The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/163881
How Have COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERED You? Marketing Professional MY iPHONE AS A MEGAPHONE: THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA by Allison Spence of Thompson Coburn LLP ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS BOUCHER, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED It's hard to tweet with Rahm Emanuel staring you down. Parked in the front row of an ABA Section of Litigation conference in Chicago earlier this year, I meekly raised my phone to snap a quick photo of Mayor Emanuel and his good friend and copresenter, David Axelrod. As I lined up the shot, Emanuel turned to look, then kept his eyes locked on me while I captured several images. With a flick of my finger, I cropped the best image, applied a quick filter and shipped it to Thompson Coburn partner Bill Bay, then the chair of the Section of Litigation, who was avidly tweeting from the back of the ballroom. I felt a little odd playing the paparazzo during a panel discussion, but the up-close-and-personal picture was a fantastic addition to Bill's stream of dispatches. His followers loved the live-tweeting, and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay retweeted us to his 19,000 followers. Immediacy, transparency, credibility: These are the hallmarks of business communications in the age of social media. And for law firms in particular, social media platforms provide an unparalleled opportunity to be seen and — more important — heard by prospective clients. Peer to Peer 45