Web 2.0 will be coming soon to law departments near you!

InsideCounsel, March 2008 at 44, gives an overview of “Web 2.0,” and a useful way to distinguish it from Web 1.0. Web 1.0 had one-way information sources, where you could read what someone who ran a particular site posted. You sent emails from a different system. Further, most participants on sites were anonymous.

Web 2.0 has two-way information exchanges, where users upload or enter their own thoughts and material. Spend time on a wiki (See my post of March 20, 2007 # 1: legal wiki of Alcatel-Lucent.) or a blawg (See my post of Feb. 20, 2008: six law-department blogs.). Further, you can communicate through the Web 2.0 site and know about your community members (See my posts of March 9, 2007: Legal OnRamp; Jan. 30, 2008 #2 LawLink.com; and Feb. 21, 2008: Texas Bar Circle.).

As the article points out, on top of these functions the law-specific sites that mobilize Web 2.0 capabilities create frequently-asked questions, special interest groups, information about members, and events (See my post of Jan. 19, 2008: LinkedIn.). Entrepreneurs and vendors are offering Web 2.0 sites that facilitate the swapping of information regarding law departments (See my post of Jan. 25, 2008: Martindale-Hubble and shared evaluations of law firms.). This new paradigm promises many advantages for corporate lawyers.