Of blogs and llamas

Laurence Eastham, editor of Computers & Law, has written a UK blawg review, and has kindly included yours truly in an article that mentions most of my favourite blogs, including Lex Ferenda, panGloss, IMPACT, IPKat, and Naked Law. I had not read Digial Media Law, but I will definitely give it a try. I'm terribly honoured at being included in such a group. However, I am a bit surprised that this blog has matured. Rest assured that this is not intentional, as it was always my intention to be light-hearted, and never wanted to be taken seriously. I thought the llama, that noble beast portrayed in Monty Python opening credits, was a good indication that this is not a particularly serious endeavour. I try to apply seriousness, depth, and analysis elsewhere. Nonetheless, Laurence Eastham may be onto something, as readership figures continue to go up. Have I finally sold out to the tyranny of Technorati? But I digress...

This has got me thinking about blogging in general. I spend a good time of my mornings reading blogs, and engaged in what one could describe as a Web 2.0 blitz. The blogosphere is a frightening place, and I share Laurence's moans about some of the most annoying practices. I find a lot of information, and I like the fact that one can spend hours jumping from one place to the other, going deeper and deeper into stories. The blogger netiquette of providing links to the source of the information is a very helpful research tool. I think that it is important that the UK blawg community continues to grow. Nick Holmes at Binary Law has a very interesting post about Law Prof blawgs, and their readership figures are in a realm that not even IPKat can touch.

This is going to sound like a self-indulgent moan, but blogging is hard work. I had to write for more than a year until I could finally see that readership consisted of more than the occasional bored student and the inevitable bot. In fact, for a while I thought of giving up, as I just could not see the point of spending so much effort in something that did not rise above the bot margin of error. But I continued because it is often rewarding, and there is a gratifying sense of joy that I get an email from someone telling me that they read the blog. It also forces me to stay updated.