Mike Cernovich called one day in 2005. Did I want to write for a blog page he created called Crime and Federalism? My response was simple: "What's a blog?"
Mike and I wrote for a couple of years and page had a modest popularity. He still writes under the banner, although his interests are now more eclectic. He is as prone to write about cognitive sciences and diet as he is about the law. And I've tried my hand at a couple of pages since. I dabble at the fringes of what some call the "blawgosphere."
One of the new starts of the genre is Scott Greenfield, who writes Simple Justice. He typically writes two or three pieces first thing each day, and has attracted a broad readership throughout the country. One key to his success is generosity of spirit. He freely links to other sites, engages his readers in lengthy give and take in the comments to his posts, and is as lavish in his praise of friends as he is direct in his scorn of foes. He's written his way to the top of the pack in a brief two years.
Over the weekend, Scott announced a brief trip South, where there is no Internet. He didn't say why. He didn't say where. He is generally reticent about his personal life, so the abrupt absence is not altogether startling.
I don't read much of the blawgosphere. I typically look at two daily: Scott's Simple Justice, and Mike's Crime and Federalism. I can count on Scott to survey what's of interest, and Mike is quirky and fun. From time to time, I look at a page called A Public Defender, written here in Connecticut, but postings there are even more erraticly timed than on my page. I sometimes look at Defending People, written by a Texan named Mark Bennett.
Someone with more time than I have might want to run down the list of legal blogs posted as links to Simple Justice. My hunch is that one or more pages that have been stagnant in recent months will suddenly burst into activity, trying to fill Scott's shoes. I checked several, and saw a sudden flourishing on A Public Defender. Serendipity?