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October 31, 2009
Halloween Spinning Mix
Lisa has a spinning mix for Halloween, consisting of:
Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus (terrific song)
Monster Mash - Boris Pickett (corny but essential)
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
The Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo (another great song; I'm surprised at how rarely this song makes Halloween mix lists given how topical it is)
The Exorcist (Theme from Tubular Bells)
Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow (this is Lisa being silly)
Overture from Phantom of the Opera
Black Magic Woman - Santana
Requiem: Dies Irae - Mozart (another great Halloween song that doesn't make the mix lists often enough)
Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
I Put A Spell On You - Creedence Clearwater Revival
In some of her spinning classes, she gives out halloween candy as prizes to people who can guess some of the obscure artists represented in this list. Hope you have a happy and safe halloween!
Posted by Eric at 08:13 AM | General | TrackBack
October 28, 2009
Attorney.org is Latest Phone to Phone Inc. Website to Spam Me
I apologize for the flurry of blog posts on the spam I'm receiving from Phone to Phone Inc. websites, but I've found that lots of folks are experiencing the same problem. I've already criticized Phone to Phone Inc. for their spam promotion of Newlawyer.com (including my SiteJabber post on Newlawyer.com) and Laws.com, but their relentless spamming continues. I remain very impressed that they have so many different marketing executives at Phone to Phone Inc. (unless, of course, they are lying about the sender's identity, which I know they wouldn't do...would they?). Yet, for all of that in-house marketing expertise, apparently none of these executives have successfully convinced Phone to Phone Inc. that their spamming campaign is counterproductive to their long term objectives. Given that, I don't expect my shaming blog post will convince them either, but a lawsuit, Google de-indexing or a properly organized Googlebomb might be a different story. And I think the company might reconsider the quality of guidance it's getting from its marketing executives.
Here's the text of the spam promoting Attorney.org. Uh, no thanks.
_______
from Michael Foti
to egoldman@gmail.com
date Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 7:31 AM
subject About Your Blog
Dear Eric,
My name is Michael Foti and I am the Executive Director of Marketing for Attorney.org. I am writing you this email to better inform you about our website and in hopes of reaching a mutually beneficial strategic partnership. Attorney.org is one of the top sources of free legal information on the Internet. We provide articles of general and specific information to our visitors regarding common legal issues as well as breaking legal news. In addition to providing information, Attorney.org will be profiling noteworthy attorneys from around the country, attorney generals, district attorneys, and high-ranking local, state, and federal government officials. It is not only a great networking tool for attorneys, but it is also an efficient way to reach out to prospective clients. I believe that your blog can benefit greatly from a new audience of 10,000 unique visitors a month.
We want to list your blog as a source of information on our resources page, and potentially highlight you as a top blog on the Internet in an article on Attorney.org. Our website currently ranks in the top 50 for the anchors "attorney" and "attorneys", and will only continue to move up. I am hoping that in return, you will be able to include a link to Attorney.org somewhere on your blog (preferably as an addition to your blog roll). This would increase the free flow of information and provide an additional source of information for the readers of both our websites.
There is no doubt in my mind that your blog will be a valuable resource to our Attorney.org users. I believe that we can both benefit from this prospective strategic partnership as the increased traffic will drive new users to both our websites. Should you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. I have included the link information as well as my contact information below.
Title: Attorney, Attorneys (Attorney.org)
Description: Attorney.org
Michael Foti
Executive Director of Marketing, Legal Network
1 International Blvd. Suite 211 Mahwah, NJ 07495
Office: 201-252-8255
Cell:551-795-2806
Posted by Eric at 05:02 PM | Blogosphere Issues , Legal Industry | TrackBack
October 23, 2009
More Spam from Phone to Phone Inc.--This Time on Behalf of Laws.com
I've been kvetching about the heavy barrage of spam and telemarketing from Newlawyer.com. I haven't previously mentioned that they are an operation of Phone to Phone Inc., which apparently has branched out into spamming for other sites it operates. This week a number of folks complained about being spammed with an email congratulating them as a top 100 law blog. See, e.g., Bob Ambrogi's post. I never received the top 100 honor spam but I was privileged enough to get a different spam from Laws.com:
___
from Partick Coleman
to egoldman@gmail.com
date Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 12:47 PM
subject Love this site -http://www.ericgoldman.org
Dear Webmaster,
Our website Laws.com is considered one of the largest legal informational database in the world, containing crucial information on jurisdictions and breaking legal news. We have offered this site to the public to increase the FREE flow of information. There is little to be said for the many judicial systems around the country and we strive to offer the information much of the public seeks. The only way to increase the information we offer is to seek out some of the top informational resources online. Your blog seems to be an excellent informational resource and would bring a great resource to our viewing public. We would be pleased to offer your inclusion in Laws.com as a featured blogger, as well as giving you the Laws.com Featured Blogger Badge. This is a prestigious award given to some of the brightest bloggers around the country to recognize their dedication and hard work. You will see the code for the featured blogger badge within this email, please get back to us with your blogs banner so we may make your blog available to our public ASAP. Thanks!, keep up the great work.
[code omitted to ensure that they get no link love here]
Nick Fox
Senior Marketing Executive
Phone to Phone Inc.
1 International Blvd. Suite 203
Mahwah, New Jersey
+1(551) 655 6828
Laws.com
_________
If this is the first time I had heard from this outfit, I simply would have marked it as spam as another link request and then moved on. But because of the Phone to Phone Inc. connection, this just becomes more evidence of Phone to Phone Inc.'s shadiness. Another piece of evidence of their shadiness: the email purported to be from "Partick Coleman" but the sig block says "Nick Fox." Spamming lawyers and bloggers is bad enough, but sloppy spam is inexcusable!
I am now skeptical of all Phone to Phone Inc. operated websites, which (according to Bob) include Laws.com, NewLawyer.com, Attorney.org, LawSchool.org and Docket.com. Great way to build your brand, guys.
Posted by Eric at 03:40 PM | Blogosphere Issues , Legal Industry | TrackBack
October 19, 2009
Newlawyer.com Spams Me Again (Twice in One Day!)
Newlawyer.com continues to earn my antipathy. You may recall that a few weeks ago, I got spammed by Dominic Sebahia on behalf of Newlawyer.com. At that time, I sent my blog post to Dominic and got the following reply:
"Sorry about it, Sir. But, there was no harm intention to hurt you. I am promising you that no one from our firm will be contacting you in future. Our emails are not spam. We just need co-operation from people like you. We are here to help people. Anyways sir, I am sorry again." (emphasis added)
A broken promise! This morning I got a virtually identical spam from Steven Kim under the subject line "We love your blog" (aww, how sweet, but I'm beginning to wish they loved me a little less):
_________
from Steven Kim
to egoldman@gmail.com
date Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 9:18 AM
subject We love your blog
Hi,
My name is Steven and I am the Director of Marketing for NewLawyer.com.I found your blog/website interesting. Our blogs are posted in most of the websites. I want to feature you onto our website and that for absolutely free. Our website is the first telelegal portal that connects attorneys to those in need of legal advice through phone to phone consultations via the technology on our website. I would love to feature your blog on NewLawyer as I believe that many of our Lawyers would enjoy your blog. I was hoping to have NewLawyer added to your blog roll if that would be at all possible. I've included some additional information below and if you have any questions feel free to find my contact info below and call me. I look forward to hearing from you.
We would like to list your blog on our site as an additional resource to our users. We believe that your blog would be a great addition. The blog's website would be linked to our page so that our users would be able to click the link and utilize your website and find more information. We believe in the free flow of information and want to provide the best resources for our users. The following information is to reciprocate the link on your own website:
Title: Lawyer, Attorney , Legal Advice , New Lawyer (NewLawyer dot com)
Description: Personal Injury Lawyer, Accident Lawyer, Divorce Lawyer, Attorneys, Legal Information
The following are points of information listed on our website:
* Listings of licensed legal professionals
* Blogging information
* Legal news around the country
* Additional resources for the users to take advantage of.
_________
Interestingly, Dominic's email indicated that he was the director of marketing. So either they have multiple directors of marketing, or Dominic got the sack (wishful thinking) or everyone who uses their template falsely claims to be the director of marketing.
I am beginning to get emails from other folks who are ticked at Newlawyer.com. For example, I recently got the following email:
"I just wanted to write and thank you, post reading your article on NewLawyer.com. They approached me this evening with the standardised letter and I found the whole affair a little dubious. Google flagged up your article and it confirmed my sentiments. As there is nowhere on your site to comment, I am e mailing just to say your post is appreciated."
It just seems inevitable that if Newlawyer.com keeps annoying lawyers, eventually one will turn litigious. You've been warned.
UPDATE: I got a second identical email from Steven Kim about 3 hours later. What will it take to stop their emails?
UPDATE 2: Ryan Gile of Las Vegas Trademark Attorney blog also got nailed with the following message:
Dear Mr. Gile,
My name is Michael Foti and I am the Director of Marketing for a network of legal websites that includes Laws.com, NewLawyer.com, Attorney.org, LawSchool.org, and Docket.com. Here at NewLawyer.com, we are running a campaign to highlight some of the top blawgs on the internet. After reviewing your blog, we'd like to include you, and your blawg, in that feature. Below, I've included the code for you to copy and paste into your source to display your NewLawyer.com Top Legal Resource award button. An extraordinary amount of time and effort goes into making a feature like this possible, so all we ask in return is that you display your award banner prominently for all your readers to see. Please email me once you post it so I can check it out. Thank you and congratulations on being one of the top legal resources on the internet!
[snip]
Michael Foti
Director of Marketing, PhoneToPhone Inc.
1 International Blvd. Suite 211 Mahwah, NJ 07495
Office: 201-252-8255
Cell:551-795-2806
UPDATE 3: I posted a critique of Newlawyer.com on SiteJabber.
Posted by Eric at 09:32 AM | Blogosphere Issues , Legal Industry | TrackBack
October 06, 2009
Latest Example of Social Networking Site Evidence Contradicting In-Court Testimony--People v. Franco
I have Westlaw alerts set up to notify me when court opinions discuss the major social networking sites. As a result, I am now seeing a steady stream of cases where Facebook or MySpace postings are being used to contradict a litigant's or witness' testimony in a court case. I think the following excerpt from People v. Franco, 2009 WL 3165840 (Cal. App. Ct. Oct. 5, 2009), where a jury convicted the defendant Franco of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, exemplifies what I'm seeing:
At about 10:30 a.m. on June 6, 2006, Franco and Henry Chavez were seen racing each other in their Mustang vehicles on the Ventura Freeway, each reaching speeds of approximately 100 miles per hour. Franco applied her brakes while Chavez was directly behind her, causing him to lose control of his vehicle. The vehicle travelled to the other side of the freeway, flipped, and landed in a strawberry field. Chavez was killed. Franco did not stop.
Franco testified that she was driving approximately 75 miles an hour on the freeway when Chavez began tailgating her. When she changed lanes, he followed her. Noticing that her speed had increased, she tapped on her brakes to slow down. Chavez veered to avoid hitting her, then lost control of his vehicle. She saw a plume of dust but kept driving as her boyfriend advised when she called him on her cell phone. The day before the accident, however, Franco had written on her MySpace page, “If you find me on the freeway and you can keep up I have a really bad habit of racing random people.”
I know most of us already know this lesson, but this case reminds us that our statements on social networking sites can and will be used against us. It also reminds us how hard it's becoming to maintain multiple persona--in this case, the in-court persona of being a safe and courteous driver while simultaneously maintaining an alternative persona as a "secret" street racer.
Posted by Eric at 11:37 AM | Blogosphere Issues , Legal Industry | TrackBack
October 02, 2009
Newlawyer.com: Persistent Telemarketer, and Now a Spammer
If I may, let me propose three rules for avoiding unnecessary trouble:
1) Never tick off a lawyer. They tend to be, you know, litigious by nature.
2) Never tick off a blogger. They tend to be very noisy about their gripes.
3) Never, ever tick off lawyers who also blog. A toxic combination.
Newlawyer.com has pulled off an impressive hat trick of rule violations. I'm not exactly sure I fully understand Newlawyer.com's business, but my superficial review of the site suggests it is some sort of lead generation engine for lawyers.
For some reason, Newlawyer.com has been one of the most aggressive and persistent solicitors of a link exchange I've encountered. Despite the relatively small footprint of my blogs, I get plenty of requests from folks for link exchanges, all of which I categorically turn down. Usually I hit the "report spam" button on Gmail and occasionally I'll write a "no thanks" reply, and either way that ends that. In contrast, I've had more difficulty evading Newlawyer.com because they have telemarketed me at least 6 times, including three phone calls in a 36 hour span earlier this week. I don't understand what kind of boiler room operation they are running, but I can't imagine how calling me 6 times can be cost-justified even if I did agree to the link exchange (which I won't, and you'll notice they aren't getting any link love in this post either). Just how much is a link from my blog worth to them???
I've tried to politely but firmly tell them to buzz off each of the six times they have called me, and each time I get a mea culpa and a broken promise not to keep calling. But I guess in a technical way they have finally honored their promises because today I got a spam from them (see, no phone call!) once again soliciting a link exchange. The email text:
_______
from dominic sebahia
to egoldman@gmail.com
date Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 7:46 AM
subject i like your blog
Hi,
My name is Dominic and I am the Director of Marketing for NewLawyer.com.I found your blog/website interesting. Our blogs are posted in most of the websites. I want to feature you onto our website and that for absolutely free. Our website is the first telelegal portal that connects attorneys to those in need of legal advice through phone to phone consultations via the technology on our website. I would love to feature your blog on NewLawyer as I believe that many of our Lawyers would enjoy your blog. I was hoping to have NewLawyer added to your blog roll if that would be at all possible. I've included some additional information below and if you have any questions feel free to find my contact info below and call me. I look forward to hearing from you.
We would like to list your blog on our site as an additional resource to our users. We believe that your blog would be a great addition. The blog's website would be linked to our page so that our users would be able to click the link and utilize your website and find more information. We believe in the free flow of information and want to provide the best resources for our users. The following information is to reciprocate the link on your own website:
Title: Lawyer, Attorney , Legal Advice , New Lawyer (NewLawyer.com)
Description: Personal Injury Lawyer, Accident Lawyer, Divorce Lawyer, Attorneys, Legal Information
URL: http://www.newlawyer.com
The following are points of information listed on our website:
* Listings of licensed legal professionals
* Blogging information
* Legal news around the country
* Additional resources for the users to take advantage of.
Dominic
Director of Marketing, PhoneToPhone Inc.
1 International Blvd. Suite 211 Mahwah, NJ 07495
Office: 201-252-8255
Cell:201-663-2565
_______
The silly thing is that if they really believe that linking to my blogs is valuable to their audience, they don't need my permission, and they know it (if for no other reason than I've told them so in a couple of our phone chats). But clearly the flattery and the request to link to me is just a ruse to get me to consider the reciprocal link exchange. Also telling is the reference to my non-existent blogroll (something I've also mentioned to them on the phone).
Now, I'm not a litigious person, so I'm not personally interested in investigating my legal rights against Newlawyer.com for their repeated disregard of my requests. However, in response to my anti-Newlawyer.com Twitter posts, I saw that several other lawyers have been getting bombarded by Newlawyer.com solicitations. It's possible they are not as reticent as I am.
Irrespective of their ultimate legal disposition, it seems like Newlawyer.com is doing a fantastic job of alienating one of its core audiences (lawyers) and building a reputation (but not a good one). Further, should Google get wise to Newlawyer.com's aggressive efforts to generate link exchanges, Newlawyer.com's strategy could very well backfire in a big way.
Posted by Eric at 11:31 AM | Blogosphere Issues , Legal Industry | TrackBack