Careful readers will notice that the right side of the blog looks slightly different. That’s because the geniuses at lexBlog have built in some cool new social media tools.

If you scroll down slightly, you will see Facebook and LinkedIn badges on the right side of the website. You can click on them to access my profile and friend me or add me to your network. Also handy for some light internet stalking, but I don’t think that you’re going to find anything too juicy on me.

The real gem is a the Twitter module just below the badges, which shows my most recent Twitter posts. You’ve gotta check this thing out. If you’re not on Twitter, you are missing out. It’s a tremendous information-sharing tool.

I was skeptical at first, too. As much as 140 characters about what THE_REAL_SHAQ ate for lunch might interest some people, it didn’t seem like my cup of tea. But I sucked it up and gave it a shot, and it turns out Twitter is a tremendous way to gather and disseminate information. Look at the posts in my module. As I’m writing this, they include:

  • a link to Dahlia Lithwick’s hilarious write-up of the oral argument in U.S. v. Stevens;
  • a note about Hollins soccer’s game tonight (longtime readers know that my wife, Carrie, coaches the team);
  • a link to a video of the Federalist Society’s OT SCOTUS preview;
  • a link to ATL’s interview with Justice O’Connor; and
  • a link to SCOTUSblog’s preview of Salazar v. Buono.

If you’re reading this blog in the first place, at least four of those are worth your time. None would merit a whole blog post.

Twitter lets me get that information out efficiently to the people who are following me. They’re basically a self-selected group who share my interests. If they like the stuff I’ve posted, they can retweet it to their followers, and disseminate the information further. If they don’t, they can ignore it. And if you’re on Twitter, you get the benefit of dozens of people with similar interests culling and transmitting relevant information. What a simple but amazing tool.

I strongly encourage you to sign up for Twitter if you’re not using it already. If you’re on the fence, use this blog as a trial run. Check out what pops up on the Twitter module and see if it interests you.