Social Media

Social media is a legitimate business tool, although it is still widely misunderstood, mistrusted and misused.

Social media can bring you real-time news and competitive intelligence, and help you with work-life integration. It is a tool for customer relationship management, and business development.

A social media presence for businesses of all size is a basic service expectation by clients and customers in today’s connected world. The public had become accustomed to contacting businesses via social media, to have a conversation, give feedback and receive customer service.

Social media is about sociology not technology.
_{Brian Solis (1970 – )}

You may choose to avoid social media, but that won’t prevent your clients and customers from discussing your business on social media – you just won’t be part of that conversation, and won’t be able to influence the public discourse about your business …

Personal branding, including a professional social media profile, is also becoming a quintessential professional standard at all levels of seniority, across all industries. Blogging increasingly forms part of a well-rounded online presence, with professionals sharing their knowledge and opinions, and engaging in conversations with readers. It doesn’t matter what your job or profession is – whether you are a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, a plumber or a teacher, a blog enables you to share your knowledge, engage your peers, and reach the public.

I am experienced in establishing and maintaining successful professional blogs, including a restructuring and insolvency blog, which was used in the practice and business development of a prestigious national law firm for over six years. I also practice what I advise others to do, and I have a professional and personal blog of my own, The Vue Post, where I write about social media, the law, technology, and cultural and social issues.

I have had a web presence, and blogged in a range of formats, since 1999, and have been actively engaging with social media since it emerged a decade ago.

Many struggle getting their head around the concepts of social media presence, personal branding, and blogging. Even identifying the relevant platforms for creating a business or professional online presence, whether on a website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can be a difficult process. Those difficulties can contribute to the unease many feel about social media.

I am uniquely suited to help businesses, employees and professionals navigate the often confusing maze of social media, from planning, to establishing and managing a social media presence, and to provide support to business and legal teams on a wide range of social media relates issues.

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Publications

A selection of articles I published over the years which touch on the nature of social media, the issues it raises, and practical solutions:

• Social media round-up: March 2017 (27 March 2017)
• Social media round-up: February 2017 (27 February 2017)
• Social media round-up: January 2017 (30 January 2017)
• Social media round-up: November 2016 (28 November 2016)
• Social media round-up: October 2016 (31 October 2016)
• Social media round-up: September 2016 (26 September 2016)
• Social media round-up: August 2016 (29 August 2016)
• Social media round-up: July 2016 (25 July 2016)
• Social media round-up: June 2016 (27 June 2016)
• Social media round-up: May 2016 (30 May 2016)
• Social media round-up: April 2016 (26 April 2016)
• Social media round-up: March 2016 (24 March 2016)
• Social media round-up: February 2016 (28 February 2016)
• Social media round-up: January 2016 (27 January 2016)
• Social media round-up: December 2015 (5 December 2015)
• Social media round-up: November 2015 (3 November 2015)
• Social media round-up: October 2015 (2 October 2015)
• Google’s French affair becomes unforgettable (23 September 2015)
• Social media round-up: September 2015 (22 September 2015)
• The dancing baby, YouTube, Prince and Universal Music (17 September 2015)
• Social media defamation on the rise? (27 August 2015)
• The Hockey Twitter defamation case brings the law into focus (4 July 2015)
• Social media for lawyers and knowledge professionals (18 June 2015)
• Does the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney truly understand social media? (26 May 2015)
• A bad social media month for SBS (25 May 2015)
• Scott McIntyre v Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (20 May 2015)
• What’s new in social media: May 2015 (9 May 2015)
• Social media meets the law: March 2015 (21 March 2015)
• The social conundrum (8 February 2015)
• ‘Social Media and the Law’ – a self-indulgent book review (9 October 2014)
• A case for legal blogging (9 October 2013)
• Never turn the interns loose on social media! (10 January 2013)
• Don’t do social media if you can’t be bothered … (9 January 2013)
• Five years after Twitter arrived, companies still fail the social media test: the Qantas ‘fail’ experience (31 October 2011)