Big firm blogs….Not passionate, but good for the blawgosphere

Dennis Kennedy has a wonderful post today that explores the question: Is There Still Room for Small Firm or Solo Lawyer Blogs? He asks the question as part of his By Request Tuesday feature and in light of the recent focus on blogging by big firms. I was glad to learn that Dennis answers this question with a resounding (and well-reasoned) yes.

Reading that post made me think about the whole gestalt of blogging in light of the coming (tidal?) wave of bfb’s (big firm blogs). I have explored the bfb issue in the past, but Dennis’ post made me think about it in terms of my own existence, which is always an interesting perspective on any issue. I firmly believe that the difference between bfb’s and blogs by solos and small firms will be one of passion. In a recent post for the anniversary of PTP, I explored the question of why I blog…and gave this simple answer: passion. This one word defines the entire blogging experience for me. Sure the blog helps with client development (a little), but my passion for intellectual property law, computers, technology, and writing is the driving force.

I suspect most bfb’s will lack this passion, making them easy to spot. Associates will blog for credit (real or perceived), not passion. Partners will supervise by committee, which will likely drain any passion that may be present.

I do think a surge of bfb’s will benefit the blawgosphere generally, though. Big firms will attract a lot of attention, and should nudge more and more people into the blawgosphere. Big firms have big networks and big marketing budgets. Their entry into the blawgosphere will attract lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Some of those people will start using RSS, follow links and conduct searches and, one day, discover the passion present in solo and small firm blogs.