A favor, please
May The Legal Genealogist ask for a minute of your time?
That’s all it’ll take.
Maybe not even a whole minute.
Trust me.
I’m a genealogist with a law degree. Would I lie to you?
Okay, okay. So would I lie to you about that?
Here’s the story.
Back on November 25th, I got an email from the editor and publisher of the ABA Journal. That’s the prestigious magazine of the American Bar Association. “Congratulations,” it said. “Your blawg has earned a spot in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100, our 7th annual list of the best in blogs about lawyers and the law.”1
So I clicked over to the website, and, sure enough, there’s the entry:
Now this is pretty cool.
Maybe not quite as cool as being linked to by In Legis Custodia,2 the blog of the Law Library of Congress, which is one of my favorite law blogs.3 But still… pretty cool.
There’s just one hitch.
In addition to the glory of being put on the list, there’s a “beauty contest” voting aspect to this. Which means a risk of ending up — to my everlasting chagrin — ranked somewhere behind a guy who writes about trusts and estates.
Things started out well, as noted by one of the other nominees who made my day with this exchange on Twitter:
Sounds like he needs a lesson in the Genealogical Proof Standard and source citations… but I digress.
See, this is the last week of voting — the ballot box closes at the end of the day on Friday — and the folks at the ABA Journal website have stopped reporting the vote totals. So I can’t see now where I stand. All the nominees have that question mark now where the numbers used to be.
Now I have absolutely no problem being outvoted overall by the readers of blogs4 with a broad general appeal to the millions of lawyers out there. There is some truly outstanding general legal writing going on out there.
But you’re not going to let me lose in the niche category to a blog about wills, estates and trusts, are you? I don’t think I could handle that.
I mean seriously, folks. If a blog that’s mostly about dead people is going to win in the niche category, shouldn’t it be a blog that tells the stories of their lives?
So a favor, please.
Take a minute. Click on the image on the left or this link and go vote for The Legal Genealogist in the niche category.
You do have to register (reason: apparently ballot-box stuffing in the past5) but it’s quick and painless and then you can vote, just once, for any 13 blogs you like.
(No, you can’t vote for me 13 times.6)
The Legal Genealogist is in the niche category, and the voting ends this Friday.
It takes no more than one minute to vote.
Just one minute.
Really.
Would I lie to you?
SOURCES
- I didn’t invent the term. Really. It’s a “slang term used to describe an online blog that is written by lawyers, or one that is focused on providing legal-oriented content.” ↩
- See Clare Feikert-Ahalt, “Legal Curiosities: What I Am,” In Legis Custodia, posted 2 May 2012 (http://blogs.loc.gov/law/ : accessed 16 Dec 2013). ↩
- I don’t think I can bring myself to call it a “blawg.” There’s just something… well… grating about the term. ↩
- Have I mentioned yet that I can’t quite wrap my head around the term “blawg”? ↩
- No joke: “Q. Why do I have to register to vote in the Blawg 100? A. Because we experienced significant voting irregularities in the past, we opted to require voters to register beginning in 2009.” “Frequently Asked Questions About the Blawg 100 and Voting,” Blawg 100, ABA Journal (http://www.abajournal.com/ : accessed 16 Dec 2013). Go ahead. It made me laugh too. ↩
- Darn it. ↩
Done
Thanks, Gus!
Already done that—don’t think I’m allowed to do it again!?
Now I would never do such a thing, but some of the other nominees happened to mention to their readers that you can register and vote with every email address you have. But I’d never suggest anybody try to stuff a ballot box. No, not me…
OK, I voted once – do you suppose they’d disbar me for registering other email addresses? 🙂
Only if you get caught. 🙂
Judy, I voted! I admire all the posts you do about recounting the lives of your ancestors. There is so much of your heart in them and the style of writing really impresses me. You have inspired me to try my hand at short family stories. You deserve to win and hope you do!
Thanks so much for the kind words — and the vote!
Is this a test? I attended your recent “Terms of Use” webinar. The link to the ABA Journal Terms of Use just goes to their home page – no terms of use. How can I check that box on the register screen??? 😉
Good luck, Judy! Hope you win!
OK, I found it. And read it! Especially the CAPS and item 30.
In.
Done!
Linda Woodward Geiger found the same thing, Skip! Isn’t that a hoot? The lawyers fouling up the fine print! Thanks!
Done! Let us know how you do 🙂
Will do, and thank you!
This morning you were no. 11 of 15, now you are no. 6 of 15, is that any indication. LOL
Nah — they have some sort of randomizer that presents the blogs in different order every time. (Darn it! No way to tell if I need to
stuff the ballot box… um, campaign harder.)Always something, anyway I really hope you win.
Thanks, Gus. Sure appreciate it. (And seriously I don’t expect to win — too many great general interest blogs on the list — but I would like to place well in the category!)
I was morally torn between you and Trusts & Estates but finally avoided going over to the dark side. I expect my vote will catapult you past Volokh, et al.
A hint to voters not used to proportional voting: Never select a second or third choice in the same category – it hurts your candidate (Judy).
Now I thing I’ll go see if my many alternate emails on different computers with different browsers are still alive,,, Good luck, Bob
Now, now…
noonly a little ballot-box stuffing. (Thanks!)Voted! Thank you for letting us in on this!!!
Thank YOU for joining in the fun!
I agree with Skip and Linda. That is exactly when I had to stop to think about this. The Terms of Use had no link and a cursory search showed nothing. So technically, they can do whatever they want with my name and email address. Maybe these particular lawyers skipped the “fine print” course.
And you had us all ready to read those terms!
I’d rather you all stopped and thought about the terms no matter what! Tells me I did my job in that webinar!
My vote is in, and happily so. Your blog is a wealth of information and inspiration to all of us in the genealogical community, Judy. Regardless of the outcome, thanks for all you do. I hope you win!
Awwww… Shelley, you’re gonna make me blush. Thanks so much!
Tried to vote, but registration impervious to iPhones. P
You cannot click the button. Flash issue? Will try at a PC at
more suitable hour as I really enjoy your blog.
Thanks for your perseverance, Nancy!
Done!
Thanks, David!
Just voted for you! Good luck. 🙂
Thanks so much!
We are going now to cast all of our votes for you. 🙂
Thanks so much!