The Kennedy-Mighell Report

Google’s new social networking tool, Google Plus has burst onto the tech scene like a supernova. Are you already on it and thinking about abandoning Facebook, Twitter and all previous social networking tools? Is there still time to take a deep breath and a measured response? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell talk about Google Plus – both the tool and the phenomenon, its potential impact on social networking, and whether you need to be setting up Circles and moving to Google Plus. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

There are times when it feels like everyone is saying that all lawyers must use social media for marketing. And there are times when it seems like marketing must be the only possible use for social media. Is that really true? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell talk about what else social media can do for lawyers, and whether it’s time to open up the ways lawyers think about using social media. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom and Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

We used to focus on new Windows announcements and the software we installed on our PCs. Times have changed. The recent Apple announcements about iOS 5, Lion and most important, iCloud, have captured most of the headlines. The action is increasingly happening outside Windows and outside PCs. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell talk about the recent Apple iCloud announcement, the possible implications of iCloud, and where iCloud suggests legal technology is going. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Over the last few years, legal technology has become a field, even a career for some. You will often hear the term "legal technologist" used to describe those in this field. How does someone get started in legal technology and what does it take to be considered a legal technologist? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the history of legal technologists, how to get started in the field, and what they wish they would have known when they started out. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Should you really be checking your BlackBerry while I’m having a conversation with you? Do you need to reply to every email, text message, cell phone call and Twitter direct message? When is it OK to unfriend people on Facebook? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the evolving notion of "digital etiquette," where people are most likely to make missteps in digital manners, and their take on guiding principles for good and polite behavior in our digital world. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

As the number of legal technology options and platforms have increased, management of legal technology has become more complicated than ever before. Routine recommendations are changing because of smartphones, use of Macs, Web 2.0 and other changes. In important ways, our view of technology and even the Internet has become more personalized and less universal. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss how our technology is becoming more complex and varied, the resulting changes to questions you must ask and traditional recommendations, and ways to start to address the implications of this trend. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

The newest, the latest, the greatest. Yesterday's new technology is today’s old news. And we are already transfixed by next month's technology, let alone what we are hearing is in the works for 2012. Does our obsession with what's new have negative consequences? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss our seeming obsession with new technology, dealing with the pace of rapid technology change, and realistic strategies for dealing with new technologies. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

It seems the cloud is everywhere these days. Amazon, Microsoft and others have announced new, low-cost initiatives for online file management and storage. File management services like Dropbox have already gotten a lot of attention and praise. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss a specialized part of the cloud that might provide value to everyone, the advantages and disadvantages of cloud-based file management, and what’s driving these developments. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Despite all the talk about "search' on the web, the simple fact is that we’d trade all the "search" in the world for a lot more "find." The good news is that there are some developments that will help us get the information we want when we want it. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss what comes after traditional keyword search, new tools and techniques like recommendation engines and apps, and whether we are getting closer to being able to truly get the information we want when we want it. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

The first iPad was incredibly successful and the launch of the iPad 2 has created a fresh surge of interest in the tablet category. Is the iPad 2 the tablet device that lawyers have been waiting for? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss their experiences in line at the Apple Store on Opening Day attempting to get the freshest information for their audience, talk about their early experiences with the iPad 2, and speculate about the “post-PC era,” the iPad 2 and its potential impact on lawyers and their clients. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.