Social Media Influencers? SLAW’s Got ’Em

The September 23 issue of The Lawyers Weekly includes a list of the 24 top social media influencers in Canadian law. A remarkable number of the names will be familiar, because they are also contributors to SLAW (with some well deserved special mention going to Simon Fodden).

For me, the most interesting part of the article is where Jordan Furlong and Warren Smith describe the selection process. Their observations should be given serious attention by firms looking to market via social media, or individuals trying to build credibility in their area of expertise.

I think it would also be interesting to do some analysis of cross-posting à la Social Sciences Citation Index, to see if the influencers identified here tend also to be the people who are most quoted and commented on (which could be an indication of the quality of their writing). I’m looking forward to the day when sources like SLAW are cited in an academic paper or a submission to a court. Has this already happened? What kind of reception did it get?

Is this the future of legal discourse?