Weblogs rule!

According to Nature, weblogs are increasingly being used by scientists, and I guess ergo academics in general, to address the broader community as well as those who are interested in their own field. There's a photo of this frumpy fellow with a beard there from Pharyngula, and some q1uotes, but why should we listen to him? Just because he has thousands of readers from around the world...

'Course, I can take comfort in knowing that he doesn't come close to The Loom.

This is an interesting development in science communication. The Internet, and in particular the use of web pages, was originally devised as a tool for academics to communicate quickly, and it was taken over by the general public (bloody hoi polloi). Weblogs, on the other hand, started out as a tool for angst-ridden teenagers to share subcultures, and they have been adopted by scientists and others to do what the Internet was supposed to.

There's Irony in that, there is.