Posted on
May 6, 2008 in
Connecticut lawyer (and Gerry Spence chronicler) Norm Pattis, who Googles himself regularly, takes a crack at describing A Typology of Legal Blogs.
Blawgs, says Norm, come in three flavors: “prophetic” (his, Appellate Law and Practice, SCOTUSBlog), “proselytizing” (Simple Justice), and “incestuous” (Matlock).
I’m interested in the ways that blawgs fit together. I’ve written on the topic here and described a method for mapping the blawgosphere here. I’ve given the different types of blawgs some thought.
Norm’s a smart guy — by some accounts brilliant — but his typology strikes me as forced. Is it either accurate or fair to call Shawn’s blog “incestuous”? Is Shawn’s blog really any more resistant to outside influence than Scott’s . . . or yours, Norm? Why the disapprobation for a blawg that you read and on which you comment?
I cannot figure out why Norm keeps coming up with prosecution arguments. Why do their thinking for them? Does he dislike Spence and his client that much? If he wants that kind of discussion, he should at least wait until the trial is over instead of posting it where prosecutors could read it.
He has a different meaning of “prophetic” than I would use. I think he is doing commentary, and it is rather cold-hearted, which is consistent with his newspaper background.
I don’t have an objection to Norm showing us how smart he is.
I don’t imagine that federal prosecutors are hanging on his every word.
“Norm Pattis, who Googles himself regularly”
Uh, Mark. I said he “doodles” himself regularly. You know, it’s one of those euphamism things.
You people are juvenile.
Oh, come on Gideon, let us enjoy our juvenile sense of wit.
Re Norm – why even try to break things down into categories? I think most blogs are a combination of the different types.
Um, does that word mean what I think it means?
Ron,
If you knew anything about the “practical blawgosphere”, you’d know that juvenility is not permitted. Neither is juvenileness. Sorry to break it to you, bud, but that comment was in violation of Rule J.043
[…] Bennett has had a go at categorising legal blogs. Dear Diary, he explores three divisions, known as prophetic, proselytizing and incestuous. In […]