Blogs are just new-fangled gossip. Bloggers are endlessly scandalized, indignant, judgmental, just as gossips are. Just as gossip is usually “passed on,” most blog posts have links and many posts consist almost entirely of “passing on” something. Just as gossip can be anything, bloggers can say what they really think, as Tyler Cowen pointed out. That’s why they’re so successful, so easy to write and read. Gossip is good for our mental ecology, just as science is. Mark Liberman’s Language Log blog is a blend of (good) gossip and science; as you can see from my interview with him, it filled a gap. I hope blogs will provide a kind of support structure on which amateur science can grow.
Is it Miss Marple who said “There is so much of pleasure in malicious gossip?” We know that in addition to giving pleasure, gossip also helps in bonding, at least in academia, as Abi noted long ago. And, now, we can add support structure for amateur science to the beneficial effects of gossip (and blogging).
Tags: gossip, social bonding
