Today marks an important milestone in the development of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.  It marks the second major redesign of the blog since it was launched 10 years ago (!) this month in 2007.

Back then, the iPhone was just announced and social media was something that a few college kids played around with.  And some of us used a feature called Google Reader to read RSS feeds.

(Don’t believe me? I even wrote a blog post about how to read blog posts on an RSS feed here!)

And the notion of using blogs or specialized websites to get employment law news was still in its infancy.  I would read “George’s Employment Blawg” — now defunct – and sometimes BNA’s Daily Labor Reports, but there wasn’t much else beyond that.

So much as changed in ten years. It was time to design and structure my blog to meet the 2017 world as it stands now.

First, because smartphones are a massive part of every day life, the blog needed to have a “Responsive Design” to make it easy for people to read on their phones. That’s been done now and the shape of this blog reacts to the platform you are reading it.  I don’t understand all the technicalities of it but it’s pretty cool.  Everything should be easier on the iPhone (or Android).

Second, there are now plenty of outlets that now cover breaking news at a national level.  I love reading things like the “Morning Shift” each day because I can get updated news from people who have the time to spend sourcing it and covering it.   So, the goal of the blog going forward is to do less chasing of headlines, particularly at the national level. Indeed, my firm already does a really good collective job reporting on things in online newsletters and alerts. Look for more of that from my firm later in 2017.

So what else does that mean instead? Hopefully more analysis. More insights from an experienced employment law attorney.

I’ve always tried answering the question for employers of “How Is This Important to Employers in Connecticut”. I will continue to have a laser focus on this question by focusing on issues of importance. This doesn’t mean that I won’t share things I learn from time to time that others should know about (the proposed CTFMLA post from earlier this month is a great example of this). But if you’re looking for who the latest appointee to the NLRB is, you should broaden your horizons.

My schedule is such that I just don’t have the physical hours in the day to do so and, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t have the desire to do so either.  I’ve always said I love employment law because at the end of the day this work is about PEOPLE.  And posts that focus on the practical aspects of the law and what can be meaningful to people who work at companies will always carry the day for me.

Third, because of social media and video, there are now more ways than ever to communicate. Watch for more posts using videos and supplemental posts on LinkedIn and Facebook that go beyond the corners of the blog itself.  Expect a Facebook live session or two as well.  The blog will serve as a hub for these adventures but it won’t be the only place to continue to find information.  And if there’s a next thing out there, I’ll probably try it.

Fourth, you should see an increased emphasis on seeking input from outside sources. I’ve loved doing the Dialogue posts with Nina Pirrotti, a well-known Plaintiff’s attorney. And the interviews I’ve done with others are too irregular but are among the more well-read posts.  I’m hoping to do more of these.

Fifth, at the start of the blog, I tried to write nearly every day.  I would share links to articles and other things like that.  Then a few years ago, due to personal circumstances, posts became to several times a week.  Then as I was working with my firm on a re-launch of this blog and we were deciding its fate, the posts dropped even further. I think there was even a week without a post! Gasp. But that’s been resolved and this blog is alive and well.  So look for a big more regularity now that the new blog is in place.

Oh, and there’s the new design you’re seeing — easier to read, easier to search, easier to share, more visual, etc etc.

There are other changes I’ve got planned too, but I think that’s enough talking about myself and the blog for one post.

To those who have been with me since the start — thank you. To those just discovering this blog, I promise this isn’t like coming into the middle of Game of Thrones.  You’ll do just fine jumping in now.  We’ve got a lot of employment law left to discuss.

Day One of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog is ready to go.