The Death of Internet Marketing for Attorneys?

Is Internet marketing for attorneys dead?  In a September 25, 2008 article in the Times of London, Vint Cerf, who has been dubbed the "father of the internet," noted that there will soon be no more internet addresses to allow computers to communicate and identify each other.  According to Cerf, the pool of unallocated unique IP addresses/numbers has almost been exhausted.  When Cerf and others began the current internet in 1977, there was an "internet protocol version four" (IPv4), which allowed for 4.2 billion web addresses.  As the number of mobile phones and other internet devices has skyrocketed, under 14% of those web addresses are still available.  IPv4 addresses, which each have 32 binary digits, will likely be exhausted in either 2010 or 2009.

IPv6, which is a new system of web addresses, has been ready for use for over ten years.  There are 340 trillion, trillion, trillion different IPv6 addresses, which should provide plenty of breathing space for the foreseeable future.  While IPv4 addresses and IPv6 addresses can both run at the same time, IPv6 addresses need to have a broad scope of adoption to allow those using them to connect to the internet as a whole.  Thus, Cerf argues that internet service providers (ISPs) need to start the widespread adoption of IPv6.  Cerf also argues that consumers need to make sure that the products they are buying are IPv6 compatible.

Adoption of IPv6 should not have much effect on consumers, but some routers may need to be updated.  According to the Times of London article, the governments of Korea, Japan and China have been at the forefront of adopting IPv6, and some companies are also using it.

Should those in the marketing for attorneys and internet marketing for lawyers space be concerned?  A July 16, 2008 article on FoxNews.com downplayed the crisis and argued that the switch to IPv6 would have little effect on most internet users.  However, the need to upgrade to IPv6 hightlights the general importance of taking the plunge with advances on the internet.  Although lawyers and law firms need not be overly concerned about the number of IPv4 addresses, they should concern themselves with keeping up on changes and advances from Web 2.0.  Adopting and capitalizing on Web 2.0 should be of great concern for those involved in marketing for attorneys.