Putting the Social into Social Media

One reason I blog is because of real-life interactions it enhances. Whether it is meeting someone new or running into someone that I have not spoken with before, the stories I put into this blog enhance that interaction (assuming the other person is a reader).

Last week at LegalTech I was able to have some great conversations with people. They knew what I have been up to just by reading my blog, being a Facebook "friend" watching my del.icio.us tags, my Twitter feed and any of the other ways I use social media.

It was great to chat with Tom Baldwin, the new Chief Knowledge Officer of Reed Smith. And to meet the "New Tom Baldwin" Rachelle DeGregory, who has taken over the Chief Knowledge Officer position at Sheppard Mullin. Rachelle claimed to be a reader. (Hi Rachelle.)

The once again anonymous LawyerKM and I were able to chat briefly.

My colleagues back in Boston were able to experience some of what was going at LegalTech. Catching up this week, we could focus our conversations on particular items that caught our attention.

Monday I was able to have lunch with Jessica Lipnack of Endless Knots. Jessica and I have been following each other's blogs and engaging in social media since last year's Enterprise 2.0 2007. We were able to have a great conversation because we had been following each other posts.

Why blog? It's about the conversation, on-line, on the phone or face-to-face.