Reinventing Digital Marketing in Australia

May 16th, 2012 → 10:27 am @ Ari Kaplan

I had the chance to participate in the Law Firm Marketing Masters series and on a recent visit to New York City, I met with its creator, Dan Toombs, the founder of Grow Your Firm, an Australian web marketing company that assists professional services firms with enhancing their digital presence.  We discussed the state of the Australian market and the benefits of leveraging Vizibility, among other topics.  Watch our interview below:

ari kaplan &australia &Blog &content generation &dan toombs &digital marketing &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &global &law firm &law firm associations &law practice management &law-related &lawyers &legal industry &legal management &legal practice &leveraging technology &litigation &Profile &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &small law firms &solo practice &web design &writing

A New Era in Raising Capital – Kickstarting with Kickstarter

May 7th, 2012 → 1:20 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I have been reading various reports about the makers of the Pebble watch shattering fundraising records on Kickstarter (including this recent article from CNNMoney).  At the time of this posting, Pebble had secured $8,892,610 from 59,100 backers (over $5 million more than the prior record holder, Double Fine Productions). Then I saw this discussion of 8 Tips for Raising Money Through Kickstarter and wanted to share its tips:

1. Set your goal lower than you think you need
2. Have a record of accomplishments
3. Look at successful and unsuccessful campaigns
4. Give good rewards
5. Make a short, well-produced video (I have included Pebble’s video below)
6. Offer updates (I have also included the update video from Tim Schafer, the founder of Double Fine)
7. Thank contributors as they donate
8. Promote your project everywhere

To study Pebble’s (record-breaking) stats or to pre-order a watch, visit it’s Kickstarter page here.

ari kaplan &Blog &financial innovation &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &incremental innovation &leveraging technology &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &venture capital funding

3-D Printers and Reinventing the Production Cycle

May 2nd, 2012 → 11:30 am @ Ari Kaplan

I read this article in Fast Company about Brooklyn-based MakerBot Industries with great interest (not just because I am from Sheepshead Bay), as the idea of publicly available 3-D printers (albeit at a price of $1,749 each) captures the very essence of reinvention.  The ability to create prototypes and small-scale models has the potential to launch an entire generation of visionaries.  The article by Rob Walker details the company’s rise, profiles its founder, Bre Pettis, and offers this glimpse into how the printers work.

ari kaplan &automation &Blog &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &incremental innovation &law-related &lawyers &legal industry &leveraging technology &Reinvention

Advocating for Avvocating

April 19th, 2012 → 7:10 am @ Ari Kaplan

I will be speaking at the Avvocating Conference in Seattle on May 4th and had the chance to speak with Avvo‘s CEO and Founder, Mark Britton.  We discussed the genesis of the event and what attendees can expect. Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &avvocating &Blog &law firm &law-related &lawyers &legal education &legal industry &legal practice &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

Reinventing the Job Interview

April 17th, 2012 → 7:05 am @ Ari Kaplan

I had a chance to interview Todd Moster, the director of recruitment & placement for Moster Legal Placement in Beverly Hills, about his new book, The Underground Guide to Job Interviewing (CreateSpace, 2011), which he describes as “entertaining and funny as a teaching device to keep the reader’s attention.”  He notes that “there is no silver bullet; the main rule is preparation in job interviews.”  His tips include:

• Think about whether you want to make a job move and if it is appropriate.
• Find out as much information as possible about the position, e.g., day-to-day responsibilities, what happened to the last person in the role, and the reporting structure, among other elements.
• Practice articulating highlights of your experience in a way that should be clear to the interviewer.
• Think about questions to ask; not having questions could be fatal.  That is a one-way ticket down the elevator shaft without an elevator.
• Know the questions you should not ask, including what the position pays or the amount of training involved.

Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &Blog &careers &job interviewing &jobs &legal industry &legal recruiting &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

The Art of Wasting Time

April 10th, 2012 → 7:26 am @ Ari Kaplan

Interesting infographic from the team at OnlineCollegeCourses.com about who wastes the most time, how they do it, and why.

Brought to you by: Online Courses Resource

ari kaplan &Blog &careers &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &infographic &jobs &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &time management

Lessons From Three Decades in One Profession

April 4th, 2012 → 3:03 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I recently read “10 Lessons From 30 Years in the Law” by Mike Maslanka, the managing partner for the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith and the author of Work Matters, a popular blog focused on labor and employment issues.  Mike happens to be a lawyer, but his advice is just as relevant for accountants, architects, financial planners, and any other individuals who provide professional services.  His ten lessons include:

• Get the Facts
• Stay in the Moment
• Show, Don’t Tell
• The Law is a Grind
• Express Gratitude
• Trust Actions
• Hierarchy Kills
• Do Not Fight the Frame
• Be Gracious
• Recognize the Limits of Control

You can read his full discussion in the Texas Lawyer here.

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Certified E-Discovery Specialists and the 2012 ACEDS Conference

March 30th, 2012 → 4:05 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke today with Robert Hilson, the editorial director for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, which is hosting its 2012 Annual Conference next week (April 2-4) at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida.  We discussed the organization’s growth, its impact on the legal community, and his expectations for the upcoming event.  Listen to our interview below:

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mHealth – Reinventing Health Care

March 28th, 2012 → 7:13 am @ Ari Kaplan

When I wrote Reinventing Professional Services, I spotlighted changes in many different fields, including medicine.  I spoke with visionary leaders like Bryan Vartabedian, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, who writes and speaks about the convergence of social media and medicine, and practitioners.  I also profiled transformations in teleradiology and sleep medicine, as well as the promise of pharmaceutical vending machines and obtaining an online diagnosis, among others.

Adam Bluestein takes a comprehensive look at how mobile health care is revolutionizing the practice of medicine in Fast Company’s February issue: As Smartphones Get Smarter, You May Get Healthier: How mHealth Can Bring Cheaper Health Care To All, which includes this great infographic.

ari kaplan &Blog &fast company &ghostwriting &infographic &Medicine &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &vending machines &writing

Great Infographic – The Real Cost Of Patent Reform

March 23rd, 2012 → 2:25 pm @ Ari Kaplan

The February issue of Fast Company features this interesting infographic about The Real Cost of Patent Reform (click on the link for the image) showing, among other things, that the average patent wait time of 34 months is likely to drop, along with false-marking lawsuits and VC funding (because “in a first-to-file system, inventors have to be more careful about sharing ideas with anyone-including potential investors.”)

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