Can Law Students Use MySpace Effectively?
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Should young professionals have a MySpace page?
Not long ago, I recommended that law students delete their MySpace page. But I recently read on MyShingle and LexBlog about Anicia M. Ogonosky (pictured left), a young lawyer who uses her myspace page to market herself.
My strongest criticism with law student MySpace pages was with the fact that law students often ignored the fact that potential employers, potential clients, and other attorneys may view their page. I was surprised how many law students posted drunk, sexual, or other questionable photos, which did not market themselves in a professional light.
Ms. Ogonosky’s MySpace page is different from most students’ MySpace pages. She treats her MySpace page more like a law firm website.
I believe marketing on MySpace is a terrific idea if MySpace has the type of people you want as clients. For Ms. Ogonosky’s bankruptcy practice, MySpace could be a beneficial and inexpensive advertising option.
Regarding photos, it’s difficult to know whether a MySpace photo should be formal or more casual, like the photo here. Lawyers traditionally have photos in formal clothes. But that may be too stuffy for MySpace. Maybe business causal is the best attire for a professional MySpace photo.
History will show whether Ms. Ogonosky’s MySpace page was the step of a pioneer in law marketing or merely the method of an amateur.
UPDATE: Real Lawyers Have Blogs says that MySpace helps attorneys get clients.
This is part of a series of articles highlighting Web 2.0 websites for law students.
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November 1st, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Bloggers Don’t Let Bloggers Post Drunk (Or Naked)…
Top Law Student ask the question, Should young professionals have a MySpace page? Dealing most particularily with law students, TLS cites one example of a good MySpace blog used by a law student to market herself. However, TLS notes the…
November 3rd, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Good point. I want to emphasize that the Myspace (or Facebook, etc) sites should be professional. If they’re not professional, then I would hope that you adhere to your original comment: take it down.
I also agree with your selection of photos. I don’t see anything wrong with personality shining through. Some firms (one in Calgary in particular) redid all the firm websites to make them “funky”. Ie. we’re not all just suits.
January 19th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
[...] Can Law Students Use MySpace Effectively? [...]
March 29th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
As a Chicago Bankruptcy Attorney, I agree that any advertising to promote yourself is never a problem. There is so much advertising out there for attorneys that it is commendable to go out and try new methods. Just searching for bankruptcy lawyers in chicago turns up hundreds of listings on yahoo and google. Pay per click ads run $10-$20 per click for some search terms! Thats a pretty penny to pay!
Alos, it is a great way to reach out to those that may not respond to different medium. Targeting a certain market by advertising in their medium is actually a very wise move.
Terry Leeders
Chicago Bankruptcy Attorney
http://www.chicagobankruptcynetwork.com
June 20th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
[...] a profile on MySpace.com (many people search MySpace for old [...]