Law Technology

Six Steps to Becoming a Google Master

By Dennis Kennedy

I'm surprised how often I hear lawyers say that they want a document management, knowledge management, you-fill-in-the-blank program "to work just like Google."

As regular readers of this blog know, I don't fall into that camp. I have been known to mention that I'd like advanced search tools from Recommind, Attenex, DolphinSearch and others to come in personal versions that individuals (oh, say, like me, for example) could use.

My own private opinions about Google search aside (I might write about them some day), it's very clear that Google is quite popular among lawyers. In the "60 Tips" sessions on legal technology at continuing legal education conferences, it's now standard to see several Google tips.

Yet, many lawyers do not seem to use Google in effective ways. In fact, they seem to use it in strikingly ineffective ways.

So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite Google tips in my new technology column for the ABA Journal, Become a Google Master.

You will likely be familiar with some or even most of them, but, as with the best tips, several of them, especially the first, are self-updating tips that will keep on giving.

The overview:

1. School it.
2. Quote it.
3. Plus or minus it.
4. PDF or PPT it.
5. Blog it.
6. Advance it.

The details, of course, are in my article.

Will this make you a Google master in one sitting? Nah, it's a journey, not a destination. As I say in the article, "Ah, Grasshopper, with these six simple steps you can jump to the head of the class and move forward on the path to Google mastery without any concern about a query or Boolean deflecting you from your path."

Note: Twitter users can find me at @denniskennedy.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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Full post as published by DennisKennedy.blog on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).