I signed up on Twitter because I was curious about this fast-growing micro-blogging service. I also wanted to find out what I could do within the confine of 140 characters as an information professional. Twenty  months down in my personal journey in Twitterland, I am here to report what I have discovered:

1. Social:

I have met really nice people locally because of Twitter.  Together with my husband, I have been to 3 TwestivalHK.  From Twestival, we learned about @WebWednesday, @startupshk, HK Meet UP, Cocoahead.  People we met in these fun-filled events have added colour and richness to our ordinary everyday life.

Although there are still a large number of overseas and local  peeps whom I have not met personally. I will probably never meet them all as I am following 313 tweeps at the time of writing and counting...  Nonetheless, the humour, insight and passion they share on Twitter helps to cheer me on as I  carry on my daily humdrum. It is fun to  occasionally comment on their tweets and exchange thoughts by DM (Direct Message) and @mention.

2. Personal Developments: 

I like to read tweets from people who provides me child care information and inspires me to be a better mom.  As mom to two kids I find it really helpful reading blog posts from  @DrDrRose @Annie_Fox and many others who are generous in sharing their wisdom and expertise.    It is also helpful to follow those who help me  understand  my wider work environment (the legal communities). @robertsawhney @lawyerkm @glambert @jordan_law21 are just a few of those peeps who comes to mind..

One big  discovery I made on twitter is  the service of professional coaches. I have signed up with @efficiencycoach who is helping me to rethink what how I conduct myself at work and to  steer of my career on the right path. I cannot thank Heather enough for guiding and encouraging  me to achieve small break through in my career life week by week.

3.Information :

As discussed in my earlier post “Searching Twitter for Information”, there is a wealth of information on Twitter.  I am using it daily for work ( I work as a law librarian).

4. Promotion and feedback :

My husband @thomashk develops applications for iPhone and iPad in his leisure time.  We make use of Twitter for engaging with the users of the apps and to get feedback.  It was amazing to watch how tweets spiralled about @Twitepad before the iPad launch.

5. Entertainment:

I try to follow people who tweet about thing that  really interested me. For example,  I am following a Japanese Astronaut @Astro_Soichi,  celebrities such as @jamieoliver .  It is fascinating to follow their journey to see the world that they are seeing and the work that they are doing .

In the sum, my iPhone together with Twitter has delivered to me with many hours of education, entertainment 24/7 and on demand.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I  read  parts of Richard Susskind's new book " The End of Lawyers".  Although, I did not read the book from cover to cover,  the power of Susskind's argument is clear.  Lawyer must rethink how they deliver their services.  Susskind wrote "The Future of Law" in 1996 and was awarded an OBE in 2000 for services to IT in the Law and to the Administration of Justice.   There is little doubt in my mind that his words should be taken seriously.

Throughout the book Susskind quotes case, introduce new concepts that  are threatening to those of us who are used to the more traditional legal practice. Lawyers are adverse to risk and new ideas are usually regarded as risky.  This beg the question of how one can persuade a traditional law firm to innovate and change.  My observation is that fee-earning tends to dominate lawyers day to day activities. Most lawyers are overwhelmed with work and  there are hardly any room to think about strategy and to innovate.

What is your view on innovation and the legal business ?