Skip to content

Blawgs should be banned

October 24, 2005

Trevor Hill, a law student with a strong and diverse background, beat me to it in saying the word – blawgs – should be banned.

Using the term blawg is plain stupid. Is there any other profession or industry that thinks they are so special they need a word other than blog to call their blogs? Programers do not have ‘Progs.’ Sports blogs are not called ‘Splogs.’

Lawyers ought to use a little common sense. They should not only stop using the terms blawg and blawgs but also suggest that other lawyers stop using the terms. Continuing to use the terms blawg and blawgs is just plain dumb, not that we lawyers aren’t capable of doing dumb things.

Trevor correctly explains blawg is the same thing as blog, making it totally “useless in actual English speech.” Heck, anyone with common sense would say it’s legal blogs, lawyer blogs, law blogs or any combination of words that use the term blog.

Denise Howell is an appellate and intellectual property lawyer at Reed Smith and blog pioneer who I have the utmost respect for. She’s highly regarded not only in the legal arena but also in the technology and intellectual property community. Not many lawyers on the stage at Gnomedex – Denise was. Her blog, Bag and Baggage, is one of most read legal blogs.

Denise coined the term blawg a number of years ago. I have to guess she did so as a play on words and to have some fun. The end result is a term that confuses the public. I know I can be dumber than a box of rocks at times but I first shied away from blogs when I was confused by, among other things, what a blawg was versus a blog.

God knows I also have the utmost respect for lawyers who happen to be using the term blawg. This is not an attack on you personally. You are producing some fabulous content. I laud you for it. But tell me why lawyers should use the term blawg.

Lawyers have a horse shit reputation. It’s down there with used car sales people and the media. We have an incredible opportunity through the use of blogs to share helpful information with others. There is no way doing so will not help improve the image of the legal profession. Let’s not blow it.

Using ‘blawg’ confuses the public, sends the signal lawyers think they are special and that lawyers always want to use ‘legalese’ to keep legal information away from the masses. Let’s make blawg a thing of the past.

It’s not too late to stop using the term blawgs. Some day the vast majority of lawyers will use a personal publishing platform – a blog – to share their intellectual capital and collaborate with others. As many good legal blogs as there are, we’re still just scratching the surface.

Posted in: