First, for whatever reason, a substantial number of users prefer it to RSS or email syndication. I love my Google Reader but, truth be told, a huge number of people, including many who are extremely computer literate, simply don’t like RSS and don’t use it. Twitter is generally easier to operate and, given the nature of it, encourages readers to let a ton of information pass them by, as contrasted to watching their “unread” number continue to grow.

That’s a completely psychological issue, one that on the face of it should not make too big a difference. But it does. There are literally thousands of people who are far happier to “follow” on Twitter than to subscribe via RSS.

Second, twitter does allow a greater degree of interactivity than a blog. Via Twitter, I’ve chatted briefly who a number of people I’d otherwise probably never communicate with. How useful is that? I can’t answer quantitatively, but I’ve felt enriched by it and I think I’ve helped out the blog by developing some of these connections, as these same people have been more inclined to read and link to my blog.

So, I see the use. Do I think it changes everything? Absolutely not. But I can see the valued added, particularly once you get comfortable with it and limit your time/energy appropriately.

Twitter works for client development for those who choose to learn how to use it. It’s simply a preference thing – where do you like spending your time? Some lawyers like fishing for ‘innovative go-getting’ clients who are looking for like minded lawyers on Twitter.

But taking this step seems no more profound than sending out email updates. I’ll keep an open mind regarding actually writing Twitter updates, but for the reasons outlined in the post I currently have no urge to do so.

Kevin’s business is very different from mine. That would be enough to explain our differing views.

But who knows: the future might find me twittering away.

I thought Twitter was a big time waster for me at first, but I have met some wonderful people through Twitter. People who have enriched my life both on a personal and professional level.

Why I Won’t be Using Twitter Any Time Soon: http://bit.ly/ma7B

This would have brought interested readers and some would have stuck.

It would also be a good way for you to pose questions and get back quick answers. I do that all the time, but more for travel than legal questions.

@danharris

BTW, you can also connect Twitter to Facebook, and your blog updates will flow via Twitterfeed onto your Facebook update feed, again automatically. Just another way to get the word out.

This is recent, but, for the past 10 days, people have been signing up to “follow” me on Twitter at the rate of 1-2 per day. Really, it’s just an alternative to subscribing to the blog via email and RSS. When it’s this easy, why wouldn’t you want to do it? If that’s how some people want to subscribe, and it takes no effort, why would I deny them the option?

Plus, for someone who does public appearances, you can do an occasional manual Tweet as well – “Preparing to give a seminar in Boston on drafting biotech contracts” or whatever. I don’t think people mind that sort of fairly blatant advertising as long as its couched in “what I’m doing” terms and doesn’t overwhelm the more neutral informational stuff.