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Recent Blog Posts
Changes May Be Ahead for Google’s Featured Snippets
By now, you probably know that Google’s search engine processes billions of queries on any given day—the number is actually around 3.5 billion if you were curious. You also probably know that the results are ranked by the search engine’s algorithm as it attempts to determine which sites best suit the needs of the user conducting the search. Sites that are determined to be more relevant to a particular query rank higher, as you might expect. Depending on the search term, you may also see a text excerpt from one of the relevant results displayed above all of the other results. This eye-catching distinction on the search results page is known as a “featured snippet” and is highly coveted by web designers and marketing professionals. According to at least one source, however, Google may soon be making changes to its featured snippet program.
Illinois Supreme Court Amends Mandatory CLE Requirements for Attorneys
For motivated individuals, “good enough” is never enough; it is always possible to do more or to continue improving. This type of person is often a “lifelong learner,” as he or she constantly looks for new opportunities to hone a skill and increase his or her knowledge base. In certain professions, lifelong learning is not just expected; it is mandatory for maintaining certifications and licensing. In the state of Illinois, attorneys, along with teachers, doctors, and even cosmetologists and hairdressers are required by the state to complete a certain number of “continuing education” hours so that they can remain at the forefront of their respective fields.
Minimum CLE Requirements
In 2005, the Illinois Supreme Court created the Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Board to oversee continuing legal education (CLE) requirements for practicing attorneys in the state. While the rules are a little different for newly-licensed attorneys, lawyers who have been in the profession for more than two years must take a minimum of 30 CLE hours in each two-year reporting period. Six of those of hours must be in areas categorized as Professional Responsibility CLE, including professionalism, civility, ethics, diversity, mental illness, and addiction.
Google’s Android Surpasses Windows as Most-Used Operating System
In today’s technologically driven world, you essentially have two choices: get online or get left behind. An overwhelming majority of Americans—nearly 90 percent—use the internet to shop, connect with friends, search for information, or even conduct business. While the percentage of the population who use the internet in other regions around the world is not quite so high, data suggests that nearly half of the world’s citizens go online in some way.
Connecting to the internet once required a desktop or laptop computer and a telephone line. Today, of course, users are no longer tethered by a literal phone cord. People can now access the internet from nearly anywhere with devices that fit easily into a pocket or handbag. As more and more people rely on smartphones and other mobile devices to stay connected, the tech industry as a whole has continued to evolve around—led largely by advances by companies like Google. Last month, the most powerful brand on the internet claimed another victory, as Android, Google’s mobile operating system eclipsed Microsoft’s Windows as the most popular operating system in the world for internet usage.
Making Google Maps and the Local 3-Pack Work for Your Firm
When you conduct a Google search for a type of business, the search engine’s algorithm determines what pages are most likely to meet your needs and displays them as a list of search results. In many cases, there are infinitely more results that you will never need. For example, a quick search using the words “Chicago restaurants” returns more than 99 million results—in less than one second. Of course, each result does not necessarily correspond to an individual establishment—Chicago has lots of restaurants but not 99 million of them. Most such searches, however, return at least several bona fide options under an interactive map of the local region.
Over the last few years, this section of Google’s search results page has undergone a series of transformations beginning with a list of seven entries and a regional map. In its current iteration, the listing is referred to as a Local 3-Pack, and getting your firm listed as part of a Local 3-Pack can dramatically increase your online visibility.
The Importance of Cybersecurity for Attorneys
Most people—even those who have never experienced a brush with the law in any form—are familiar with the concepts of attorney-client privilege and confidentiality. While the two are not the same, they both afford protections to a client who has retained professional legal representation. The attorney-client privilege is generally a procedural privilege which generally provides that the client’s lawyer cannot be compelled to testify or provide evidence—including notes, memos, and other documents generated as a result of being retained—against the client. Confidentiality is a broader concept and prevents the attorney from revealing information he or she received from his or her client without the client’s express, informed consent.
Over the last several decades, a new challenge has arisen for attorneys in protecting their clients’ confidential information. With more and more systems becoming digital for the sake of stability, efficiency, convenience, the likelihood of client information being hacked or stolen through electronic means has also increased.
Technology Must-Haves for Your Law Firm
If someone were to ask you to picture a typical law firm, what you see in your mind’s eye? There is a good chance that your concept of a legal practice—even if you are a lawyer—would resemble that which we commonly see depicted in movies and on television: dark wood, shelves of law books, perhaps some file cabinets on one wall, and mostly lit by table lamps or desk lights. The typical image of a law firm is one of authority, rooted in tradition, and with a more conservative ambiance.
When you open a law firm of your own, it is perfectly acceptable to create such an atmosphere with the décor in your offices. Underneath the aesthetics, however, your firm must be equipped with the technology to properly serve your clients and to be successful in the highly competitive arena of practicing the law. Your desk may be 60 years old, but your filing and communications systems should not be.
The Facebook Post That Offended Irish Sensibilities Everywhere
Over the last decade, social media has become an invaluable tool for companies to market their products and reach new customers. With a just a few clicks, you can advertise a limited-time promotion, highlight a major achievement, or announce a recent addition to your team. As you might expect, however, you must be cautious when using social media outlets to promote your business, as a seemingly innocuous misstep could draw the ire of an entire nation—even over something as simple as a badly-poured beer.
St. Patrick’s Day With a Canadian Touch
Pubs and bars in Irish communities around the world will welcome revelers for the annual feast of St. Patrick—a 5th-century missionary, bishop, and patron saint of Ireland. In many regions—particularly throughout North America—even those without Irish heritage will don their best green, become “Irish for the day,” and join in the festivities.
Law Firms Realize Significant Returns on Digital Marketing Investments
For this year’s Super Bowl, advertisers shelled out an estimated $5 million for a 30-second television commercial broadcasted to the game’s estimated 111 million viewers. Large-scale television marketing, however, is not ideal for every industry or type of business. Others rely on more personalized, audience-focused ways of reaching potential customers, and a growing number are turning to digital marketing.
Our world has never been more closely connected. The rise of computer technology has redefined how business relationships are created and maintained. While television commercials, print media, and face-to-face interactions still have their places, digital marketing—including social media, email campaigns, and content production—is crucial to the success of virtually every company.
Study Finds Emojis Increase Marketing Reach
Emojis, it seems, are everywhere these days, and not just in text messages from your children. The little icons—evolving from the ubiquitous yellow smiley face in the early days of the internet—can now be found on t-shirts, as plush toys, and even in upcoming feature film. For many people, emojis are associated with casual conversation and informal messaging, but a new study suggests that including them in your company’s mobile marketing campaigns could pay handsome dividends.
The Power of Images
The word “emoji” has origins in the Japanese language and is a combination of “e,” the Japanese word for “picture,” and “moji,” meaning “character.” You may have heard people referring to the little pictures as “emoticons,” but there are technical differences between the two, and the similarity of the two words is entirely coincidental. Without going into too much detail, an emoji is a pictorial representation of a thought, idea, or expression—such as a yellow winky-face—while an emoticon is a text-based display of an emotion—such as ;-).
New Google Software Takes Aim at Trolls and Harmful Comments
When you read a newspaper or a magazine, discussing what you have just read requires you to find another person who is interested in the topic covered by the particular article or op-ed. When you read an article or news piece on the internet, in most cases, there is an opportunity for discussion available right on the very page you are reading. The conversation usually centers around the topic in question, and you do not usually need to wonder about the interests of those participating in the discussion since they have clearly clicked the link to read the article as well. In some situations, however, certain comments and commenters may actually distract from the constructive dialogue, with some comments even including hate-filled invectives and accusations. To combat this problem, Google is launching a new technology to help web publishers manage their content and keep it safe from harmful comments and internet trolls.
