NFL to allow Super Bowl in Churches?

25 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun

The last time Peyton Manning was leading the Indianapolis Colts on a championship run, the NFL clamped down on the ability to watch the big game in churches. The NFL sent letters to churches informing them that airing the game would be a violation of the NFL’s copyright and trademark rights. However, last year the NFL called a reverse and allowed viewing in churches under certain conditions.

So what’s the NFL’s policy this year? Unless we hear otherwise, we have to assume that the NFL is sticking to last year’s policy that churches can air the Super Bowl without violating copyright laws. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something that would suggest otherwise.

So start planning those parties…Go Colts!

Social Media – The Effects of Tracking & Selling Online Activities – TechPoint Event 2/5/10

25 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Bloggers, Indiana, Just for Fun, Tech Developments

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TechPoint

One of the greatest advantages digital marketing offers is the ability to customize and personalize messages based on the recipients’ likes and dislikes. Marketing in the new social media landscape, however, brings with it new challenges of walking the fine line between quality promotion and invasion of privacy.

Our expert panelists will share their views and best practices for developing effective social media marketing platforms utilizing behavioral tracking and personalized content.

Speakers:

David Wong, Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg
Chris Baggott, CEO/CoFounder, Compendium Blogware
Mike Bloxham, Director, Insight & Research Center for Media Design, Ball State University

Date: February 5, 2010

8:00 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Presentation

Click here to register.

Hope to see you there!

Honoring an author. Attorneys among those preserving Vonnegut’s memory.

28 Monday Dec 2009

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Artists, Authors, Indiana, Indianapolis, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, KLF Legal, Nonprofit, What I'm Reading

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This blog author was featured recently in an Indiana Lawyer article about an organization I’m involved with, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library.

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library Foundation is a public benefit, nonprofit organization championing the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist and Indiana native Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The Library Foundation is creating a library that will also serve as a cultural and educational resource center, functioning as a museum, art gallery, and reading room for readers, writers, and students. In addition, the library will support language and visual arts education for the local community.

Click here for full story by Rebecca Berfanger, Indiana Lawyer.

Tips for Guest-Blogging

18 Sunday Oct 2009

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Bloggers, Just for Fun, KLF Legal

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I was recently asked by a journalist to provide some comments on guest-blogging. I put together the following tips for people thinking of getting into guest-blogging, or perhaps just starting to blog generally:

In addition to my own blogs, I’ve done quite a bit of guest-blogging over the last several years. In fact, my first blogging experience was as a guest blogger on a Virtual Law blog, virtuallyblind.com, created by another attorney, Ben Duranske. Guest-blogging allowed to me learn the in-and-outs of blogging without the pressure of producing content on a regular basis.

Blogging has been a great tool for building my business and gaining recognition in my fields of interest. It’s driven my page to the top of Google search results which of course means more eyeballs seeing the services that I can provide them. Several of my top clients reguIarly comment that they enjoy my blog and the information it provides. I also place importance in the process of researching and writing blog posts, essentially an ongoing CLE that helps me be a better service provider in the long run.

Tips for guest bloggers:

1. Find the Right Audience. If you’ve got a particular topic that you’d really like to write about, write about it! Once you’ve got that great post that you’re excited about, look around and find an existing blog that matches your interest. Contact the blog owner and propose that he/she publish your guest post. I can’t speak for every blog owner, but I would never turn away a guest post with quality content. After all, any positive traffic generated would be to my blog, where people will see my info and content. Even if a blog owner doesn’t want to publish your guest post, the feedback they give can help direct you towards somebody who will.

2. Go for the Oscar. You’ve got the time and energy to really focus on one great blog post, so do it! I think of a full-time blogger as a TV writer, responsible for content day in and day out. Not all of it can be glorious, but the blog readers become familiar with the “character” of the blog writer. A guest blogger is a movie writer. They write that epic post that blows away all the other posts and becomes a definitive source for a particular piece of information. Throw in some explosions, heartwrenching drama, maybe even just great images that the guest blogger spent a little extra time to locate.

3. Guest-Blog 2: The Sequel. Unlike in the movies, sequels are generally a good thing in blogging. Endorse your guest post on your own site and build cross-traffic. Follow-up with additional info in future posts and people (most importantly clients and potential clients) will recognize you as an information hub.

bloghand

There are several great resources online to help you get started as a guest blogger. If you’re an Intellectual Property attorney or enthusiast who would like to write a guest post for the Indiana Intellectual Property & Technology Blog, please send me a note.

Blog Author Featured in Indiana Lawyer Article

06 Thursday Aug 2009

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Just for Fun, KLF Legal, Tech Developments

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Check out this excerpt from an article in the current issue of the Indiana Lawyer (an IBJ Media publication), featuring none other than the author of the Indiana Intellectual Property & Technology Law Blog:

New-school Networking Ideas

…To help avoid having potential clients see personal information, attorneys on Facebook can also set up business profiles for their firms, which are separate from personal pages.

Kenan Farrell, a solo attorney in Indianapolis who represents artists and musicians among his list of intellectual property clients, said he has had success through his Facebook business page, Facebook ad – charged on a pay-per-click basis – and Twitter.

After he worked for a large firm in Indianapolis, he moved to San Francisco, then moved back to Indianapolis where he started his own firm in January.

He said it’s because of social networking that he’s been able to get “good, interesting work from clients” for much less than it would cost to have an ad on television or in the phone book, something he investigated when he decided to become a solo practitioner.

So far, most of the other attorneys on Facebook and Twitter he is connected to practice outside of Indiana. Those connections have resulted in business when lawyers in other states need local counsel or know someone who does.

Farrell also goes to networking events – “tweetups” – of others on Twitter. While he doesn’t think other attorneys have attended those meetings, he has met a number of business owners of various ages and experience.

Because business owners are on sites like Twitter, he said, it’s likely attorneys could benefit from connecting with them.

Twitter has also linked him to experts, and to large conferences where he was unable to attend but people in the conference were posting status updates.

While it’s not exactly the same, it can get the message out. For speakers, it can share their information with potentially hundreds or thousands of people beyond those in the room for the presentation.

While Farrell said he felt like “the only guy in the goldmine” by using Facebook and Twitter, he recommended it for all attorneys regardless of experience level for the benefits he has seen.