After the American Bar Association launched its social networking site, LegallyMinded, in December 2008, I wrote a review that I summed up with this title: ABA Social Network Fails to Connect. Regrettably, it was a commendable idea but poorly executed. As I wrote then, “It jettisons features that should be central and weighs itself down with others that are useless or redundant. It is as if the ABA came late to a crowded race, barefoot and with bricks in its backpack.”
Today, the ABA announced that it is shutting down LegallyMinded, effective April 7. In an e-mail sent to everyone who registered for the site, it said: “After careful evaluation of current opportunities and challenges in the digital space, the ABA has decided to cease operation of LegallyMinded at 3pm Central Time on Thursday, April 7, 2011.”