Who is Canada's Most Influential Woman in Social Media?

Well, I've resisted blogging about this up until now, but my excitement has gotten the better of me. A short while ago Canadian marketer Dave Forde started putting together a list of most influential Canadian women in social media. I was nominated to the list (a fantastic honour!) and then Dave opened it up for voting. The vote is open until 11:59 pm ET December 31, 2008 (i.e. just before the stroke of midnight tomorrow night!).

I encourage you to head on over to Dave's post to check out who else is in the running to be Canada's next top social media diva! Lots of my friends and women I admire are there--it is quite a list. Vote for your favourite. Hey, and if you happen to want to vote for me, fantastic.

By the way, you do not have to be Canadian to vote. In fact, the further afield you are, the more widespread the influence is proven I suspect. ;-)

On a related note, after opening this up, Dave also started up a contest for Canada's most influential men in social media. You can vote on that one, too.

Cheers!
Connie

2008 Blawggies - Law-related Blogging Awards Announced

I recently told you about the upcoming 2008 Clawbies. Well, yesterday Dennis Kennedy released his 2008 Law-related Blogging Awards, i.e. the Blawggies (I love these names!).

Not only was Slaw (the cooperative Canadian law blog I help author) named the "Best Overall Law-Related Blog" (wow!), but also he posted Canadian law-related blogs as the best overall category, with special mention to Canadian law librarian bloggers. Nice. There is definitely a Canadian flavour to the full list. Here is the full list, but I encourage you to read his explanations and check out the runners-up:

THE 2008 BLAWGGIE AWARDS

1. Best Overall Law-Related Blog - SLAW

2. The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Blog - Evan Brown's Internet Cases

3. Best Law Practice Management Blog - Bruce MacEwen's Adam Smith, Esq.

4. Best Legal Blog Category - Canadian Law-related Blogs

5. Best Legal Blog Digest - Stark County Law Library Weblog

6. Best Blawg About Legal Blawgging - Kevin O'Keefe's Real Lawyers Have Blogs

7. Best Legal Podcast - Tie: This Week in Law and Bob Ambrogi's and Craig Williams' Lawyer2Lawyer Podcast

8. The Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Legal Blog Award - Chuck Newton Rides the Third Wave

9. Best Law Professor Blog - Jim Maule's Mauled Again

10. Best New Law-related Blog - Jordan Furlong's Law 21

11. The DennisKennedy.Blog Best Legal Technology Blog - Futurelawyer

12. Most Important Trend in Law-related Blogging - Microblogging

Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks to Dennis Kennedy for putting these awards together again.

New Facebook Feature: Embed Videos onto Other Sites

Below is a video I recorded with my macbook directly into Facebook. I noticed a new feature that allows the video to be "embedded" (or posted) onto another site, so I am trying it out. Details below the video on how I did it.



I took the embed code and put it into the HTML editor here on Blogger. It is supposed to also honour any security settings I have on facebook. I marked this video so that 'everyone' can see it. I am curious to know if you can/cannot see it. Can you?

Original size above; increased size (with HTML tweaking) below.

2008 CLawBies - Nominations Now Open for the Canadian Law Blog Awards

Steve Matthews of Stem Legal is again running his Canadian Law Blog Awards (a.k.a. the CLawBies). He is, however, changing things up by asking us, his readers, to nominate our favourite Canadian law blogs. From his post:

2008 Nominations

Between now and Friday December 27th, you may nominate a Canadian authored legal blog in one of two possible ways.

1. Simply email your favourite blog (yes, you can nominate your own) with some of your finest 2008 posts or any other notable highlights to Steve Matthews at steve@stemlegal.com.
2. Or method number two, and this is much more fun … write a blog post about three other Canadian law blogs you currently read and tell us why those blogs are important to you. Now, here’s the bonus: in doing so, you are expected to be a humble Canadian and tell us NOTHING about your own blog. In return, your blog will receive a thorough review, as will your suggested peers, AND you get a chance to plug a fellow Canadian blogger!

   Noted: No, we’re not voting like the ABA… but linking out to fellow Canadian legal bloggers adds to our infrastructure, and let’s us share audiences. That way, the process helps everyone, and the award is simply a final recognition.

My nominations

Oh, who to nominate? It's a tough one!! Here's my stab at it--

• Law is Cool - this blog has gone far beyond being simply a student blog, and has become an essential part of the Canadian law blog fabric over the past year. It is a must-read!
  
• Precedent: The New Rule of Law and Style - this blog, which is now also a magazine for young lawyers, consistently has Canadian legal news before other sources. This blog gets big style points from me for a streamlined, simple but sophisticated "look-and-feel". It's no wonder the ABA Journal included it in its recent "Blawg 100" list.
• Slaw.ca - it may be a bit of a conflict including this one in the list, but even if I didn't contribute to Slaw, I would be a huge fan (and am a huge fan). It was also included in the ABA Journal "Blawg 100" list. There is a continual stream of essential reading and provocative posts. Slaw stepped things up in the past year by adding a number of new contributors, and has had some excellent columns. I should start highlighting some of my favourite content from the past year for those of you who may have missed some of it.

Runners up

There are so many others I would have liked to nominate!! Here are just a few--

• Law Firm Web Strategy blog - Yes, Steve Matthews' own blog is on my must-read list. I am always learning something new from Steve. I find his focus extremely inspirational--I am not so nearly focused either in my blogs or in my real life interests. Still, it is something to strive for! Steve is extremely smart and is generous in sharing his thinking with all of us both on this blog and over on Slaw.
• Thoughtful Legal Management by Dave Bilinsky - Dave is very thoughtful in his posts. I love his synthesis of thought and his style on this blog.
• Halo Secretarial Blog - I had never really thought about virtual legal assistants until I met one in the blogosphere! Laurie Mapp uses her business blog to talk about social media, work efficiency, and how virtual legal assistants are playing an increasing role. I like that her blog strikes a perfect balance between a personal and a professional tone. She has recently launched a new look--love the new green!
• All About Information - Dan Michaluk has done a great job of putting together a consistent, focussed blog on access to information and protection of confidential business information. He is one of the few out there talking specifically about case law, and is a great model for what could be done in other subject areas.
• Library Boy - Michel-Adrien Sheppard is a master of pulling together key resources on timely subjects. If you are doing legal research on "hot" topics, you should check his blog first.
  

There are so many more! But, I will leave this here and invite you to nominate your picks either via your own blog, or by emailing Steve. Don't forget, the deadline is Friday, December 27th!

Happy Movember!

Only a day late--November was "Movember". The Canadian campaign raised $550,000 in November 2007. Your Canadian donation goes to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.