http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=2019
Weblogs at Harvard Law by Stephen Downes in The Technology Source
In this article the weblogs at Harvard is discussed including some of the popular blogs there, and some background on the growth of this at that institution. I have cut and pasted a small portion from the conclusion of the article which is of special interest to us within academics. Read the entire article to find out what copyfighters, redheads, and computer science professors all have in common.
"Weblogs, as exemplified by those on the Harvard site, are the antithesis of scholarly publishing. One might ask what business such a medium has in an academic institution. But to ask such a question is to miss the point. As the format suggests, weblogs are constantly works in progress. They are, moreover, a place to post one's ideas and opinions without the restrictions—corporate, institutional, professional, or academic—that constrain other publications. Thoughts, opinions, and ideas that would never otherwise see the light of day find their home in the weblog. And insofar as the writers read each other's weblogs, this medium constitutes a base for the most open and honest communication in academia today. As Winer (2003) writes, "We're returning to what I call amateur journalism, people writing for the public for the love of writing, without any expectation of financial compensation" (¶ 6).
There is much more to the story of weblogs in academia, of course. As weblogs begin to be syndicated worldwide through such technologies as RSS, their impact will grow and develop in unusual ways. As Andrews (2002) suggests, weblogs may, en masse, pose formidable competition for more traditional publications in general. But this is a good thing—for, as most supporters of weblogs assert, the people at last have a voice. And what could be wrong with that?"
Weblogs at Harvard Law by Stephen Downes in The Technology Source
In this article the weblogs at Harvard is discussed including some of the popular blogs there, and some background on the growth of this at that institution. I have cut and pasted a small portion from the conclusion of the article which is of special interest to us within academics. Read the entire article to find out what copyfighters, redheads, and computer science professors all have in common.
"Weblogs, as exemplified by those on the Harvard site, are the antithesis of scholarly publishing. One might ask what business such a medium has in an academic institution. But to ask such a question is to miss the point. As the format suggests, weblogs are constantly works in progress. They are, moreover, a place to post one's ideas and opinions without the restrictions—corporate, institutional, professional, or academic—that constrain other publications. Thoughts, opinions, and ideas that would never otherwise see the light of day find their home in the weblog. And insofar as the writers read each other's weblogs, this medium constitutes a base for the most open and honest communication in academia today. As Winer (2003) writes, "We're returning to what I call amateur journalism, people writing for the public for the love of writing, without any expectation of financial compensation" (¶ 6).
There is much more to the story of weblogs in academia, of course. As weblogs begin to be syndicated worldwide through such technologies as RSS, their impact will grow and develop in unusual ways. As Andrews (2002) suggests, weblogs may, en masse, pose formidable competition for more traditional publications in general. But this is a good thing—for, as most supporters of weblogs assert, the people at last have a voice. And what could be wrong with that?"
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