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Nothing But Net
By: Larry P. Schiffer
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NOTHING BUT NET
By: Larry P. Schiffer, LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Greene & MacRae, LLP, lschiffe@llgm.com
The Internet offers a dizzying array of methods with which to
exchange business information and to communicate with our business partners and clients.
This article will discuss a few of those methods and hopefully clarify what each of those
methods has to offer.
First, we have the ubiquitous e-mail. E-mail has become the de
facto standard for quick and easy business communication both inside the office and
outside to clients and business partners. I don't know about you, but I receive twenty to
thirty external e-mail messages each business day (and many on weekends) and send an equal
amount. Word processing documents and spreadsheets are easily attached to e-mail messages.
E-mail is faster than faxing, cheaper than faxing and overnight mail, and more
environmentally friendly. Nearly all businesses and their attorneys communicate by e-mail
to some degree.
Running a close second to e-mail these days is the instant
message or IM. Developed for personal communications, IM is fast becoming a quick way to
communicate instantly with co-workers in large offices and with clients. Sometimes
erroneously called Chat, IM is a direct, terminal-to-terminal live communication between
one user and another. Registered users keep a list of other users -- called a buddy list
by AOL -- and know instantly when a user on their buddy list has logged onto the system.
All the popular Internet portals have developed IM capability. Made popular by America
On-Line (AOL Instant Messenger), international Internet users have been communicating with
relatives and friends across the world for years using ICQ, which is now owned by AOL. The
big problem with IM is that not all IM services work with each other. This means that if
you are signed on to AOL Instant Messenger, you will not be able to send or receive IMs
with a user of Yahoo! Instant Messenger. Hopefully, compatibility between IM services will
exist soon and buddy lists will be able to contain users of any IM system.
Chat software is another Internet communication method
developed for personal use (AOL Chat Rooms), but which has business applications. Chat
software allows a group of users to simultaneously post real-time messages in a central
location, which are read by all those logged on to that Chat. Chat software is now being
used by the ABA and other CLE providers to allow for live question and answer sessions to
supplement Internet or telephone-based CLE programs. The difference between IM and Chat is
that IM are individual live messages between two users and chat are public messages
exchanged between a group of users. Chat is an economical alternative to traditional video
or long-distance telephone conferences between workers or attorneys and clients who must
collaborate on a project.
Message Boards or Discussion Groups are another application
developed for personal use that have been adopted for business use. These methods use
software that allows users to post messages (like e-mails) to a bulletin board-type
structure. The discussions can be organized by subject or title. Replies to posted
messages are linked together so that a user logging onto a discussion group can see the
initial post on a subject and can determine how many responses or sub-posts have occurred
for that subject. Essentially, discussion software organizes posted messages like a
computer's directory structure, or put more simply, in folders that relate to each other.
Discussion group software is often used by bar associations or other law-related web sites
to organize information by legal topic. Those of you who remember Counsel Connect will
recall how vibrant and valuable some of the discussions were to both attorneys and
clients. AOL is famous for its forums on legal topics, and many legal portals have
developed discussion groups on virtually every legal topic. The ABA is using discussion
groups to supplement its web-based and teleconference CLE offerings.
Usenet newsgroups are similar to the use of discussion group
software on web sites. Newsgroups are accessed through a newsgroup service provided by
most Internet service providers and usually are accessible through a newsgroup reader
built into Internet browsers. Newsgroups have been around for quite a few years and cover
a wide range of legal topics. Unfortunately, newsgroups postings are notorious for spam,
or junk postings, on unrelated and often pornographic subjects.
These are just some of the common methods of communication
over the Internet available to lawyers and clients to exchange business information.
Streaming audio and video, live web-based video conferencing, web-based white boards,
telephony, and other technologies are also being used by businesses on the leading edge of
technology to speed up and reduce the cost of business communications. What are you using?
Let us know at lschiffe@llgm.com.
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