October 7, 2005

Fun is the one thing that institutionalization can't buy.

Victor Fleischer is somewhat optimistic about what he calls "institutional blogs." (A dreary name, no?) This would be a blog like the University of Chicago Law School faculty blog, which is called The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog. You can't get any more institutional than that.

Fleischer is responding to Matt Brodie, who speculates about the future of blogging, in a way makes the future sound dull. Here's Fleischer's point:
Unless blogs have an identifiable voice, they aren't much fun to read. Anyone who has been to a faculty meeting knows that cacophony trumps harmony. And blogging might start to feel more like work. And what do you do with law profs who just want to talk about personal stuff, not law?
Is the secret of blogging fun? Fun to read, fun to write. And not just fun, play. Joy.

6 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Eddie: Thanks. And Pajamas Media isn't Simon's individual blog, it's a big commercial enterprise, an attempt to pull in lots of advertising through a website that aggregates blogs. The name change, I suspect, is designed to convey the idea that they are professional and serious about everything. They want to avoid the indie look. I declined to join them, by the way, basically because they didn't offer me enough money.

Meade said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Meade said...

Thursday evenings at eight o'clock as the night begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Searching and hoping the squirrel is no more
She sits right down to garage band clicking her mouse with glee
Scanning her blog with the down arrow key
Casting her pod she is free

She (We listen most of the time)
Is podcasting (Sacrificing much of our time)
Blog (We hit her paypal whenever we're flush)
She's casting pod like some high techy god...
...dess who's found her art.

Meade said...

She (What did PajamasMedia do wrong?)
Is having (They didn't know they were wrong)
Fun (Fun is what insitutions cannot provide)

Something on air like a truth or a dare
To so many ears

Ruth Anne Adams said...

More than the mere fun of writing is the fun and delight we all have being along for the ride which is Althouse. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

reader_iam said...

"I've got blisters on my fingers ..."