http://denniskennedy.com/blog/2009/08/bricklin-on-technology/ Legal technology, technologylaw and other musings. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:59:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://denniskennedy.com/blog/2009/08/bricklin-on-technology/comment-page-1/#comment-384 Jay S. Fleischman Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:48:03 +0000 http://denniskennedy_com.innosoftware.net/?p=1463#comment-384 It drives me crazy when people ask about the ROI of social media. That's like asking the ROI of going to the barber shop and spending 20 minutes chatting with the person sitting at the next chair - there is no ROI, but there is the inherent value of human contact. If I talk with the person in the barber shop for 20 minutes, our discussion may highlight our common interests. We become friends, go for coffee from time to time, and eventually come to trust one another. He and I never do business directly, but one day he's talking with one of his other friends who mentions they need help with a legal matter. It's up my alley, so he refers the person to me. Why? Because he knows me, likes me, trusts me - we've established a bond over time. The referral generates a healthy legal fee for my firm, and the person tells my barber-shop friend what a nice person and good lawyer I am. My friend's credibility with his friend goes up because the referral was a good one, and my credibility with my new friend continues to rise because I took care of his referral. What was the ROI of my interaction with a stranger at a barber shop? $0 short-term. But things like that happen all the time. What's Twitter? It's the same thing, only in 140 characters. It drives me crazy when people ask about the ROI of social media. That’s like asking the ROI of going to the barber shop and spending 20 minutes chatting with the person sitting at the next chair – there is no ROI, but there is the inherent value of human contact.
If I talk with the person in the barber shop for 20 minutes, our discussion may highlight our common interests. We become friends, go for coffee from time to time, and eventually come to trust one another. He and I never do business directly, but one day he’s talking with one of his other friends who mentions they need help with a legal matter. It’s up my alley, so he refers the person to me.
Why? Because he knows me, likes me, trusts me – we’ve established a bond over time.
The referral generates a healthy legal fee for my firm, and the person tells my barber-shop friend what a nice person and good lawyer I am. My friend’s credibility with his friend goes up because the referral was a good one, and my credibility with my new friend continues to rise because I took care of his referral.
What was the ROI of my interaction with a stranger at a barber shop? $0 short-term. But things like that happen all the time.
What’s Twitter? It’s the same thing, only in 140 characters.

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