Podcast Ep. 112: Fishbowl: A Social Media App for Authentic Conversations in the Legal Industry

On this week’s episode of the Legal Marketing 2.0 podcast, host Guy Alvarez interviews Matt Sunbulli. Matt is the CEO and Cofounder of Fishbowl, a new social network that connects professionals to have candid and relevant conversations about workplace topics. Every day professionals come to Fishbowl to discuss industry news and get career advice from both peers and senior leadership in an open, positive, and supportive environment. The social media app has been rapidly adopted by professionals across industries including Legal, Consulting, Finance, and Advertising. Click here to download the app to start communicating with other lawyers. You can also follow Fishbowl’s Instagram account here.

Podcast Show Notes

How did you come up with the idea for Fishbowl?

On social media, friends can engage with each other in a casual and authentic way, and before Fishbowl, there was no network for professionals to communicate with each other in such a way. I also noticed that a great percentage of the workforce works remotely and does have the opportunity to connect with other professionals.

How can attorneys use Fishbowl’s anonymous/confidential network to get advice on business development and build a personal brand?

This goes back to reflecting on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is not a place where professionals feel comfortable asking questions because they are being judged by their credentials and want to position themselves in the best light. So Fishbowl’s anonymous network was the solution to that, it makes professionals feel safe to ask questions without facing any sort of judgement from their colleagues.

How are attorneys using Fishbowl to share their experiences in the industry, especially in times like these when the industry is in upheaval?

Attorneys and other legal professionals are now mainly using the social media app to compare compensation, workplace culture and leadership teams between firms in terms of response to this pandemic.

Do Fishbowl discussions ever convert to real world connections and what are some Fishbowl success stories?

Yes, they start as anonymous questions or thoughts and then someone messages them anonymously and about 40% of these anonymous direct messages result in them sharing their name or email and continuing the conversation there.

How does the breadth of the community help attorneys looking for recommendations or advice, especially now as many of them are experiencing layoffs or pay cuts and questioning their career paths?

There’s two sides of reactions to this pandemic on our page, the healthcare side and the economic side. There are many conversations happening across all of the industry groups on Fishbowl discussing layoffs at certain companies or sharing job referrals and even tips on working from home. 

How have professionals in larger communities such as consulting or advertising used Fishbowl to move their companies and industries forward positively?

They have the opportunity to use an application like Fishbowl to communicate anonymously to network and crowdsource.

Takeaway

Fishbowl is a social media community for attorneys and legal professionals to connect confidentially with peers across the industry without the fear of facing judgement from others. You can download and join to get transparent, helpful advice on professional and personal topics you can’t discuss anywhere else.

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