Friday, July 25, 2014

Smartphones Are Getting Bigger

Remember when smaller was better in the cell phone world?  Well, we are apparently heading in the opposite direction.  Now smartphones are getting bigger.  Here is the Samsung Galaxy W:



It is a big boy, with a 7 inch screen.  That's BIG.  My iPhone 5S has a 4 inch screen, and it only measures 5 inches from tip to tail.   

The android driven W is on the street in China, and heading for the U.S. It is being referred to as a  "tablet phone," so we have new lexicon to add to our vocab.  My question is how is this thing gonna fit in my pocket?

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Jawbone ERA headset review

Plantronics Voyager Legend
For a couple of years now I have been using the Plantronics Voyager Legend bluetooth headset with my iPhone.  I like the secure fit of the over the ear design, and the boom microphone provides excellent audio.  At $99 it's not a bargain, but it works and works well.

Jawbone ERA
I own three VLs.  The problem is that I keep misplacing them. With my latest shortage I decided to scan the web to see what's new in the world of headsets.  The more I searched the more I read about the latest headset from Jawbone, its ERA bluetooth headset.

I went to Amazon, made my Prime purchase, and had a new ERA two days later.  I must say, I am
impressed.  I give it thumbs up for the sleek, tiny design and excellent sound quality.  So far the in-the-ear fit has worked well. With previous Jambone models the in-the-ear idea would tend to fail, and I suffered from the headset falling out of my ear at the worst possible times. Admittedly I have not been doing gymnastics with the ERA on, but it has stayed stable while driving, walking, and working at my desk.  Early on-line reviews were critical of the firmware for the device.  Jawbone seems to have remedied those problems with updates.  Admittedly I am not a sound engineer, I am just a guy talking on the phone.  For doing that the ERA is working great. I don't have any criticisms.

If you register your headset with Jawbone you will enjoy the benefit of being able to download optional voice instructions, a frequently called number list, and more.  You will then also be able to utilize the nifty iPhone app, and install hardware upgrades.

The ERA retails for $99.99.  There is an optional charging case (that provides safe storage and extra battery life) that raises the price to $120.  I opted for the charging case, and am glad I did.
ERA with charging case

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

#bluetoothheadset #jawbone #ERA #Harding&AssociatesFamilyLaw #californiafamilylaw #divorce #family law #superlawyers #americanacademyofmatrimoniallawyers #Pleasantondivorce #AlamedaCountyDivorce #ContraCostaCountyDivorce #lawyers

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Marketing Automation

As a group we lawyers are growing into the idea of social marketing. LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, blogging are all options that we are dabbling in. Some of us check in everyday.  Others go months at a time with no interactions.  What should we be doing?

The first step is planning.  The second step is implementation. The combined exercise is called marketing automation.  You can do it yourself, or you can let others do it for you.

There are technologies and companies that will do the work for you. Custom software solutions exist, as well as entire companies created to step into your marketing shoes for you. There are writers that will create content, and technologies that will disseminate your marketing across the many platforms that exist.

Wendy Coombes is a marketing consultant with an expertise in technology.  According to Wendy, if you are to successfully employ technology based marketing  in this day and age you must cast a wide net, and you must plan, plan, plan.  When done properly marketing technology enables business to execute campaigns, automate processes, and measure their impact. Over at Duct Tape Marketing Wendy posts a great article on her methods for marketing automation. Click here to read Wendy's original article.

As for letting someone else do the work for you, there are all kinds of pay-to-play providers ready and willing to go to work for you.

The 20 Most Popular Marketing Automation Software Solutions
© 2011 Capterra, Inc.

Admittedly some of these solutions may be a bit too grandiose, and too expensive, for the average family law law firm.  There are more modest alternatives.

If you want to do something as simple as creating a blog, you can pay others to do that for you.  Lex Blog will be happy to do ALL of the work for you.  Alternatively there are hundred (nay thousands) of independent writers out there will to provide their services for hire.  Check out BlogMutt, Blur Group, or oDesk.

Then again, you can do it yourself (I do!).  As Wendy advises, make sure you have a plan.

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

#Harding&AssociatesFamilyLaw #californiafamilylaw #divorce #family law #superlawyers #americanacademyofmatrimoniallawyers #Pleasantondivorce #AlamedaCountyDivorce #ContraCostaCountyDivorce #lawyers

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Scanner Pro

Over at The Mac Lawyer my friend Ben Stevens has a great post about the Scanner Pro app.  He also lets us know that it is on sale!  Click here for a look.

In my opinion, and Ben's, Scanner Pro is simply the best scanning app out there. Truly a great app!  If you ever need to do any scanning with your device, you need Scanner Pro.

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 








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Solo nets Supreme Court win!

I know this has nothing to do with technology, but I think it is pretty cool. Andrew Simpson is a sole practitioner in the U.S. Virgin Is...