A couple of years back, when we started The Blogbook, there were very few legal blogs. Now of course there are thousands, including blogs from big firm lawyers as well as solos. Our original intention for this blog was to try to figure out if legal blogging was any different from 'regular' blogging, and if so, how. As I wrote that first week in our FAQ: "It's about whether or not a blog becomes something more than a blog when it is written by a lawyer, an expert in his or her specialty, and features commentary on cases and legislation." In other words, do practicing lawyer-bloggers have any special obligations or rules that they must follow that distinguish them in any way from every other blogger? We used the pastiche of the Blue Book ("Fair Use!" we said – knowing the point was highly debatable) to elicit responses (and we got ‘em). The long and short: nobody wants "rules" or even "guidelines" of any sort for legal bloggers. Other than the "this is not legal advice" disclaimer, lawyer bloggers could and should proceed like any other blogger writing on any subject.

Anyway, it's time to shutter the Blogbook. I for one have hardly posted in a year, as I've been too involved in my actual job.

But here are a couple of thoughts to finish on: (1) Big Law and blogs; and (2) podcasting.

1. Big Law and the blogs.
There was an article in the WSJ a month or two ago (I won't like to it because it's subscription only) from which I draw the following quote:
"Blog-monitoring services typically charge big companies $30,000 to $100,000 a year. They say their technology goes beyond basic tools, such as keyword searches or counting links from one Web site to another."

I'm sure. They also, like, read stuff. My how far we've come. But isn't there something very late nineties about giant corporations paying outside firms big bucks to essentially read blogs for them, especially when they've got their own employees perfectly capable of doing the same thing? And it's ironic (hello 90s!) that while some big companies are paying outside firms to get eyeballs deep into the blogosphere, others are allowing (some even encouraging) their own employees to join the conversation. Fredrik Wackå's excellent corporateblogging.info has everything you want to know about corporate blogging, so I don't want to stray too far into that world here, but the point is that thinking about giant corporations got me thinking about -- what else -- giant law firms.

To me, the elephant in the blawging room is Big Law. At one point or another all lawyers thought they might practice in one of the big law firms (the AmLaw 100, what I tend to refer to simply as Big Law). And some actually do. But very few (when considering the total number of practicing lawyers out there). Big Law is everywhere and nowhere. Big Law represents all the most important corporations on earth, but shockingly little is actually known about the inside workings of these firms. Their partners move in and out of government, and then disappear back into the opacity of the Big Law world. ALM has made a huge business writing about nothing but Big Law, and still hardly anybody knows how these megafirms actually work or where they are headed. But I notice that some forward thinking partners at Big Law firms are starting to blog, and that is interesting to say the least. I intend to keep an eye on it.

2. Podcasting.
Yes, I am podcasting now. Lots of people are. Big whoop. Next year I'll be videocasting. Whatever – only time will tell if it is of any interest to anybody.

But I wanted to give a big shout out to Kevin Heller and blawgcasting. Kevin is a fine IP lawyer with tremendous dedication to the blogosphere and open media. I will certainly be keeping an eye out on his various blogging and podcasting projects.

That's about it for me. It's been fun. And my most read post, btw, was "Hard Money and Political Retailing". If you're interested read it now, because I don't know how much longer we're going to keep the site up; sooner or later (probably sooner) it will just be a cached memory somewhere.

David Maizenberg, Palo Alto, September 1, 2005

This is my final Blogbook post, and it seems appropriate to conclude with some insights and observations about the periods of fatigue that all bloggers inevitably experience.

There are may ways to cope with blog burnout. Here are a few that may work for you:

1) Take the Zen Approach.
First, do nothing. Simply remain in the Now and don't post a thing unless and until you are motivated by the presence within you and all things. Be forewarned, however, loss of blog traffic may result from an abrupt, unexplained absence. If you choose this approach, you may want to be courteous to your loyal readers and post a "Gone Fishin'" sign. No further action is necessary.

2) Celebrate the Dying of a Light.
Blog on the death of other blogs. It's a fertile topic because all blogs have a lifecycle. Why not announce the closure of other blogs? It's news! Here's one from Transblawg that said the Blogbook went belly up last year.

3) Try the Martha Stewart Approach.
Look through your email sent box for any interesting correspondences. Recycle these brilliant words, add a link or two, and voila -- you've got a traffic generating post.

4) Go Low Maintenance.
Start posting links with single sentence commentary. There's no shame in this method. Some of the biggest blogs do it.

5) Find Strength in Numbers.
Invite others to blog in your place while you catch your breath. This approach works especially well if you happen to be a law professor or blog for a law firm. Surely there are students or first year associates who would jump at the chance to do your bidding.

6) Call It a Day.
Have you ever watched a large school of fish or a flock of birds in flight? They move as a group, but no single animal is in charge. One might lead the pack in a certain direction for a moment, but soon enough, another takes the group off on a different tangent. After a few of these direction changes, an animal breaks from the group and heads off on its own. Recognize when it's your time to disengage.

Closing Shop.
The decision of whether to keep a blog online after you've decided to stop posting is open to debate. There are all sorts of questions to consider. Here are a few to think about:

a) Can you afford to continue hosting the blog?
b) Do you want continued exposure on the internet? Even if you take your blog offline, it may linger on in a search engine's cache or the internet archive.
c) Does the information in your blog contain material that others may continue to find useful? Is providing this information a priority for you?
d) Can you continue to generate Google Ad revenue from your blog even if you aren't actively posting?

Thanks for reading.