The amount of Twittering at ILTA this year was pretty phenomenal. I know that some sessions were covered so well that you really, truly did not need to be there to cover the flow of the session.
I was sitting in an iManage session and following the tweets from the very popular session on Leadership, and felt like I was actually able to attend two sessions at once.
With all of this Twitter activity though, it can be hard to go back and read what was said. Lucky for all of us, Niki Black has been collecting up the best tweets from the various keynote sessions and she has archived them on her Legal Tweets site. I suggest checking it out if you want to see what was said on Twitter. You can also simply do a search using the #ilta09 tag on Twitter and find all the Tweets or limit the search by keyword or date.
I posted a few hundred tweets. What was everyone’s thoughts on the use of Twitter at ILTA this year? I know that I found a number of new people to follow and was told a number of times that people appreciated the coverage. Always looking for more feedback though.
What a difference 12 hours makes! Tonight's recap of the Tuesday sessions at ILTA09 turned out amazingly well. Everyone got into the discussion, especially on this mornings Gen Y Super Session and the discussion on Litigation Support, and the whole episode has a nice flow to it. This episode is quite a bit longer than the past two, and it is absolutely worth a listen.
Astute listeners will realize that my first item was the same thing I talked about in episode 2. I should not have made my notes on the same card, the search engine session was on Monday (not Tuesday) :)
We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode, and would love to hear our conversation continue in the comments here and online.
I promised this would be posted soonish, about 14 hours ago. Better late than never.
In episode 2 we talk about the best sessions from Monday and what we are looking forward to in the Tuesday sessions. We recorded this episode on Tuesday morning actually and had a few issues with the podcast recording. You will notice after the introduction that it jumps straight into Melanie talking. Don't try and adjust your settings, I just had a technical malfunction. Later in the podcast you can hear some a few people who were working in the room that we decided to duck into for our make shift recording studio. Technical difficulties aside, there is plenty of discussion still included.
Comments are welcomed and encouraged, we look forward to hearing from you.
Well I've finally found some time to actually stop, drop and write down a couple of thoughts about this wonderful adventure we call ILTA09!!! It's been fun getting here, so here goes!!
I have a laundry list of topics that I'm interested in, and I'm excited to investigate as many as possible during this conference:
Infrastructure and Systems: We've implemented several datacenters this year, as well as a couple of other large projects. I'd like to see what's on the horizon in the Systems and Operations world, what new challenges hang in the balance and investigate new trends in the field.
Project Management: Implementing large projects thrusts most functional managers into the wonderful world of Project Management. While we've made great progress in our PM initiative, I'd like to get as much information as possible focusing on PM from an IT systems point of view as opposed to an applications development point of view.
E-Mail Management, EAS and IDOL: There's been lots of chatter among my applications and e-discovery colleagues regarding this topic. I'm very interested to learn more about this topic.
Mobile, Remote and Wireless vs. IT Operations: Both tracks are on the same day......AARRGH!! We will have to be creative, thank goodness for great presentation materials!!!
There are many more topics of interest, but will save some for a later discussion..... Now, it's off to visit with vendors at the Exhibit Hall!!!
Tom Koulopolus, the founder of the Delphi Group, gave a very interesting Keynote address this morning to kick off the ILTA 09 conference. The topic was innovation and how to drive innovation in our enterprises with less.
A couple of main points stick out to me from his presentation.
Innovation shapes us, we don’s shape it.
This means a lot to me and the way I think about interacting online. I am constantly watching the way that the internet, and the social media space in particular, change and I adapt the way that I work with the web tools as those changes are made. This is not just simple UI changes, but very significant ways in how we share and consume information. RSS, Twitter, URL shortening, search and web analytics all have played a big role in how I am accessing and re-sharing information online. These innovations are driving the way that I act online.
Behaviors are very, very important. Watch them change, then you get innovation.
How many times do you hear people say, “we can’t do that here it is not in our culture” or “where do you think you work, that will never fly here”. Firm culture is often an inhibitor to change at a law firm, and it is this behavior that you have to watch in order to get real innovation in your enterprise. If you understand the behaviors and can adapt them to move forward you are able to affect real innovation in your firm. The idea of changing behaviors reminds me of an article I read a while back called the 10 Faces of Innovation. In the article, the author spends some time talking about the destructive force playing the “devils advocate” can be to innovation. Changing that one behavior in people can make a big difference in how people share and exchange ideas.
Social networking leads innovation because it creates risk and threatens the status quo.
How important is this for the legal industry? I already mentioned the discussion on the ethics of social networking, and it has continued to be a hot topic. In the risk adverse law firm, social networking is going to be all about fighting through endless reams of red tape. It is going to mean that lawyers at all levels are going to be sharing opinions and commenting on those opinions. It means that partners are going to look to the work done by associates on wiki’s and blogs and use that work in their own practice. It means that information about clients and people will start to filter out of their silos to everyone in the enterprise. That is quite a change for a law firm, it is not the status quo.
It is not about invention, its about the way technology forces us to behave. It's about creating value.
This is the hard one for me, as the IT guy I want everything to be about technology. However, so much of social media and networking is not about technology. Technology is just the enabler, and it can be as seamless in our lives as a pen and legal pad. It really is about making a connection through these tools in much the same way you do when there is no technology more advanced than a hand shake involved. I heard this a number of times today in the E 2.0 track, it is the connections you make that have the value not the path you took to get there.
I think at the end what I am taking away from the keynote is that the world is changing, people are changing, the way we see the world is changing, it is our job as professionals to look at all of these changes and ask what they are and why they are going to work (or not work) for our companies.
Let me leave everyone with one of my favorite videos from You Tube.
Conference officially kicks off tomorrow, but Sunday has it’s fair share of activities. I started the day with a trip into the city, and a whirlwind tour of three museums. I was able to get my shopping for the kids out of the way, one less thing to worry about.
The first session of the day was the new Communities of Interest meetup. I decided to join in with the other social networkers and meet a few of fellow twitterers in real life. The room for our meetup was closed, and there was some discussion on whether or not that meant we were supposed to be meeting virtually, but we decided to stay for a face to face discussion.
The discussion was awesome, and quickly turned to the issues around ethics and social media policy. Quite a firms have taken a serious look at creating a social media policy, and have researched the policies of other companies, firms and many (even all) of the various state bar groups. It was a very interesting discussion and one that I need to do some serious thinking on for my firm. It was mentioned that IBM, Intel, the New York Times and the AP all have good policies that can be used as a reference (I was not able to find links to the NYT or AP policies in a quick search). Some other searches that might be useful to those wanting to research more on social media policies can be found at Google News, Blog Search and Twitter.
There has been a good amount of talk about the social media aspects of this years conference. This is certainly the best year to not be attending conference as it will be so easy to see, hear and understand what is going on. The official conference blog had an article the other day about the social media aspects of conference which is a worthwhile read if you have not already. I think the big take away from conference, especially for those who are not 100% sure on the whole social networking thing, is summed up nicely in the article with this:
“I feel like I need a personal testimony before I can imagine ways to suggest employing it to the advantage of my Firm…”
Hopefully everyone leaves conference this year with a better understanding of social media and how it can be utilized. It will be interesting to see what changes are made in firms when we get to the 2010 conference, social media is here to stay.
How is social media/networking playing into your daily life, and your attendance at conference?
The four of us discuss the topics that most interest us this year, as well as a few sessions we are interested in attending. We finish up by promoting a few of the sessions we are presenting.
Considering this is the first time any of us have podcasted, I think the episode came out quite well (even with my inability to say the word implications).
We will be recording an episode each day, and look forward to any comments you have on the show. Download
The following ILTA sessions were mentioned in this episode.
One of the trends that I noticed in this year's sessions is that e-discovery has an expanded presence across the educational sessions. From its primary locale in the Lit Support track, e-discovery is making increased appearances in Practice Management, Records, and Finance. My opinion is that this is how it should be since no part of the legal industry (corporate or law firm side) is really untouched by e-discovery. I look forward to the diversity of perspectives that this should present.
On the vendor side of things, there are several areas that I am interested in:
In-House Review Tools. Our firm has not upgraded our current tool since 2004ish. Yeah.... Things have changed a bit since then, so I am on the prowl for the latest and greatest. Of course, it also needs to be a proven and steady tool. You know, the one all the lawyers will love, that they'll be able to use without any training, that doesn't have any bugs, that will install with ease, and that will not need maintenance --ever. I'm just sure that the perfect tool is out there waiting for me: Relativity, Concordance, Summation, CaseLogistix, some newcomer? I'm coming for you, be patient.
Early Case Assessment: There seem to be new players in this area every week. We've tried a few with varying degrees of pleasure and pain. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the new versions (Clearwell) and other new or newer offerings at the show.
Case Management: We're seeing a rising demand from our attorneys for total case management tools -- with transportable feature -- hot case docs, depo transcripts, exhibits, correspondence -- the old binders in digital form. There are a few front-runners in this area, and I'm hoping to see a few more.
Project Management: Maybe it's just us (though I seriously doubt it) but we're really wishing for the magic pill of total organization (vs our current mostly effective but rather piecemeal approach). However, since no one appears to have developed the magic helmet that through osmosis transfers all details into a database of some sort, we are still on the lookout for better ways to comprehensively track our cases -- plans, scope, invoices, vendor specs, contacts, server space, media logs, destruction and archiving of records, and more.... Oh yeah, and again with the "cheap and easy" requirement. That's not too much to ask is it?
There are many other areas of interest and vendors to watch, but these are the ones at the top of my list. It's going to be a great week so, "see ya real soon" (Mickey Mouse Club).
Why is the world do I need so much stuff? Especially so much stuff that makes travelling on an airplane such a hassle?
I am a gadget fanatic! And there is no better time to pull out all of the stops than when attending a technology conference with a bunch of other geeks.
So what does a gadget fanatic bring to a tech conference?
EEE PC 1005HA – This is my current netbook, which I am loving, and will be using it for blogging, Twitter, and general web access.
BlackBerry Storm – Keeps me in touch with my work e-mail and allows me to access the web and Twitter. Perhaps most importantly though is that my Storm can be used as a tethered modem for those times that wifi is not available or just overloaded.
Blue Snowball – Wow I am going to try podcasting at ILTA. I bought a Blue Snowball condenser microphone to use for the podcast and am pretty excited to try it out.
Flip Mino HD – I am not sure how much video I will be recording, but it might be fun to do some recording in the vendor hall. This is a great little camera for taking HD video.
Canon XTi – I decided to go big with the camera this year, in part to take a couple of pictures for Iain at the Smithsonian.
Dell Wasabi Photo Printer – I am thinking I will not have much use for this, but it is a fun little gadget to have. I am considering trying to make a Twitter name plate for my conference badge.
and the rest…I have my Belkin portable power strip, Amazon Kindle 2, Nintendo DSi, Altec Lansing Travel Speaker (this little thing is awesome) and my Zune.
I think that is enough, don’t you? Looking forward to seeing how much I can make use of each of these gadgets throughout the week. Most of the usage should make it’s way to this blog so stay tuned.
PS. My day to day conference bag will be a Timbuk 2 mini messenger bag, although most of the gear made the trip in my Tom Bihn Ruk Sack.
The article, Tips for First Time Attendees, was published on the official ILTA blog the other day. In my opinion, the best advice they gave was to plan your activities ahead of time, specifically the article reads:
“Map out your session attendance early by any of the methods provided online, and stop at the registration desk or the “Ask ILTA” desk at any time to get your bearings.”
This is great advice, but I wanted to add one addendum too this, because I did not do it my first few times at conference and since I started my conference time has been better spent.
The vendor hall is filled with tons of companies, some you will be familiar with and some you will not. While the hall is a great place to talk to loads of vendors, it is a loud and crowded place where people are rushing to complete vendor bingo cards and collect the free swag so often given away at conferences. You can make some great contacts, but if you really want to get a good demo, you need to move away from the vendor hall and to the private demo room. Many vendors have these suites scattered about the conference center where they keep a few of their best demo/tech folks locked up performing small demos to select groups of people. You need to take advantage of the demo rooms/suites as you will often be talking with the best of the best at the company.
Here is my advice. We still have a couple of days until conference kicks off. Call any vendor that you really, really, want a product demo from today, and get a time setup in their demo room. It works out much better to pre-arrange than try to get on the schedule once you arrive. If you are not sure who you want to meet with, or come across someone you think you should meet after you arrive, try to get to their booth ASAP after the vendor hall opens on Monday and schedule a demo. In some cases you may just be able to meet with a company rep, over coffee or drinks, if the demo room is booked or not available when you are. Don’t be afraid to ask!
Conference has some amazing sessions, but the ability to meet with company presidents and lead programmers for the best legal specific software around is a huge boon. Knowing what is coming down the pipe from the CEO of the company that makes your favorite software is hugely beneficial and the demo rooms are a great, quiet place to uncover this information.
I will be presenting as part of a panel on blogging at ILTA this year. The session, Blogs: A Discussion of Current Trends, Benefits and Pitfalls, is in the Enterprise 2.0 track on Monday at 1:00 in the Maryland A room.
We are going to be discussing a number of different aspects of blogging, both inside the firewall and out. If our planning discussions have taught me one thing it is that the perception of what blogging is, and what it means for lawyers and the law firm, can vary quite a bit from one person to the next. We have certainly moved beyond a world where blogging was just a thing for uber-geeks and disgruntled teenagers, and into a world where blogging is an essential piece of any internet or enterprise 2.0 strategy.
I am very excited to be presenting at ILTA, something I have not done since my very first time at conference about 10 years ago. Super excited to be presenting with Mary Abraham and Kevin O’Keefe, two bloggers that I have followed for quite sometime. I am honored to be presenting in such good company.
When I started this blog I was under the impression that I was the only person from my firm attending the conference this year. A few months later, and only a little more than a week before conference, and we now have a total of 4 people attending.
Rather than keep this blog to myself I have invited the three other attendees to join me here and offer their own unique perspective on the conference. They have all accepted my offer and now this blog expands from simply covering IT applications issues and KM to covering systems and networking, litigation and practice support and records management.
To top this all off, the four of us plan to sit down each day at conference (and perhaps a few other times before and after) to record a simple “best of the day” podcast. I am excited about the possibilities for the podcast as it should give a very unique on the conference with people from so many different backgrounds.
One of the main reasons I like to attend the ILTA conference is to sit down with the various vendors and figure out what is new, and more importantly what is next. Conferences are a great show case for a vendors current product line, and a great way to attract new customers, but they are also a great way to reach out to existing customers and get a chance to listen to the people who are currently using the products. Just spending a few minutes in the booth talking to the representatives gives you a good sense for where they are heading, and what they think is the next big thing.
I hope that this years conference is no different. I am looking forward to talking with a few vendors in particular.
Autonomy: Obviously there is a lot to talk about with the recent merger and update of the product line. I think more importantly will be a chance to look very closely at 8.5, and discuss what is coming in 9.0. I have been saying for 2 or 3 years now that the idea of a desktop or even Outlook integrated client will not be around forever. Web services, and modern operating systems make the need for a client side program somewhat obsolete. I think we are seeing this with the Fileshare component of 8.5, the ability to simply browse to a folder in the OS and work with Interwoven is a step in the right direction. Really looking forward to seeing what options the future holds.
Workshare: Love them or hate them, they are the leaders in the comparison and document protection space in the legal industry. I have been hearing some interesting things about the work they are doing to pull the job of comparison and metadata extraction off of the client and put it up on the server. I am planning to learn everything I can about the new product offerings, how they work, and what the future holds. I am very curious about where they see collaboration enhancements in their products making a real difference in document collaboration. The bottom line is, we need to get some of our addins out of Outlook, and it looks like Workshare is working in that direction.
Microsoft: I am not sure what kind of presence they will have, but the use of MS tools at the firm is widespread. If they are there I want to take a look at the most recent developments with Office Communicator and Live Meeting. We are starting to use these more and more behind the firewall, and I would really like to see the use expanded. Of course, I will be keeping my eye open for any peaks at Office 2010. The next version of Office could be a real game changer. I think we will be skipping 2007 and waiting for 2010, so finding out what I can is important.
I am going to be reviewing all of the product offerings in three categories, as I like to know what is available.
Document Comparison: The ability to run really amazing redlines is the at the core of the practice for some of our attorneys. What is available? Is the compare feature that is built into Office finally good enough for real time use? What about real time comparison as part of collaboration like Workshare Pro has? This is always an area I like to explore, and it looks like the market has quite a few nice products to investigate now.
PDF Creation: I think this might be the bane of my existence. We have a PDF creation tool on every desktop, but many people need Adobe Pro/Std. What tools are out there? Can we get Adobe Standard style features for less than the cost of an Adobe Standard license? Does it make sense to go a none Adobe route?
Word Marco Packages: We are quite happy with the way Innova is working, but it is a market that deserves some looking into. Each of the vendors has a different UI and a different approach to how the macro suites should work. I am particularly interested in how the vendors are taking advantage of the enhancements in Word 2007 and beyond. Seems that a lot of things that are done via code today now have a place in the application directly ( building blocks for example).
As always, I am going to work on scheduling as many one on one meetings as I can with our core vendors to talk about where things are going. Once the conference schedule is out I will start populating my calendar with meetings, don't want to miss out on any critical sessions.
I always pack along two or three card or small board games when I head out of town. Depending on where I am going I find a few other players interest. I have planned a little extra padding into my ILTA trip this year and thought I would see if any of my fellow ILTAn's enjoy playing board or card games and want to plan a few hours one evening to play some games.
The last time I went on a trip I packed along three different games:
Coloretto - This is a simple card game of set collecting. I like this game because it is so easy to teach people to play, but has quite a bit of fun factor in it. The game plays quite fast and most new players want to play a second time (or more).
Settlers of Catan Dice Game - This game shares more in common with Yahtzee than the Settlers board game perhaps, but it is still a fun and light game.
Ticket to Ride Card Game - This game is closer to it's board game companion than Settlers is, but it is still quite different. The only downside to this game is that it can be a little confusing to teach. In this game you are trying to complete sets again, this time to complete tickets and move your trains across country.
I have a load of games both traditional and new and I am sure I will have some along. Interested in playing? Leave a comment here, or drop me a note on Twitter, Facebook or using my Profile.
The new ILTA 09 Conference Blog is live. In addition to conference related news and interviews you can find links to this and other conference related blogs and resources.
I just submitted my registration for the ILTA ‘09 conference that will be held in August in Washington, DC. This years conference is important to me for a few reasons.
They have added an Enterprise 2.0 track. My thinking at work turns more and more to introducing E 2.0 concepts into our firm.
I am expecting some interesting discussion around the Interwoven 8.5 line of products. Perhaps some real answers relating to e-mail management?
I am predicting that the back channel at conference this year will be quite rich. I thought it was good last year (I didn’t attend) and am hoping for spectacular this year.
The economy is hitting administrative travel and conference budgets hard. I really want to attend this year, so I am planning to foot the bill on my own (and pray for a turn around so I can expense it in August).
I thought it would be fun to throw together a personal blog for conference this year, so I will kick of Sean’s ILTA ‘09 blog today. Content should be come more frequent as August approaches. I will be live blogging the conference, and plan to share some video as well (got to love the Flip cameras). Stay tuned.
