Random follow #230 - @jonoboswell

A free and radical spirit would be one way to describe a gentleman who has devoted his life to serving others.  Okay in serving others there is quite a bit of shine that you get when you're a lawyer.  But ultimately the purpose of the profession is to serve others.  And that is just what @jonoboswell does.  And does well.

But being a lawyer is only one part of Jono and his life.  The other part which he describes himself as is an entrepreneur.  This is an interesting mix.  The lawyer on one side who understands complexity, procedure and compliance while on the other hand the entrepreneur is looking for possibility, opportunity and big shiny new things.

So whats to like?  Well he's an optimist with a fantastic outlook on life - 

"It's a blue sky Monday."

He's also only twitter when he has something to say or share.  So there is a particular value to his tweets.  When he posts something it's worth pausing your timeline for a minute and taking in what he has posted.  And he posts tweets on a whole range of items.  From the law -

"Great blog post about the future of legal services http://www.elephantcreative.co.uk/2013/07/31/legal-entrepreneurship/ …"

To good advice for everyone -

"Practical advice for entrepreneurs from @entrepreneurhq1: "I get hit, I get up...”

Occasionally he gives you a little glimpse into his homelife.  Not much but just a slight opening of the day for you to peer through.  Like this tweet which speaks way more volumes about someone than 1,000 other pointless tweets - 

"Hello Monday. I love the eagerness my children show for getting into the day...
when it is still really the middle of the night"

Jono has more going on than just his twitter account.  He also has a very funky blog which has some really neat posts on it.  And like his twitter timeline there are items of both interest and value on there.  I recommend taking a wander over and having a look.  It really is quite a neat blog and you can find it here -
http://www.generomanagement.com/

So here's my description of @jonoboswell in 15 words or less - dad, lawyer, entrepreneur, optimist, nice guy, free thinker, risk taker, smart, intelligent, caring, understanding, persistent.  And the best way to sum up @jonoboswell is with a tweet of his own -

"Twitter is always full of hidden gems"

Random folow #109 - @JCELaw

There have been a number of attempts to write a profile on @JCELaw.  Three or four in the last few months but we have never quite been able to nail down the approach to it.  Ladies and gentlemen I think we may have just broken through that barrier.  Watch this.

J is for John.  That's is first name.  Everybody say "Hello John!"

C is for Copyright.  Which is a large part of his profession and his practice.  So what he does is make sure that the people who come up with the good ideas or who create original material get the rewards they deserve for their brilliance.

E is for Entertaining.  Which are what a majority of his tweets are.  Such as -

"In the last few years I've cringed through more and more versions of Leonard Cohen's magnificent "Hallelujah". But #TenTenors? #ENOUGH!"

"Twitter confirms that arrested Boston Bomber is Rolf Harris"

"To be fair - a kiwi did split the atom first, so technically its "our technology""

L is for Law.  *insert stereo typical bad lawyer joke here*.  To be honest I haven't found or noticed that many lawyers who do tweet.  What @JCELaw has done is carve out a niche offering of services that he calls 'Information Law'.  Smart move!

A is for Advice.  John gets to go on the wireless from time to time and tell New Zealand how he thinks the law should be applied to various situations and cases.  Recently he did this for the GCSB issues that the NZ Government has struggled to communicate.  Every lawyer, somewhere deep inside them, has a calling to assist and help with the greater good.  For @JCELaw that is no different.  Its just that he sees peoples rights in a different way and in different contexts.

W is for (all sorts of things but we won't be saying those things here) Wellington.  The center of most things domestic law focused in New Zealand.  More commercial and international law is based out of Auckland (given the bigger multinational companies are based there).  But if one wants to be a mover and a shaker then Wellington is the shizz.  And to be honest Auckland is only an hour away be plane anyway.

He is also a man of many anecdotes and ineresting stories.  One in particular that is well worth noting is this one which was published on ANZAC day -

"My dad chilled in Fiji during WWII - with the Metservice. Saw no action - was not hero. Once invented a cyclone which delayed things tho."

Mr Edwards does not beat around the bush with his tweets and neither does he fluff around too much with the uninteresting, unimportant and cats.  (Those things may be one and the same but I leave that judgement up to you to make).  And that ladies and gentlemen is a very brief introduction to one of twitter New Zealand's hidden gems.