So the title says it all. I’m getting more and more frustrated with people on Facebook, Twitter, or other websites that are constantly selling their products or wanting you to visit their site and buy their “consultation” services. I think the networking gurus are the most frustrating of all. I’m not going to name names because my Mom told me that it wasn’t nice, but meeting other law students and attorneys is not always about “networking.” To me, that just means that you’re trying to solicit a job, or business or some sort of other advantage from that person. The relationship is not one of mutual give and take but one where the “networker” is just trying to gain a leg up.
I think back to the first day of law school when there were people set on meeting others with the intention of finding those with the best “credentials” in order to associate themselves with that group. I truly don’t understand that attitude. Relationships are not about personal gain, they’re about expanding your knowledge and generally just having fun. Some of the law students I have the most fun interacting with are those that are the least like me.
I’d be interested to hear from the practicing attorneys out there about how they feel about the “legal marketers” and “social media experts” out there. Now I don’t want to cast a wide stereotype, it’s not always the title but how the person interacts. I don’t want to get your sales pitches all the times, it’s like having a relationship with a telemarketer that can never turn it off. Thankfully, on platforms like Twitter, one can end that drivel with a single click. I have to admit, the most common source of an “unfollow” from me is too much self-promotion. I think its also interesting because few of those individuals out there promoting social media are actually engaging in it. They’re constantly re-tweeting themselves and links to their own material and are not engaging socially with other users.
The law students on Twitter have a pretty neat community that’s mostly based on creating actual relationships. Do we end up talking about cupcakes, Glee and bad movies fairly often? Yes, but it’s those silly conversations that allow the serious ones to have more meaning.
Well, there you go.
2 Comments
Well said! I think the advice your mom gave was just a pointer… you should still go ahead and name names!
I got sick of marketers and networkers (legally related or otherwise) on twitter and had a mass cull of all people I was following who loosely fell into those categories. Since protecting my tweets, I also decline any request to follow me from someone who looks like they’re trying to sell me something.
Had to be done!!
I agree wholeheartedly.
Lots of self-described gurus in this space at the moment. I think these “social media gurus/coaches” are able to lasso in older attorneys and other professionals because they don’t have the same experience with the net as the younger generation. Not to mention, they are used to outsourcing or delegating large portions of their business operation outside of their core legal practice.
However, it’s all so terribly transparent to student / young professionals that have grown up on the internet. The one thing that is easy to sniff out in “social media” is when someone is being genuine or not.