Beware of Brand Impersonators on Twitter

If you haven't started an account on the microblogging service Twitter yet, here's another reason to go ahead and take the plunge: businesses are often the subjects of fake Twitter profiles, some of which are even started by competitors. 

That's why it's a good idea to start an account and being posting updates - or "tweets" - in order to establish yourself as the real voice of your firm.

As the Iran election shows, people are getting more and more of their information from Twitter.  This trend suggests that many people are looking for information about attorneys on Twitter as well.  There's also this attorney's personal anecdote on how he found clients on Twitter and other social networks. 
That makes it all the more important to make sure that messages distributed under your brand are authentic and informative.  Right now, that probably means actually sending out tweets and gathering followers who read your messages regularly.

Twitter is currently experimenting with a beta version of a verified accounts service for celebrities and public agencies that authenticates the source of the tweets for users, and lets the account holder feel secure that no one else is sending messages under their name.

Unfortunately, this service isn't currently available for law firms, but I imagine it will be eventually. 

Just like with the Great Facebook Land Grab and the availability of Google Profiles, it's important to use these tools provided by companies to help manage your brand's presence on the internet. 

In other words, control your message, or risk having someone else control it.

See Also:
Twitter Launches Verified Accounts (Mashable)
Coming Soon: Verified Twitter Accounts (The Blog Herald)