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June 6, 2012
"WestlawNext": What happens when a brand becomes synonymous with the negatives of all similiar products
Once upon a time, we "xeroxed" something to make a copy. Being the first to launch and acquire a substantial presence in the marketplace, users identified the activity with the company that made the machine. Mad Men strive to do this when something "new" or "innovative" is being brought to market. Competitors will enter the marketplace with similar products so acquiring positive brand recognization in the product segment is a major plus for sales.
But, what happens when the opposite impression is created in the minds of potential consumers? What happens when the Company or brand name (or both) becomes synonymous with all the negatives associated with a new design model?
You get "WestlawNext" as the icon for all that is wrong in the new WEXIS model for online legal search.
"I westlawnexted it."
"That must by why you missed this [opinion, statute, regulation, secondary source] cited by opposing counsel."
Christine L. Sellers and Phillip Gragg's LLJ Back and Forth column titled WestlawNext and Lexis Advance, 104 LLJ 341 (2012), could end up being the basis for a Harvard Business School case study on how not to be the first to launch and market a new product based on a design model that will be adopted by major competitors. [JH]
June 6, 2012 in Products & Services | Permalink
Comments
I have found the best way to use WestlawNext (WLN) is to begin my searches in Westlaw Classic (WLC). If I don't find what I'm looking for in WLC, I use WLN with its different search algorithm. (There's a link from WLC to WLN: the orange button.)
This approach bypasses all the clicking and clicking and clicking that WLN requires--if I were to use it for my primary search tool.
I have found that natural language searching in WLC often renders superior search results for FACTUAL patterns, but that WLN often renders superior search results for CONCEPTUAL patterns.
I have found that I can migrate between the two interfaces with very little problem so that I can use the one thing I like about WLN--the new search algorithm, without having to use the WLN interface for terms and connectors searches.
But please notice that sometimes natural language in WLC is more helpful.
Posted by: John Hightower | Jun 6, 2012 7:47:54 AM
