Blogging in polite company

Thanks for visiting this blog for the first time. Check out the home page for the most recent posts, or the archives if you're looking for something in particular. Here are some of our favorite posts, which you might enjoy:

If you like what you see, we hope you'll consider subscribing to the RSS feed.

Is the Becker-Posner Blog a blog? The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as, “A frequently updated web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary.” Their blog is almost none of these things.

The way their site works is that about once a week they pick an issue to discuss (this week it has been immigration reform). Posner or Becker posts a long commentary on the subject, usually as long as 1,000 words. Then the other scholar posts a reply. These posts amass many (surprisingly intelligent and civil) reader comments along the way, and then Posner and Becker respond to the comments.

I guess it really doesn’t matter what you call it, but I think they’ve come up with a great new format for public discussions. It proves that online conversations can be highbrow and cordial. I would love to see more notable intellectuals and academics take the plunge. Traditional blogging may be too unrefined for someone with the stature of a Posner or Becker (note how Lessig is currently preoccupied with several petty flame wars on his traditional blog). This new format might help, so go tell your thesis adviser.

Feb 27, 2005 | Comments

Related entries

  • No related entries

Comments are closed for this entry.