FROM THE EDITOR: Exploring the Advantages of the New Blog Format
By Jody Peskin
Many thanks to all of you for the support you have shown the DeKalb Bar News Blog. It has been a time of exciting change. Although I must admit I miss the feel of paper in my hand, I love being able to quickly glance back at various editions by merely hitting a few keys and having them miraculously appear on screen. No piles of paper to sort through, no extra “mess” on my desk.
I am the first to admit to a certain “technophobia,” which some may consider odd as one of the publishing houses I worked for prior to law school was a computer science book publisher. I wanted to take just a few moments and make sure that everyone, including those of us with less technical ability, is aware of some of the features available on the blog. First, for those of you who seem to notice that the left-side columns don’t match up with the right-side columns, causing strange gaps, please note that use of Internet Explorer 8, FireFox 3.5 or Google Chrome will improve the blog format.
For those of you who believe you have not been sent the DeKalb Bar News, Aubrey has sent emails monthly that have a link directly to the blog. Click on the link and Voila! If this isn’t working for you, go to www.dekalbbarnews.com to get that “Voila!” feeling. Once at the website, please note the following format. The left-hand side has introductory paragraphs for all the articles. To read the complete article, please click on “read more” and after finishing the article, don’t forget to click on “<<Back,” located at the top of the article, in order to return to the blog and continue reading the rest of the news. You can also click on one of the small pictures shown of members at events to enlarge the picture and more easily see the various participants.
Also, note that under each full article there is a comment block that allows you to add your comments and remarks to the article. So far we have only received two or three comments. We were hoping that you would enjoy using this blog format as a means to start a dialogue on the topics being presented. So feel free to participate, add your tips or war stories, so we can all share in the concepts and ideas being presented.
We have a column that also requires your involvement. “Recognition and Announcements” is intended to share your own news with your fellow Bar members! If your firm has added new associates, if you’ve moved to a new location, if you’ve been invited to speak at a CLE, won an appeal of special interest, or received any special recognition or honors, whether within the legal realm or not, (special birthdays or birth announcements welcome!) please let me or Aubrey Jones know about it, so we may include your news and, as a bar association, share in your success!
On the right-hand side, we start off with the luncheon menu to entice you to mark your calendar for the upcoming luncheons. Then on the right-hand side and across the top of the blog we have advertisements displayed from our various sponsors. Please make a point of clicking on these ads and checking out our sponsors’ services, so that they can better serve you and continue to support our bar association. Further down on the left we have space available for classified ads. Please continue to advertise your needs here as well.
Even further down on the right we have a cartoon for you to share a chuckle, as well as a complete table of contents for the current edition, a list of our newest members for you to introduce yourselves to at the next luncheon or event, and a special thank you to our “Gold Members,” who have paid over and above their dues in order to ensure that the quality of lunches and events remains high.
Additionally, along the right-hand side you can access prior editions of the DeKalb Bar News and continue to comment and share your thoughts. Notice of new comments is added to a list at the bottom right of the News, so we can always know when an older article may need to be revisited!
Whether Aubrey sends a notice, or you seek it out for yourself, don’t forget that the DeKalb Bar News is your bar association’s efforts to keep you informed, and to share with you. You are welcome to submit articles or request topics of interest. Use this as a (non-political) forum for comment and discussion. We hope you will continue to enjoy your news in this new format, and that we can keep up the award-winning quality for which the DeKalb Bar newsletter was known.