I was at the Apple store recently. A shiny new object caught my attention. It was a handheld device that looked like no other. No, it wasn’t an iPad. No, it wasn’t a new iMac. Instead, it was the new iPhone4. I went to the Apple store to get my son’s Macbook pro fixed and after that was taken care of, I began to explore. This new communication device looked interesting.

I freely admit I use a Blackberry with Verizon. I started playing. I was most interested in the video capabilities of the new phone. The screen resolution was outstanding. It played YouTube videos flawlessly and crisply. Even in a crowded store, I was able to listen to myself talk in one of my videos (my wife says I do that all too often!).

My daughter then showed me how to use it as a video camera. “Dad, push the touch-screen button that has a video camera on it,” she said. And I’m the video expert. “Thanks sweetie,” I replied. The camera has two lenses; one on the side you dial numbers, and the other on the opposite side. If you want to take video of yourself talking, just push the button to record. Really simple. Easy to switch sides too. Then I learned that if you are talking to another iPhone4 user, you can see each other and video chat.

I decided to put the video capability to the test. I wanted to see how this portable device took video. I shot a quick video in a crowded and noisy store. Watch the video below to see the results.

When holding the camera close, the lens gives you a slight fish-eye, distorted view. When holding the camera at arms-length, you get a nice frame from your head to your waist. The problem is that when you’re that far away, the built-in microphone picks up all the ambient sound. Not ideal for quality audio in an attorney video.

Lastly, you’ll notice that the frame is very narrow and does not take advantage of the full 16×9 hi-definition aspect ratio. I do not know if this is because I was shooting video holding the phone vertically, or whether it changes if I hold it horizontally.

Is it convenient? Yes. Does it have good quality video? Yes. Audio? Only if you’re holding it as if you’re talking on the phone.

One other cool feature that I always advocate not using: the ability to directly upload your newly made video to YouTube. So why did I upload this video experiment to my Lawyers Video Studio YouTube channel? Precisely because I wanted to see the quality of the new iPhone4.

Let me know your experience with your new iPhone4 and what you think of the video qualities.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

iPod

My daughter’s iPod stopped working recently. No reason. Just stopped.

She had it for about one year. No damage, not dropped in the toilet or on the floor. Just stopped working. Only problem was that it was no longer covered under the warranty.

I made an appointment with the genius bar at the Mac store in Manhasset, NY (the closest store to us). Showed up at the appointed time and was immediately seen. Five minutes later the Mac assistant said that it wasn’t working (Yeah, I knew that) and that it was beyond the warranty by 130 days. (Ugh, I sort of knew that, and was waiting to hear how much it would cost to repair.)

What she said next floored me.

“Even though it’s out of the warranty period, we’re going to replace your iPod free of charge.”

“Huh?” I thought. “What did she just say?”

I asked her to repeat that.

I had to ask.

“Why would you replace a broken iPod if it’s beyond the warranty period, for FREE?”

Her reply: “There was no obvious damage like water damage or physical damage to the iPod. So, as a customer service thing, we’re going to replace this for free!”

“Wow!” was all I could say. I was shocked. This went beyond, way beyond what I expected. Not only did Apple exceed my expectations, but they blew me away by giving my daughter a free iPod in exchange for a non-working one, even though they had every right to ask me to pay for a new one. That’s amazing customer service.

How can you use that example in your law office today? Let me know. I’d love to hear about it.

Dateline:

November 8, 2009; Somewhere between Orlando, Florida, and New York (The livemap function tells me we’re somewhere over North Carolina now)

I’m flying at 33,000 feet looking out my window on JetBlue back to New York. I see clear blue skies and a few clouds. I’m heading back from Orlando, Florida where I had the chance to talk to a group of lawyers about why video for lawyers is so important. Here’s the bottom line: Lawyers who haven’t started creating video are losing out tremendous opportunities.

I presented on Friday morning, November 6, 2009; a gorgeous cool 75 degree day with crystal clear skies. The room was filled with lawyers and their Mac laptops. There wasn’t a PC in sight. For the lecture, I borrowed my daughter’s 13 inch MacBook, which is light enough to carry anywhere. In fact, I’m using it to type this blog post.

POINT 1: A WAKE UP CALL

I was amazed at the response following my talk. Attorneys were coming up to me thanking me for enlightening them about the need for lawyer video. A handful of lawyers told me they never even considered ‘education-based’ video to market their law practice. Many attorneys I spoke to afterward said that they enjoyed my presentation so much that they are definitely going to start creating video.

I even had a law professor tell me he was going to create two different videos; one geared toward trial lawyers and the other directed to appellate lawyers. It was exciting to see how lawyers finally ‘get it’ when shown how significant video can be.

POINT 2: USE DIFFERENT (ETHICAL) WAYS TO MARKET YOUR PRACTICE

During my talk, I recognized DUI attorney Bob Battle from Virginia sitting in the audience. Bob is an innovator in marketing a solo practice; especially a DUI practice. In the beginning of my talk I showed the group that I looked like a bobble-head in the first video I ever put online. Why do I mention this? Because Bob Battle is probably the only attorney to create an actual bobble-head of himself to help market his practice.

POINT 3: TALK TO OTHER ATTORNEYS IN DIFFERENT PRACTICE AREAS

During the lunch break I had a chance to talk with attorney Victor Medina, the attorney who created and put together MILOfest. Victor is a trusts and estates attorney in New Jersey and he clearly ‘gets it’ in terms of marketing. In addition to being a Mac expert, Victor was telling me how effective seminars are to market his practice.

You can’t practice law today simply by hanging a shingle out, taking out a small yellow pages ad, going to bar association meetings and hoping that someone will call. Instead, savvy lawyers, especially Mac-loving lawyers who use their Mac computers in their law office realize that the practice of law for solo and small firm lawyers means you wear many hats.

POINT 4: ADOBE ACROBAT IS USEFUL-If you know how to use it

At MILOfest we learned the importance of Adobe Acrobat in preparing great presentations and were shown how to actually use it. We also learned why having a 3-D timeline can help convince a judge or a jury of the sequence of factual events in a clear and unmatched way.

POINT 5: BLOGGING IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELF

Later in the day we heard from the Grand Daddy of blogging; Some actually call him the Blawgfather, Grant Griffiths. Grant is excellent at getting the message out that lawyers have to blog. It’s as simple as that. Blogging is a great way to market yourself. Grant and his son have developed a fascinating theme for WordPress blogs called Headway. What makes Headway so interesting is the ability to change your blog instantly and easily, without knowing any code.

I am happy to report that this blog, The Lawyers’ Video Studio, runs on a Headway theme from Grant Griffith’s team. If you have a chance, take a look at my site to see what I’ve done with it, then head over to Headway and see what others have done with their blogs.

In a few days I’ll be posting a video testimonial describing what attorney Bob Battle thought about my presentation. In addition, you’ll hear from one lawyer who said this was the best conference she’s ever been to! Now, that’s impressive. I look forward to next year’s MILOfest.

Dateline:

November 8, 2009; Somewhere between Orlando, Florida, and New York (The livemap function tells me we’re somewhere over North Carolina now)

I’m flying at 33,000 feet looking out my window on JetBlue back to New York. I see clear blue skies and a few clouds. I’m heading back from Orlando, Florida where I had the chance to talk to a group of lawyers about why video for lawyers is so important. Here’s the bottom line: Lawyers who haven’t started creating video are losing out tremendous opportunities.

I presented on Friday morning, November 6, 2009; a gorgeous cool 75 degree day with crystal clear skies. The room was filled with lawyers and their Mac laptops. There wasn’t a PC in sight. For the lecture, I borrowed my daughter’s 13 inch MacBook, which is light enough to carry anywhere. In fact, I’m using it to type this blog post.

POINT 1: A WAKE UP CALL

I was amazed at the response following my talk. Attorneys were coming up to me thanking me for enlightening them about the need for lawyer video. A handful of lawyers told me they never even considered ‘education-based’ video to market their law practice. Many attorneys I spoke to afterward said that they enjoyed my presentation so much that they are definitely going to start creating video.

I even had a law professor tell me he was going to create two different videos; one geared toward trial lawyers and the other directed to appellate lawyers. It was exciting to see how lawyers finally ‘get it’ when shown how significant video can be.

POINT 2: USE DIFFERENT (ETHICAL) WAYS TO MARKET YOUR PRACTICE

During my talk, I recognized DUI attorney Bob Battle from Virginia sitting in the audience. Bob is an innovator in marketing a solo practice; especially a DUI practice. In the beginning of my talk I showed the group that I looked like a bobble-head in the first video I ever put online. Why do I mention this? Because Bob Battle is probably the only attorney to create an actual bobble-head of himself to help market his practice.

POINT 3: TALK TO OTHER ATTORNEYS IN DIFFERENT PRACTICE AREAS

During the lunch break I had a chance to talk with attorney Victor Medina, the attorney who created and put together MILOfest. Victor is a trusts and estates attorney in New Jersey and he clearly ‘gets it’ in terms of marketing. In addition to being a Mac expert, Victor was telling me how effective seminars are to market his practice.

You can’t practice law today simply by hanging a shingle out, taking out a small yellow pages ad, going to bar association meetings and hoping that someone will call. Instead, savvy lawyers, especially Mac-loving lawyers who use their Mac computers in their law office realize that the practice of law for solo and small firm lawyers means you wear many hats.

POINT 4: ADOBE ACROBAT IS USEFUL-If you know how to use it

At MILOfest we learned the importance of Adobe Acrobat in preparing great presentations and were shown how to actually use it. We also learned why having a 3-D timeline can help convince a judge or a jury of the sequence of factual events in a clear and unmatched way.

POINT 5: BLOGGING IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELF

Later in the day we heard from the Grand Daddy of blogging; Some actually call him the Blawgfather, Grant Griffiths. Grant is excellent at getting the message out that lawyers have to blog. It’s as simple as that. Blogging is a great way to market yourself. Grant and his son have developed a fascinating theme for WordPress blogs called Headway. What makes Headway so interesting is the ability to change your blog instantly and easily, without knowing any code.

I am happy to report that this blog, The Lawyers’ Video Studio, runs on a Headway theme from Grant Griffith’s team. If you have a chance, take a look at my site to see what I’ve done with it, then head over to Headway and see what others have done with their blogs.

In a few days I’ll be posting a video testimonial describing what attorney Bob Battle thought about my presentation. In addition, you’ll hear from one lawyer who said this was the best conference she’s ever been to! Now, that’s impressive. I look forward to next year’s MILOfest.