In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that Patrick Johnson first related this story to me around St Patty’s Day 2009.  The incident occurred  St. Patrick’s Day 2008.

It came up in the context of a discussion about the infamous Ryan Moats incident.   I urged him to go forward at that time.  I contacted the Irving Police department on his behalf.  Officer John Tully responded that there was no record of the incident.  I asked Patrick if he wanted to press further.  He told me that he was hoping for a tryout a free agent for the Dallas Cowboys.  As the practice facility was near where the incident occurred, he had concerns that some of the same officers would be working the area and did not want those types of distractions prior to his tryout.  We therefore agreed not to run the story.

The issue was jogged to my mind again after I read the story of Calvin Moore Jr.  Mr. Moore was an African-American shot in the back three times while trying to flee what he claims was an alleged un-provoked attack by the Irving police.  While the Irving City Council ultimately voted to pay over 400k to settle a federal lawsuit arising out of the shooting, the Irving police department has denied allegations of racial profiling.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Calvin Moore’s death is one of at least nine cases in which Irving officers have fatally shot someone in the last 11 years.  This, combined with the allegations against the department by by activists, minority leaders and civil rights groups, as well as a report by the University Of California at Berkley Law School accusing the Department of profiling brought me back to Mr. Johnson, once again urging him to come forward with his story.

We again contacted the Irving Police Department.  I was again told  there was no record of the incident. I was given information for Patrick to file a formal internal affair complaint. A portion of the email reads as follows:

“An allegation of this type is taken very seriously, and as such, gathering the information and detail surrounding it is paramount for a thorough investigation to take place to determine if an allegation is real or perceived.

Patrick proceeded to contact internal affairs and was greeted by Officer Swann with the “we take all complaints seriously” response that too much time had passed to take a complaint and there fore no formal complaint would be taken from him.

I then proceeded to email the department that we would be moving forward with officer Swann’s  un-willingness to take Patrick’s complaint “seriously” as their official stance on the matter.

Low and behold Mr. Johnson immediately received a call back from officer Swann with a much more “serious” attitude.

In the end, the position of the Irving Police Department to date is that there is no record of anything. No record of the stop. No record of Mr. Johnson’s license plate.  No record of the search of Patrick’s mothers home.  Not even any record of the infamous Mr. Patrick Watkins who they told Mr. Johnson was wanted in 3 states as he sat handcuffed in front of the Shell Station.  It simply never happened…

Which is easier to believe?  Patrick Johnson and his mother, who is school nurse at Nimitz High School of the DISD, both respected members of the community, fabricated a detailed chain of events with nothing to gain?   Just maybe that a police department, currently under scrutiny due to numerous allegations of racial profiling, swept a legally and procedurally  flawed and potentially fatal stop behind the blue-wall thinking it would never come back to bite them.

Why is Mr Johnson coming forward almost two year later?  In the hopes that the Irving Police Department will one day actually take allegations of racial profiling seriously instead of paying  self-validating lip service to a problem that appears obvious to everyone else.

If you are not in the legal profession and not active on twitter you have probably not noticed the growing trend of attorneys holding themselves out as “experts” in the social media realm. Not holding themselves out as experts in criminal law, bankruptcy law or other noble legal specialties but experts in social media itself .  Often claiming the ability to teach other attorneys how they can be experts in social media or become millionaire rainmakers.

What’s the end game? Money of course

So why would an attorney leave the practice of law to be a “social media expert”?  Why would a practicing or newbie attorney want to be taught how to be an expert in social media in a business that revolves around reputation and the credibility of the work product?  Because its a jungle out there!  The legal market has entered its own 30′s era depression seeing more jobs lost than at anytime in measured history.   Everyone is looking for short cut to the razor’s edge.

The real end game?  With Twitter Social Media buzz in abundance and attorneys facing declining revenue, afraid of social media or simply do not understand it, the snake oil salesman of the legal profession are coming out of the woodwork.

Here is the rub.  There is NO such thing as a social media expert in the legal realm yet.  It simply has not been around long enough to develop a body of work.   At most, everyone doing well in social media has drawn on unique life/professional experiences and if the experiences are unique enough, they have found niche to wrap basic social media principals around. Nothing wrong with that. If there is a way teaching social media is supposed to work, IMHO that’s it.  And whats more, there are no secrets.  The same information on how to use twitter and other forms of social media are there for the taking for free from high school kids posting “how-to” videos” on Youtube

So what sets the Legal-Social Media Expert apart?  One would think it’s in the ability to use those “unique experiences” and vast legal experience to show the newbie how to integrate it within their unique life/professional  experiences . To show how, during the course of their extensive legal career they have intertwined those unique life experiences with Twitter and other form of social media to make their millions.

The next rub?  Most have not practiced long enough to have unique experiences or generated revenue in any way shape or form other than billing hours.  And if they were so successful in using social media during their practice why are they not still practicing?  Seems like a fair  due diligence question.  They voluntarily left this incredibly successful practice of law making millions using social media to start over and teach you how to use social media so you can make millions?  Snake Oil tasting any better?

Bottom line before you drink?  Its all about disclosure.  If people would do the same due diligence they would certainly do in the brick and mortar world before they hired a lawyer they would find out the following:

The attorneys holding themselves out as having “superior knowledge” (I refuse to use the word expert again) to help you navigate the social media  jungle to the pot of client gold on the other end, are often attorneys who are no longer practicing because they could not support themselves, were disbarred, sanctioned or have limited practice experience and often never generated new client portables when they were practicing.

Another rub for you.  If these same attorney’s were attempting to hold themselves out on the same level to real client’s in the legal profession would they not be required to disclose much of the above pursuant to state advertising rules. If not required, would it not be logical to assume the client would want full disclosure of the above before making a decision on whether to use that attorney? ( I am making a overall generalization on the advertising rules, requirements vary state to state).

The final rub.  Advertising and Disclosure rules for attorneys generally have not caught up with the likes of Twitter.  Attorney’s who would never think of pulling such snake-oil  shenanigans in the the Big-Law , Small-law or Solo-Law world are now burying their lack of real practice experience, disciplinary history and lack of qualifications to teach anything to other lawyers in the dark Twitter rabbit hole of non-disclosure.  Preying on the ignorance of well meaning but economically scared lawyers blinded to the snake oil by the desire to pay rent.

It has become such an issue that many attorney’s have taken to policing their own within the Twitter-Law arena.

One of the most ardent and outspoken of these attorneys and someone who is probably the Top Twitter Cop in the social media realm is Attorney Brian Tannebaum.   Brian is a partner in the firm of Tannebaum Weiss.  He also blogs at “My Law License” and The Criminal Defense Blog.  Every once-lawyer “selling the snake” cringes when @btannebaum shows up in his/her twitter stream.

If you doubt me, look no further than a recent heated Twitter exchange he had with New York attorney Kathleen Scanlon.  Kathleen has had her issues.  She was one of several individuals indicted in a NY mortgage fraud scheme. She has allegedly  pled guilty and is  awaiting sentencing.

At issue were her qualifications and credentials portrayed on her twitter profile.  Despite the fact of her guilty plea and impending sentence, none of this was disclosed on her Twitter profile which portrayed her as a  networking “real estate lawyer”   During the course of the exchange when it was apparent to her that Brian had done his homework she changed her Twitter profile and deleted most of her replies.

With the help of Google cache we can take a look at her Twitter Profile prior to her exchange with Brian and her Twitter Profile after.  The changes are self-evident.

In the end, it all comes down to common sense.

Why would you give up your good money to a lawyer without checking the person out just because its not “law”.  Don’t you want to know about who the person has actually generated revenue for?  If the attorney is claiming to help you “make rain” don’t you want to know about his experience as a rainmaker in the legal profession?  Don’t you want references from when he/she practiced?  Don’t you want to know about standing with the bar?  Don’t you want the same information the attorney would be required to disclose under State advertising rules?   Once you have all this information then you can make an informed decision.

Don’t settle for less and DON’T  let fear of starving cause you to not ask hard questions.  If you don’t get the answers you like you may still starve but at least you saved rent payment for another month or more and wont have to live on snake oil while you hope and pray for it to rain.

*****UPDATE*****

After I published the above a lawyer by the name of Sheryl Sisk Schelin took issue and defended her right and experience to sell social media to other attorneys despite any failing she may have had as an attorney. She calls herself “The Inspired Solo” She in fact has written a e-book “Twitter For Lawyers” which she is selling for $47.00 as an introductory offer going up to $67.00.

What Sheryl failed to mention in her tweets and on her website is that she has a pretty big failing.  She is currently suspended from the practice of  law in South Carolina. I somehow missed that in the “About Me” section of her web-site.   Call me crazy but I find that very “uninspiring”, how about you?

Thanks Sheryl, I could not have scripted it better if I had tried.

Scanning tweets of my followers and the wall posts of my Facebook friends can be a pretty good gauge of what people are doing for fun.  It is also a great look at the dynamics, quirks and faux pas of  “dating 2.0″  relationships.

Shitty dates, no-show dates, cheapskate dates, text and twitter booty-calls, tweet-up hookups, late night iPhone Bumps, and relationship status updates that change faster than Lindsey Lohan’s religion and sexual orientation.  People hook-up and break-up without putting down their iPhones or  logging off of their Twitter or Facebook account.

Doesn’t this  pretty much sum up Generation Y relationships?   For much of my Baby Boomer dating  life we did not have cell phones or internet.  I had to ask for a home number.   I took the risk of nosy parents, brothers and sisters answering the phone.  Had to be on my game from minute one.  How did the world go on without Facebook, Sexting, Texting and Twitter from our iPhone?   God forbid we should actually have to look someone in the eye when asking them out or even worse, breaking up.

Now we are not even asking for phone numbers. We are asking for Facebook pages and Twitter user names.  When we do ask for a number we do not call, we text.  We are texting and tweeting our way to love and heartbreak. We are sending “Dear John Tweets” in 140 characters or less.   We are now  Geo-Tagging to send out our drunken GoWalla or foursquare mating call to all who we deem “GPS desirable”

We casually “bump iPhones” with the hot girl or guy in a dark bar without ever saying a word.   We have mastered the art of the sexy “Iphone bump.”  Information instantaneously exchanged. Head to the bathroom to check it out.  Not interested? Delete and walk.  The shortest 2.0 relationship in history.

You would think the following text message exchange is right out of a Sex In The City episode.  It is a real life exchange between two people I tried to hook up on a blind date.  She lives in Manhattan and he is a very well known Hollywood actor.

The back story to this exchange is that Monica and Trent had been having a torrid “text and twitter  romance” but were  unsuccessful in trying to hook up for dinner.  They agreed to meet for a late coffee at Starbucks in Mid-Town.

Monica arrives on time but Trent is running late.  Monica is waiting anxiously in anticipation of their first Starbucks meet.  Trent finally texts her (some texts have been combined to save space).

(Trent)   Give me Ten Minutes

(Monica) So, I gave you 20 mins. Haven’t heard from you. Guess your not going to show, good night.

(Trent) I’m in a cab NOW heading to the financial district just tell me the cross streets.

(Monica) You are too late, going home.

(Trent) OK but lets discuss it further when I get there.

(Monica) No. I am meeting a friend for a bite. Sorry. You should have communicated better. Next time.

(Trent) I ‘m almost there, I’ll join you and u’r friend, in fact I’ll buy you both dinner:o)

(Monica) No thank you

(Trent) Great! Which restaurant are we meeting at?

(Monica) Trent, I don’t need your charity.  I need you to be on time. You missed that window and I have made other plans.  We will have to get together another time.

(Trent) I took a cab all the way down here. It cost me a fortune.  Can you recommend a nice restaurant I can have a meal at by myself?  With all due respect there will not be another time.

(Monica) You are being ridiculous. You were 45 minutes late and I made plans.  Its your own fault. Don’t take it out on me!  Plus we were supposed to meet in  your neighborhood not mine.

(Monica)  If anything you should have apologized.  I have had one hell of a day and do not deserve to be treated that  way!

(Trent)  Ur nuts. If we were going to meet in my neighborhood you would hadda traveled up here it would have taken at least a half hour,

(Trent) i was coming to u to make it easy.  now I’m walking all  the way back from wall street I’m at canal, again no disrespect , and in an apologetic tone, LOSE MY NUMBER!

(Trent)  I left my wallet at my meeting and I used all my cash for the cab

(Monica) We talked about me coming to you. I am sorry you left your wallet at the restaurant. I’m not sure how all this is my fault. Why are you being so nasty to me?

(Monica) I didn’t do anything to you. Do you need me to bring you some money?  I’m no sure what you want me to do here.

(Monica)  By the way, if you don’t have your wallet how were you planning on buying my friend and me dinner? You’re a liar and a pig

(Trent) I’m not being nasty, just straightforward.  I thought it would be better for u and considerate of me to come meet you downtown.

(Trent) Anyway, I’ve taken off my coat and tie, rolled up my suit  jacket  and am going to try to panhandle-i’m at the union sq. park. I just need to raise 2 bux for the train

(Trent) This is embarrassing.  I hope ur satisfied!

(Trent) No.  Please don’t bring any money. I’ve already gotten 30 cents-i’ll raise two bux in less than 20 minutes but thank for the gesture. )

(Monica)  Your choice.  Stay away from the crack dealers.

(Trent) I need to put the Blackberry away or else they’ll think I as at one of those giant evil banks, and they won’t pity me.-they’ll spit on me! So I can’t continue to communicate with u…..

(Trent) No hard feelings-just not meant to be.

Love found, lost, texted and tweeted  without ever dialing a digit.   The epitome of a Dating 2.0 world.  We are advertising to the entire social networking world that we are on the market in 140 characters or less.

We used to break up in restaurants so there would not be a scene.  Now we find out  we are newly single for the first time when we see our “significant other’s” Facebook relationship status suddenly set to “single and looking”  You  try to text her and her phone number has been changed.  You try to contact her on Facebook and find you are now “blocked”. You are also blocked and “un-followed” on Twitter.  A total dating 2.0 disconnect.

In my day, if you met a girl in a bar and she thought you were a  total douchebag, the  number she gave you was actually the Rejection Hotline or Dominos Pizza.(I ate a lot of pizza)

It will not be long before we will be creating our twitter networks for the sole purpose of finding a mate.  We will see tweets like ads we now see on billboard or the billboards themselves will tweet our message to the local masses.

“30k Millionaire Tweetgeek” user name bcuban seeks SATM(Single Attractive Tweet Mate).  Tweet me your vitals and lets bump Iphones!

Any takers?

©2009 Brian Cuban

*Love On Twitter Graphic compliments of Toni Gigov.

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I was watching Al Gore on Fox news the other night.  The debate was Global Warming.  Al Gore was on the defensive trying to defend is his position that man-made Global Warming was real and imminent. He then went on to call all those who disagreed with him “Global Warming Deniers”  I must be living in a cave because I had never heard that term used before.

I immediately got a knot in my stomach. It was a knot of history.  A knot of irritation at Al Gore for his ignorance of history and the power of the spoken word.

It had nothing to do with my views on Global Warming.  I got the knot in my stomach because I felt that Al Gore has intentionally attached the word “denier” to call up either conscious or sub-conscious images of the Holocaust.  Drawing on a subtle context and back of the mind imagery specifically designed to cause a subtle,  parallel inference in the viewer/listener.

I do not dispute that the term “denier” has been around for a long time pre-dating its attachment to Holocaust Denial,  a discredited revisionist historical theory that has been around since the 60′s.

There however, is also no disputing that in modern times the term “denier”, when attached to a scientific or other theory has become inextricably entwined with the Holocaust.  Attached to discredit those who are “denying the obvious”  I do not dispute Al Gore’s right to use it.  But why use it?  Why use it unless you are intentionally trying to draw up subtle inferences parallel with the Holocaust. THAT, in my  mind is inappropriate.

Is the highly educated Mr Gore claiming that in his entire internal linguistics  database there is no other appropriate way to make his point with the same force?

Am I being too sensitive? Possibly.  I still do not like it. When I feel like the term is purposely being used to draw on the Holocaust I feel like my history is being denied.  Regardless of my views on Global Warming, I view it as a desperation move on Mr. Gores part.  A move that is beneath his intellect and intent.

I wish he would stop.  Mr. Gore, please stop using that term