Futurelawyer

#WhyIAmASolo - The New Normal Is My Old Normal

New Normal? This article about the changing relationship most people have with the Internet talks about a new normal, in which social contacts, work, and most human interaction is being accomplished on the Internet, using social media, video teleconferencing, email, texts, and other tools to engage with family, friends, colleagues, clients and others. Some of us, however, have been doing this for years, and, as I have aged, I have learned how to stay involved by using all of the tech tools that are now essential to coping with a world in which human contact has become dangerous. I have used tech because I enjoyed learning about it, and have loved gadgets since my first Atari game system in the Eighties. I learned to use it because I wanted the freedom to practice law wherever I happened to be.  However, the big deal for me was the increased productivity I gained using tech tools and the Internet. When the blogging phenomenon began, I saw it as a way to get my ideas and views out to a larger audience. Then, social media allowed me to connect with family and friends and new friends in a way that old tech didn't allow. So, don't be afraid of this technology. Jump in, the water's fine.

Old People Are Glad That Social Media Didn't Exist When We Were Young And Stupid

Aren't you nostalgic for the old days, when we were judged on our looks, and not on our social media posts?

How About We Cancel The Cancel Culture?

The recent kerfuffle about the MSNBC pundit who inartfully compared the Bernie Sanders movement to Nazi Blitzkrieg and the resulting calls to fire him from the Twitterverse got me thinking about Cancel Culture. We are teaching our children that anything they say can be used against them in the court of public opinion. The Internet makes it easy to be a judgmental troll who wants to ruin everyone who says things with which they don't agree. We are teaching our children that the worst thing they can experience is to be offended by another's speech. Guess what, kids. We Boomers grew up with some much more serious stuff, like the threat of global nuclear annihilation. To paraphrase Rodney King: "Why can't we all just let offensive words bounce off our delicate brains?" By the way, this is an equal opportunity problem. Comics, politicians, business people and just about anyone who gets their 15 minutes of fame is being attacked for what they say, instead of what they do. Do we believe in free speech or not? Are we a free society or not? Asking for a friend.

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Worry About Getting Fired For A Text To My Boss

Okay, I might lose a client if I use voice to text; but, my job is pretty safe from getting fired by my boss. Text on.

Self Promotion, For Lack Of A Better Term, Is Good.

Execupundit. Michael Wade describes being called out for his own self promotion, in this post from Execupundit. He uses a self laudatory promotional tag line "Someone You Want In The Room". Promotion oneself, and one's services, is a difficult thing. We are all schooled to believe that we shouldn't brag about our accomplishments. But, on the other hand, one of the truisms my mom taught me at an early age was: "Son, if you don't toot your own horn, nobody else will". So, in an effort to let the world know that we can be beneficial, and that we can give good service, we walk a fine line by be self laudatory in our advertising. In fact, if I had some decisions to make on management or other big issues, Michael Wade is someone I would want in the room. His wisdom and experience would bring a dose of clear thinking to any problem. So, Michael, we all want you in the room. And, just because someone wants you in the room doesn't mean you have to accept. Unless, of course, the money is good. (Hey, we have to eat). Hey, maybe I should hire myself out as a poet. Somebody you want to write a poem for you? I'm not cheap; but, I'm good. Toot, Toot.

 

Everything Old Is New Again

So, millennials. You think you are the first people to take pictures of your food? Get over it. Bumstead, you're on.

25 Blogs Guaranteed To Make You Smarter

25 Blogs Guaranteed to Make You Smarter. I am honored to make Kurt Harden's list this year. He gets it. Of course, Cultural Offering is also on my list of daily reads. Kurt gets it, since he correctly identified FutureLawyer as "not a law blog". As the blog has evolved, I am no longer on the ABA list of best lawblogs. But, I really appreciate Kurt's list, and thank him for the honor. The other blogs on this list are all wonderful, and they really will make you smarter.

Google Photos - Crop That Sucker

Google Photos gets markup functions for its image editor. Most amateur photographers (that means you, person with phone in hand taking photos and posting them online) make one colossal mistake with their photographs. They don't get close enough, and don't fill the frame with their subject matter. Sometimes, scenics and nature require broad views; but, if you are photographing people, animals, birds or other subjects, it is almost always better to get close. If you don't get close when you take the photograph, you can zoom in with the cropping tool of an image editor. There are a lot of these around; but, now, Google Photos, the best image collection cloud service, is providing editing tools in the app. You can crop and now make annotations on the fly. So, start cropping those photos, so I don't have to look at extraneous background anymore. Please.

RCS Messaging Coming To All Carriers Next Year

US carriers join forces to deliver RCS messaging in 2020 - 9to5Google. Rich Communications Services make text messaging a much better experience, allowing for high quality pictures and videos, better group chatting, and more. The Carriers were apparently spurred by Google's plans to upgrade Google Messages, and they want the consumer eyeballs to stay with the Carrier as long as possible. Also, the richer experience of the App based Facebook Messenger has caused many of us to use two SMS systems. Right now, you can do a lot more with Facebook Messenger; but, a built in RCS messaging system would already know everything about you and your phone. So, if you are ordering a pizza online, it would already know your phone number, etc. And, Facebook is a closed system; albeit, a huge one. What's in your phone?

Estate Planning In The Age Of Social Media

How to Tell Google What To Do With Your Data When You Die. Do you know where your data is? Do you know who has access to it? I know. When you were with her, you believed that she was the one. You were going to grow old together. You trusted her with everything, including your email, social media and other stuff. Sure, you did it because she didn't trust you, and she wanted to make sure you weren't texting the honey down the hall; but, , hey..love. By the time you realized that she was the girlfriend from Hell, it was too late. You are now with "the one", and you want to make sure your data is safe when you die. It takes some time; but, this LifeHacker article will get you started. Remember, Memento Mori, and data lives forever.