So everybody has a blog these days. I know this because I read the bios of people on twitter, and they say so. I check out the CLE “how to blog” offerings that arrive daily in the email box and see the lawyers teaching have blogs. The only problem is that, most of the time, I’ve never heard of them.
And according to what they say, they are renown, award-winning, famous and very important bloggers. And still, I’ve never heard of them. Sometimes I check out their blogs, and they have a handful of posts at most, the last of which was written a few months back. Mostly dreck.
Some copy drivel from the news and toss in the marketer’s required “call to action.” Some are obviously written by close friends from Bangalore, for whom English is a third language. Some shamelessly cut and paste, flagrant theft of another person’s efforts, without a thought added. But they’re bloggers. That’s what they say. And famous ones at that.
Connie runs around the interwebz attempting to curry favor with other bloggers. His name isn’t really Connie, but I call him that as a pointed joke. I doubt he thinks it’s funny, as I’m harshing his branding strategy. His real name is Christopher Hill, but you will never see a comment left by anyone with that name. Nope. Instead, his comments are left in the name of ConstructionLaw at places where real lawyers hang, like the Puddle.
Not that his comments would generate much by way of discussion, as they’re invariably insipid, but then, why bother to put in thought if the only point is to use the comments on other people’s blogs to brand and market yourself? Connie isn’t there to talk, but just to add his brand and link. The theory is that if someone does this enough, you will remember the brand and forget the vacuous comment behind it.
But everybody is a blogger, and so too is Connie. Because of my generosity of spirit, I decided to check out Connie’s blog, Construction Law Musings. Cool name, right? And the first post I stumbled on took me by surprise.
How a Legal “Blawg” Helps! (Thanks Blog for Profit)
Written on August 16, 2013 by Christopher G. Hill
Originally posted 2009-10-19 11:00:37.
Thanks to @grantgriffiths and Blog For Profit for the great opportunity to guest post during their “31 Days to Kick Your Blog in the Butt” series:
Here’s an excerpt of my guest post:
When I started Construction Law Musings back in December of 2008, I did so on a whim. I had heard that a blog was a good way to get ideas out there and that I could get some benefit, so I dove right in and charged ahead.
Before I started the blog, I had profiles in what I thought were all the “right” places, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, JDSupra, etc. but did not see much of a payoff.
All that changed shortly after I started to become active on Twitter and post regularly Construction Law Musings.
For the rest of my Musings at Blog For Profit, click here.
Grant Griffiths? Well, that was a blast from the past. For those of you who haven’t been around the blogosphere for too long, Grant was an early adopter, working hard with Susan Cartier Liebel to push the marketing envelope. His schtick about how he transitioned from lawyer to marketeer and blogging coach omitted a bit of a nasty detail. The ubiquitous Griffiths sort of disappeared after that, at least among lawyers. Apparently, not all lawyers. Apparently, not Connie, who deeply appreciated Grant’s buttkick.
Knowing how closely tied Grant was with Susan, I took a guess and, surprise, found Connie was a teacher at Susan’s Solo Practice University, where young lawyers are trained to be marketing juggernauts like Rachel Rodgers.
Maybe Connie is a good lawyer. Maybe even a great lawyer. I dunno. It would seem that a good lawyer would be more circumspect about the people he lauds on his blog, like Grant Griffiths, but it’s hard when your eyes are so utterly blinded by marketing and appreciation for any crumb thrown at you. Obviously, Connie is neither picky about who he associates with, nor critical about the gutter in which he wallows.
At the Puddle, Connie replied to a typical Brian Tannebaum joke in response to a post by Sam.
Connie didn’t get the joke. But Connie is a blogger. And Connie is branding. And Connie is marketing. And Connie is a lawyer. Yet, he didn’t get the joke. Ironically, Connie is indeed one of the “cool kids” Brian pokes in his joke. He just doesn’t realize it.
I bet that Chris Hill would be a fine guy to have a beer with. Maybe we could talk about how his practice is going and all the things he’s trying to do to make his practice happen. But there is no person named Chris Hill, just a phony brand called ConstructionLaw, that’s hooked up with other phonies, trying to market their way into reality. I bet if we had a beer, he wouldn’t want to be called Connie. And yet, he hides his name behind his brand.
So when you write in your twitter bio that you’re a blogger, are you? After all, everybody says they are, just like Connie. Who are you fooling?
So you’re “static” (see, not going by an actual name either) that has been giving me a hard time? Nice to meet you! I didn’t know that it was you who was making the wonderfully witty remarks. Had I known, I probably would have replied. It was interesting to me that I didn’t know who thought they were humorous. Didn’t really do anything for me but create a minor amount of curiosity.
Yes, I’m a blogger (for over 4 years), and yes I go by the handle “constructionlaw” on Twitter (started with that handle and just kept it because it’s easier), and that is my user name on Disqus (where you can find my name and profile as I see that you did). I got the joke at Lawyerist by Brian and enjoy his blog as well.
The Grant Griffiths post was a re-post (I bring forward some of the posts from the past), if you must know and I was just posting my two cents worth on a couple of the posts over at Lawyerist as I do occasionally at various blogs like this one. I invite you to read more of the posts at my blog in order to get a better feel for what I (and others) write about there. Once you get a chance, you’ll have a better idea how my practice is going and what I’m about.
In the meantime, I appreciate your interest (whether real or just to find a target to poke fun at) and maybe, if you’re in the Richmond, VA area, we can have that beer.
Thanks Scott
Chris
I would like to have a beer with Chris. I don’t want to have a beer with ConstructionLaw. Chris is a person. ConstructionLaw is a brand. Be a person. There are a number of bloggers, who are generally not as antagonistic to hot pants as I am, where you regularly comment that find your use of ConstructionLaw disturbing, but wouldn’t mention anything. I will.
And you might want to rethink reposting about your connection to Grant Griffiths, unless that’s the message you want to send.
As for static, I guess you didn’t read Chris Bradley’s interview of me at the Puddle a while back. Perfectly understandable.
Scott,
I appreciate any constructive criticism. Frankly,.you give me too much credit to think I have any coherent marketing strategy. I use my name where a blog doesn’t use Disqus or some othe platform that asked for a user name. I was actually told a while back to change the twitte r handle but I just haven’t. Not hiding anything or doing it for branding or SEO purposes (I spam filter out all plugs for seo marketing). In fact if you find other places where I’ve commented, my name is right there. Where a UN is necessry, you can find out about me from the link and check me out all that you need to.
I tend to get annoyed by the constant emails from those with great guest post ideas and from whom I’ve never heard before. At my blog you’ll see postt mostly from me or my relatively regular guest posts from my friends that i know.
I will check out the interview.
Thanks again, and thanks for pointing out the potential issues with my user name (if I remember right Chrisghill was taken at the time)
Ps- Ive taken that post out of the repost queue.