggers today: PBJ, Legal Intelligencer, PhillyChitChat, PhillyClout and more!
@LPPowers: #blawgers @iphillychitchat says "I keep a factual blog and moderate comments closely, I respond to emails directly" regarding his blog's...
@msbruschetta: Some attendees are, like me, posting about this panel to social media. One's using hashtag #blawgers (given the legal focus of the talk!).
@LPPowers: #blawgers @jeffdblumenthal uses Twitter frequently and uses DM to engage and dialog with readers
@PhilaBar: Blumenthal: Providing links in blogs to related stories valuable #blawgers
@LPPowers: #blawgers Blogs are a great tactic for news stories that might not fit into traditional media
@LPPowers: #blawgers The Legal Intel "We use the blog as a way to make quick updates to stories and as a follow up to other stories in real-time"
@lizcies: Blogs used to post stories that didn't fit in paper, or for guest posts #blawgers
@lizcies RT @PhilaBar: Grezlak: Blogs enable readers to "get inside a reporter's notebook" #blawgers
@msbruschetta: "Some of the best blogs ever written are the things you stumble over." Story about use of @Phillies seats, fun nuggets of info. #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Thanks for hosting today, @PhilaBar! #blawgers (@PRSAPhilly)
@LPPowers: #blawgers @phillyclout says "We're not lawyers" so it helps to have the details of new cases ready for them if you reach out
@LPPowers: #blawgers @iphillychitchat blogs on events with a focus in Philly but is always interested in news within 50 miles outside Philly
@msbruschetta: Emphasizing the importance of attending events, networking. Your biz should support you! Helpful in economic recovery. #blawgers
@PhilaBar: Furia Rubel: Being photographed at events helps you get hits on search engines if name tagged to photo; gives you more exposure #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Blogging allows you to share passions, let off steam & meet similarly-minded folks. "It's much more mainstream than you think." #blawgers
@lizcies: 1st read every day? One panelist reads his competitors 1st. #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Panelists sharing their daily must-reads. Multiple mentions for @politico. #blawgers
@LPPowers: politicspa.com is a good warehouse for politics across the state #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Prefer creative or straightforward pitches? #blawgers #PR
@lizcies: What pitches grab attn? Charities, straightforward, on topic, specific. #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Tailor to what the reporter covers! Follow-up calls = time suck. Get to the point fast. #PR #pitching #tips #blawgers
@lizcies: Get to the point fast in pitches. Offended if you're not reading what their writing. #blawgers
@PhilaBar: Best pitches? Lucey: Creative but understand what I cover; Brennan: "The follow-up phone call is a drag"; Grezlak: Straightforward #blawgers
@lizcies: One complained about follow up calls. Said he'll respond to email if interested. #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Finding story sources: Googling & finding people's blogs. Interesting! #blawgers #blogging #PR
@lizcies: Try to find sources outside of story for perspective. Google for sources, call universities, look @ authors on amazon #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Don't just start blogging about anything. Make sure you have something to say, to set yourself apart from others! #blawgers
@LPPowers: #blawgers @phillyclout @saulesq @iphillychitchat @jeffdblumenthal @thelegalintel @ginarubel Thanks for a great panel @PhilaBar today!
@dianeorganized RT @msbruschetta: Don't just start blogging about anything. Make sure you have something to say, to set yourself apart from others! #blawgers
@Shelikesruffles RT @msbruschetta: Blogging allows you to share passions, let off steam & meet similarly-minded folks. "It's much more mainstream than you think." #blawgers
@msbruschetta: Great job today @FuriaRubel & all the #blawgers panelists! (@PRSAPhilly) #PR #blogging #mediarelations
Thanks to Twitter, and platforms like whashtag.com, it is possible for people to participate in programs such as this, both in person and virtually. Simply designate a hashtag at the outset of the program and people can Tweet about program takeaways in real time. And if you enjoyed the tips provided through the twitter-stream, you’ll definitely enjoy the podcast provided by The Philadelphia Bar Association: A panel of journalists on connecting with the legal blogosphere at the Sept. 16, 2010 meeting of the Bar-News Media Committee.
Gina F. Rubel is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications Inc., a public relations and marketing agency (www.furiarubel.com) with a niche in legal communications. (http://www.furiarubel.com/services.php) A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Gina is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers (http://www.furiarubel.com/everyday-public-relations-for-lawyers.php). Gina and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer’s blog and blogs for The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-furia-rubel). You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubel or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel. For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.
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