Saturday, September 30, 2006
Why Blog?
Why blog?
Everyone who follows current events or popular culture is aware that blogs have become established as an important medium that is increasingly difficult to distinguish from the mainstream media (MSM). Even people who have never read a blog have their worldview influenced by the blogosphere, because in all its chaos it is starting to set the agenda for television, radio, magazines, and newspapers. Law students who came straight from their undergraduate education and who are of “traditional” age have grown up with the internet; their successors will have never known a world without the web. Courts are even citing blogs written by law professors, despite their temporary nature.
Blogs are wonderfully democratic, promoting both liberty and equality. Anyone regardless of technological expertise can post his or her thoughts with essentially no restraints, and anonymous authors have proven they can challenge authority effectively. It may be easier to criticize than it is to create, but a free press is supposed to be a threat to power.
Yet blogs are dangerous to their creators, too. There have already been infamous cases of individuals losing their jobs because they wrote recklessly about their personal lives, as if they were exhibitionists who forget they had attracted an audience. It also has become common for employers to investigate prospective hires with a simple search.
For me as a law school dean, this blog allows direct access to many stakeholders – especially students. It is an effective means of sharing information as well as opinions. I am mindful, however, of the role that I am honored to play as a leader of a public institution. There are many subjects that would not be appropriate for me to discuss with the general public.
On the whole, I am convinced that a blog can be not only worthwhile but also transformative. Everything that I post here will be my own work; this will not become a corporate effort at spin. I will write as frankly as possible, as often as possible, and as substantively as possible. I welcome your views about subjects to cover (send an email to frankhwu@wayne.edu).
