After the announcement, my firm issued a press release and trumpeted the recognition, which was officially for my “participation in and use of online social media in informing clients about legal issues in municipal law.”

According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly:

“This program, now in its fifth year, aims to honor the lawyers who are setting the standard for other lawyers. We recognize attorneys and professionals in law-related fields who have a significant accomplishment or achievement.

These include:

* Outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Virginia.
* Significant achievements through the practice of law.
* Leadership in improving the justice system.
* Important contributions to Virginia’s legal community and/or the community at large.”

Wow! Heady stuff. I am not worthy, really.

But I’ll take it … while sharing the recognition with others.

First, I share the recognition with my law firm, Sands Anderson, which supports my social media efforts, and its marketing director, Russell Lawson, without whom most of my social media efforts would not exist.

But since this recognition is really about engagement in online social media on the subject of local government law, I especially must share this recognition with you who engage with me.

So, here’s to you, the readers of this blog, as well as those that follow this blog’s tweets @VaLocalityLaw and my tweets @AndrewMcRoberts on Twitter, those that participated in the first Sands Anderson land use forum webinar in May on vested rights, and those that are Linked In with me, or engage with me through the electronic services of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia.

If no one ever read these blog posts, or followed me on Twitter, or registered for the webinar, I could not have received this recognition. So, thank you for your support, and thank you for your engagement.

Note was made of the event on the Sands Anderson Marks & Miller website, of course. The full interview is archived at the 22 Tweets website at this link: http://22tweets.com/index.php/2009/10/22/andrewmcroberts/

I have often been interviewed by the press as a long-time local government attorney, of course. But these interviews were typically about my client localities, their elected officials or staff and their activities. This interview was one of only a few I can remember about me. A little scary, actually, but fun. I recommend it to other lawyers who tweet.

I spoke to the Virginia Commissioner of the Revenue Association (CORA) regarding the West Creek Associates v. County of Goochland tax assessment cases, which has been the subject of a series of articles on this blog (part one, part two and part three). Then, I spoke to regional planning and zoning officials from Stafford County, King George County, Spotsylvania County and more at a Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (VAPA), Chesapeake Region Section meeting on “how to do rezoning and not get sued … or win if you do.” I was pleased to be joined by Curt Spear, Assistant Prince William County Attorney, who did a great job speaking on best practices with zoning proffers.

Last week, I spoke to the Local Government Paralegals Association (LGPA) on Purchase of Development Rights/Open Space & Conservation Easements/Transfer of Development Rights. Just this week, I served as the opening night speaker for the Citizens Planning Education Association of Virginia (CPEAV, soon to be PlanVirginia) on “how to do rezoning and not get sued … or win if you do” and also served on a panel discussing planning commissioners and their relations to governing bodies. In two weeks, Curt Spear and I reprise our one-two punch on rezonings and proffers for the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia (LGA) just before Halloween.

Whew! It is a good thing that I enjoy speaking!

But what I have enjoyed the most is meeting so many local government officials who are intent on doing a good job. They appreciate the importance of their role in serving the citizens of Virginia and their locality. At each stop this month, I have met many really nice people who do a great job, ask earnest questions and try to absorb everything they can. I applaud local government officials who take the time to learn how to do their job better.

Thanks to everyone for the invitations! After the LGA Conference at the end of October, I will be out on the hustings again soon, I expect. Please give me a call or send me an email to invite me to speak, to find out where I’ll be next or just to talk. In the meantime, you can follow me on http://twitter.com/AndrewMcRoberts, or on this blog!

What is Twitter?

Twitter is an online social media service in which folks send out short messages of 140 characters or less (called “Tweets”). People can “follow” Twitter users and therefore receive their Tweets. Users can follow as many or few of the thousands of people, businesses and entities that are on Twitter. To join Twitter, simply go to http://www.Twitter.com , select a Twitter name and a password. Then, you can follow anyone you can find on Twitter. The service is free.

How is Twitter Used?

Although Twitter asks the user to tell people “what are you doing,” it is not limited to that topic. Some folks follow celebrities to be a true fan and know what their idol is doing every hour. It is my guess that most people have no interest in what most other people are doing. I know I don’t. Similarly, you don’t want to know what some celebrity or business is doing? Don’t follow them.

Fortunately, Twitter has evolved into a service that allows anyone to send small bits of information quickly and easily. The ability to shrink long URL (web addresses) and insert them links into a brief Tweet makes it possible to share websites containing large amounts of information with followers. Nightspots use it to promote events. Politicians use it to point to press releases. Businesses use it to issue coupons or sell a new product. Media outlets use it to push their content to followers who want to see it. More and more local governments and local government entities – Fairfax County, Prince William County, City of Virginia Beach, the Virginia Association of Counties, many economic development authorities, just to name a few – are using Twitter to make real-time announcements and share information.

Even law firms like my own Sands Anderson Marks & Miller have started using Twitter to build a network and spread word of their lawyers’ blog postings to more people. For example, my blog is at www.VaLocalityLaw.com, but you can receive word of every blog posting as soon as it appears by becoming a follower @VaLocalityLaw.

The Value of Twitter to You

The real value to a local government attorney, in my estimation, is to gather information quickly, cheaply, in real time. Want to know what your local newspaper is saying about your local government, without logging onto their website constantly? Want to know national or state news that could affect you and your locality? Want to know what your (un)favorite gadfly blog is saying about your clients whenever they say it? Want to know what your neighboring locality is dealing with or trying to promote? They are all likely on Twitter, or they soon will be.

I describe Twitter as a personal web clipping service. You can use Twitter to follow selected media and governmental outlets. You can sometimes “find” people, businesses or entities on Twitter by searching after logging in and typing their name, or by seeing who is following your favorite Twitter user on their profile page. If you find the Tweets interesting, follow them. If you don’t, you can “unfollow” them at any time.

Your Privacy on Twitter

We are all public figures as local government attorneys, so being private online is important.

While you are encouraged to give your real name when opening a Twitter account, it is not required. You can adopt a screen name or pseudonym; all you need is a personal email address, easily available on Gmail, Yahoo and many other services. After opening the Twitter account, you don’t need to say a word. Just don’t Tweet. While I was a county attorney, I never said a word. I merely used Twitter to gather information, much like reading many news media sources. As an additional precaution, you can even require interested people to get your permission to become your follower, just change your preferences on your profile page. When the requests come in, just ignore them or proactively block the requested follower if you like.

Have Questions?

I would be glad to assist any Virginia local government attorney who has questions. Twitter is a big change in how to gather information, but it can be useful. And you need not be more public than you are now. Happy Twittering!