Biggest Jerk Award Goes to LexisNexis
Update – Sept. 4 – Lexis posted a comment below.
It’s funny how some big companies just don’t understand the internet. And it’s infuriating when they breach simple rules of netiquette. LexisNexis wins the Biggest Jerk Award today.
I linked to Lexis
I wrote an article (Lunch, Break, and Hour Laws) over a year ago that linked to one of Lexis’ products. Ironically, that article is the most popular one on my entire site.
I provided a link to Lexis’ lawyer directory, since I thought it added some value to the post. And based on the number of visitors that post receives, I’m sure Lexis has received some traffic from me. I’ve also linked to their sites in other articles throughout my two years of running Legal Andrew.
Lexis complained
A few days ago, I received the following email from a LexisNexis “Content Specialist.” I have added emphasis and removed their links.
Hello,
LexisNexis website ***removed*** has recently upgraded its websites and would you to update/add our links. For generations students have relied on Martindale-Hubbell as the authoritative resource for information on the worldwide legal profession. With a history spanning 140 years, the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Network hopes to provide authoritative legal resources to you.
Please update our links on the following page:
http://www.legalandrew.com/2007/06/07/lunch-break-and-hour-laws-you-should-know/Please use the following links and text:
Law Firm directory from Martindale
The phrase “Law Firm” should be the clickable link to ***removed***. The following sentence “directory from Martindale” should be plain text (not the clickable link). (“Law Firm” should be the hyperlink)
Also LexisNexis has re-launched its new website for Lawyers.com and would like you to add our links on the page listed above.
Please use the following links and text:
***truncated here***
As you can see, they’re asking for me to change the links that I have given them to use the specific anchor text they’re targeting. And they want me to add links to their other sites.
Let me think about that… HECK NO!
What self-respecting website owner would EVER ask someone to do this? “Hey, thanks for the link. But please use the proper anchor text.”
I tried to educate Lexis
What kind of blogger would I be, if I didn’t help Lexis understand their error?
I responded to Lexis’ email:
I understand that you are just doing your job, but I am insulted by this email. I hope you can pass that along to your supervisor.
I included Martindale in an article I wrote over a year ago. I essentially gave LexisNexis free publicity, traffic, and search engine “juice.”
And now I receive this email from you guys that I need to update that link to reflect your targeted anchor text. AND I should add your other links as well. That is not the way to do business online and create goodwill among internet publishers.
I would be happy to have LexisNexis advertise on www.LegalAndrew.com. I would even consider a barter agreement, where LexisNexis could sponsor my blog, and I could receive free research access. Feel free to call or email to discuss this idea.
I sent that on August 13. As of this article’s publication (August 30), I haven’t heard anything back.
That must mean that Lexis doesn’t care about its completely rude behavior. They don’t want to be a member of the online community. They just want to dominate the search engines. Jerks.
No more links from me
I have now removed ALL Lexis links from my websites. It’s the least they deserve. I encourage you do to the same.
Yes, I’m mad. Maybe I’m petty, but that’s ok.
Will Lexis care?
When I wrote about a Fastcase problem, the CEO called me. He worked things out pretty well. Fastcase obviously cares about its users and its online image.
Now I’m curious if anyone from Lexis will contact me about this post. I’ll certainly let you know if they do.
Am I wrong here? Full of shit? Let me know.
Update – Sept. 4 – Lexis posted a comment below.
Photo background above by Jeremy Brooks
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Important Webinar to Protect Your Business
Are you a business owner? Are you considering starting a business?
Don’t miss my next webinar!
I’m going to teach a select group of people important techniques to reduce their liability. You’ll learn to:
– Insulate your business
– Buy the right insurance
– Follow corporate formalities
– And protect your family
You’ll get a one-hour interactive webinar with me, a licensed attorney. This includes a Q&A session where you can ask some questions about business liability.
I’m offering this webinar for only $9. All registrants get the one-hour webinar and access to the video afterward, in case you want to review it later.
To register, just pay via PayPal. I’ll then send you the webinar link.
There are a few more details about the webinar on my firm website. If you have any problems registering, please contact me.
You can view the video for my previous webinar on Trademark Registration Basics.
I hope to see you there!
Update – Sept. 6, 2008 – You can now purchase the video from this webinar. Head over to my main website, where you can check out all of my Video Law Lessons.
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7 Tips for Cheap College Books
I recently wrote about buying cheap college books by shopping online. (For cheap online books, I recommend BookByte)
But there are many more options for you to find cheap books and save on your overall book costs. Here are just a few of the choices available for cheap college books.
1. Buy single chapters. Why buy the whole book, if you only need part of it? iChapters is the resource you need! This site lets you buy single chapters of books for as low as $1.99. I purchased part of a law book this way through a legal site, and it was awesome! I got just what I needed, and I only paid a few dollars.
2. Buy ebooks. Ebooks are cheaper to produce than printed books. And they’re better for the environment. iChapters offers ebooks for 50% off the regular price. And you can use a site like CourseSmart to get other ebooks. You really should pursue this option, especially since you’re probably already lugging a laptop around campus. Might as well put it to use for something more than solitaire!
3. Rent books. Book renting outfits are now becoming popular online. Many sites provide good deals by renting books to you for a cheap price. Check out Chegg and CampusBookRentals. I’ve never rented books, but it sounds like a great option to save some cash. Since you’re probably just going to sell back your books at semester’s end, renting makes sense.
4. Find free books. Yep, free books exist. They’re the ultimate cheap college book. And don’t all college students love “free” anything?! The best source for free books is Project Gutenberg. If it’s in the public domain (like those old literature books you have to read), you can probably find it there. The Freeload Press is another contender for this option.
5. Borrow books. The library is an obvious option. But have you thought about forming a little group of students to borrow books? Each of you can buy a book or two, and you can all share them. Most classes don’t need the book in class anyway, so you just need to make sure everyone can do their reading. This model could work well, especially if you don’t have many over-achievers in your borrowing group.
6. Steal them. It’s an option, but I don’t recommend it. Theft (even petty larceny) could earn you some jail time. You’d be better off spending some cash on books.
7. Don’t read. I wouldn’t recommend this option either. But it certainly works for some people.
Photo by stukinha
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Selling Books Online – Find the Best Price
I love selling books online (basic process, maximize cash, buy cheap books). In fact, my wife just prepared three boxes of books to send off for over $200. Cash!
Selling books online is easy
Yep, it’s really a piece of cake. My favorite book buyback site is BookByte. Just enter your ISBN’s, print a mailing label, and ship your books. It takes a little while to get your check, but it will come!
BookScouter makes selling books EASIER
If you want to sell your books for the best price possible, check out BookScouter. This is a new service that can be a great tool for book sellers.
At BookScouter, just enter the ISBN for a book. The site will then search a bunch of online book selling sites, and it will display the price for each site. You then immediately know the best place to sell your book.
Improvements needed
I’m definitely excited about BookScouter, but I think the service could use a few key improvements.
Books not found – Some of the books I typed in weren’t found at all by BookScouter. I’m not sure why. But surely somebody wants to buy them, at least for a few cents. Maybe the cost of shipping the books in exceeds the profits that the online book selling sites can get.
One book at a time – You can only enter one ISBN at a time. If you are selling many books online, it would be much easier to enter a list of ISBN’s in a multi-line text box.
Difficult shipment planning – If you are really into selling books online, you’ll likely have lots of books to sell. But you probably don’t want to send 20 different boxes of books, one to each of the different book buyers. A cool feature for BookScouter would enable the user to enter multiple ISBN’s. Then you could also enter how many different shipments you are willing to make. BookScouter would then check all the prices and calculate which books to send to which book buyer to provide the specified number of shipments, but maximize your cash.
What do you think?
Have you tried BookScouter? What are your thoughts on it?
Photo by chotda
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Branding Strategy Should Be Consistent
Is your branding strategy consistent? BMW of Charlottesville certainly doesn’t have a consistent branding strategy. Their courtesy vehicle is a Honda. Do you see a problem here?
Consistent branding
If I owned a car dealership, all vehicles on the premises would be of the type I sold. They’d all be spotlessly clean.
Don’t most dealers do this anyway? They give demo cars to their salesmen. They use the brand’s van or SVU for their courtesy car. I’m not sure how this BMW dealer missed this key to branding strategy.
Why it matters
For a brand to be effective, you have to impress it upon your customers. This typically requires repeating your brand many times. That’s where the branding strategy comes in.
Your strategy must be well thought-out and carefully planned. If you deviate from the branding plan, you confuse your customers. They won’t likely remember your brand, and that means they might not be your customer. Whoops!
Is your branding strategy consistent?
I’m probably guilty of not having a consistent branding strategy. But I’m trying to improve that. Hopefully I’ll have the funds soon to hire someone to spiffy-up my law firm logo, letterhead, and business cards.
What about you? How consistent is your branding strategy?
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My New Legal Column at Home Office Warrior
If you run a home based business (or just work out of your home sometimes), you should check out my new column over at Home Office Warrior. My good friend, Grant Griffiths of G2 Web Media, runs Home Office Warrior, and he came up with the idea of an “Ask Legal Andrew” weekly feature.
The first post is up now, and it answers your questions about home office zoning
If you have legal questions about home businesses, email them to Grant, and I’ll cover them in a future installment of Ask Legal Andrew.
To make sure you don’t miss an installment, be sure to subscribe to Home Office Warrior (RSS or email).
Photo by fensterbme
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Get a DYMO Labeler for Productivity
I don’t know where I’d be without my DYMO labeler. Actually, I know that I’d be buried under piles of papers that weren’t filed away. Simply put, this gadget is awesome!
A labeler can boost your productivity, whether you’re a student, a stay at home mom, or a busy professional. It really is a handy tool. And now DYMO labelers can even print color labels. Isn’t that cool?!
My DYMO labeler was sent to me to review on this very blog, and I still use it at least once a week in my law practice. In fact, I used it today to file some client paperwork out of the way. It’s just so darn simple to make a file label that it would be a shame to write on the folders.
If you get a fancy enough labeler, you can actually print out address labels, shipping labels, and even postage. If you’re anything like me, feeding envelopes through the printer can be a nighmare!
I’ve also found it useful to label some personal possessions. When I took some things to the office, I would label them with my name, to make it clear that they were personal property. The DYMO can come in handy in times like that as well.
All in all, if you’re looking for a labeler, I heartily recommend DYMO.
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Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant Gives Great Advice!
Are you a brand new attorney, wanting to hang up your shingle? Or maybe you’ve been working at BigLaw for 10 years, and you want to start your own firm. If you are thinking about being a solo attorney, you need to read Solo by Choice
Awesome author
Carolyn Elefant is a widely-known and well-respected authority on solo and small firms. Her blog, My Shingle, has helped many attorneys (like me!) to break free and go solo. Now you can get even more advice from this spectacular book!
Comprehensive book
Solo by Choice
Carolyn divides the book into five distinct parts, each with several chapters:
I. The Decision
II. Planning the Great Escape
III. The Practice
IV. Marketing
V. Frequently Asked Questions
As you can see, Solo by Choice
My favorite chapter is #10: Generating Cash Flow. That’s a hot topic for many budding solos, since it can make or break your firm really early. You have to pay the bills, and Carolyn provides good tips to make that happen.
Current tips
Many legal books (even practice-oriented ones) are extremely out of date. Not Solo by Choice
Great investment
When you’re setting up shop, resources are limited. But you need some good books to get you going. Solo by Choice
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Cheap College Books – NOT at Campus Bookstore
College and graduate school classes are starting soon. Have you bought your books?
If not, don’t use the campus bookstore.
You can find cheap college books in many places, other than the single store your university is hoping you’ll use. Since you’re already living on a shoestring budget, you need to save money wherever possible. Buying used, cheap textbooks is a great way to cut your educational costs.
Cheap book websites
BookByte is my favorite used book website. They have a huge selection of books, and they even offer study guides and supplies. You could probably buy everything that you need in one visit to their site.
AbeBooks also boasts a large selection of books. They seem to cater a little more towards the rare book market. So if BookByte doesn’t have your book, you can probably get it from AbeBooks
.
BetterWorld Books provides a great shopping option for the socially conscious consumer. They ship your books for free anywhere in the United States, and they offset the shipping environmental costs through CarbonFund. They also host book drives to provide books and funding for literacy programs. To date, they have donated over $4 million and 11 million books. Incredible!
Biblio is another book site, much like Bookbyte. They also have a good assortment of rare and out-of-print books.
Tips for used textbooks
You do need to be careful when buying used textbooks online. They’re cheap college books, but it’s not always easy to find the correct edition for your course. To ensure that you buy the best discount books, follow these tips.
Compile a list – You need a comprehensive list of all your required college textbooks. Some university bookstores have an online book list, but you may have to go to the campus bookstore. Write out your list with the course, professor, and books required. For the books, be sure to note the title, author, and edition.
Check it twice – Seriously. You need to make sure your list is accurate. You don’t want to buy a textbook for the wrong course.
Look for your books – When you’re shopping at a site like BookByte, you can search for books by ISBN, title, author, or even keyword. The ISBN is your most accurate locator, but a title / author search can usually work as well.
Verify the edition – For every book that you locate, double check the edition! I cannot stress that enough. If a book seller doesn’t list the edition, you can try to call to find out. But you can most likely find the same book somewhere else that does list the edition.
Ask your professor – If you found a really cheap book that is an older edition, you can always ask the professor if that edition will work. Most professors have taught their courses for years, and they know what changes have been made to the book editions. Some will say that an older edition is fine, and others will not. It never hurts to ask.
Sell your college books
When you’re done with a college textbook, you should consider selling it back to get some cash. You won’t recover everything you paid for it, but every bit helps.
I’ve written two comprehensive articles on selling used college books. Some of the same sites above (like BookByte) will buy your books back from you, no matter where you got them.
This is my basic tutorial that shows how easy it is to sell your books online.
If you want to take it to another level, check out my post on maximizing your textbook cash.
Top photo by fofurasfelinas
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Free Business Card Ideas on Flickr
I absolutely love business card ideas. I will soon be hiring a local design firm to create my logo and come up with some spiffy business cards. So it’s time to start hunting for examples of business cards that I like.
If you’re looking for some quick, free business card inspiration, I highly recommend Flickr. People love taking pictures of their spiffy cards and posting them for the world to see. Many of the Flickr business card images are of MOO cards, but that’s ok. It’s easy enough to filter through those and see what cool designs people have come up with.
Here is an assortment of cool business card ideas I found on Flickr. I searched for “business card” and then viewed the results by “most recent,” so I wouldn’t see all the other cards that I’ve seen time and again.
One thing I love about business cards is that people can do so many different things with the same tiny piece of paper.
I’ve got my favorites in this set, but what about you?
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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