Thursday, June 09, 2005 12:10 PM
One of the exciting things about the emerging blawgosphere is the pace of change. As soon as you think you have a clear definition of what a blawg is, what it looks like and how it will be used, you see something that makes you stop and think.
Case in point: the Manhattan Institute's Point of Law. Self-described as "a web magazine...that brings together information and opinion on the U.S. litigation system," Point of Law.com leverages the power of the blawg platform, and then expands upon it to offer its readership even more. For example, it offers a document/article repository with materials pertinent to the site's topical focus. In addition, it features running dialogues between sometimes differing viewpoints on the issues of the day (as an aside: the blawgosphere needs more of these point-counterpoint discussions). Finally, there are suggested reading lists, links of interest, and more detailed blawg postings that are more like weekly columns.
In expanding beyond daily blawg postings, Point of Law is adopting features more commonly attributed to portal websites. And that is a positive development for its readership. In the end, whether you call it a blawg, a web magazine or a portal, Point of Law offers an interesting view of the potential future in the ever-changing blawgospere.