The Blawgosphere Lives On

<N.B. THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED IN LIGHT OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BLAWGOSPHERE. /THE MICHAEL - DECEMBER 2009>

Since my ‘Best of the Blawgs’ review in February 2008, there had been a distinct lack of new blawgs gracing the blawgosphere with their presence, a fact I documented in my post last December - Blawging: the burst bubble. That post painted a rather pessimistic picture of the health of the ‘sphere and I prophesised that the death of the rich, diverse ecosystem of blawgs as we knew it was rapidly approaching. Happily, I’ve been proven wrong as in recent weeks a bevy of new blawgs have sprung up and brought the blawgosphere’s numbers back up to healthy levels while injecting some much-needed diversity and vitality into the ‘sphere too.

What follows is a list of newly discovered UK blawgs which I regard as entrants to the ‘inner sanctum’ and which you too might want to check out and add to your blogrolls. (If you haven’t already, that is - good news travels quickly between bloggers!) Naturally, I’ve added my take on their rich contributions to the blawgging world. All are highly recommended.

In no particular order:

Poonam: A light-hearted look at mostly non-legal material, Poonam’s blog is a breath of fresh air - you can have too much law after all! An ex-LPCer, Poonam certainly isn’t afraid of going off-piste in her postings and typically covers topical matters of interest, the UK Apprentice (if you like that kind of thing) and loads more. While her ‘Daily Hotness’ series might not be to everyone’s taste, her irreverent style and wacky posting topics should be welcomed for their novelty. I did suggest to Pooni that she could ‘law it up a bit’ by basing a ‘Daily Hotness’ series on the more prepossessing members of the judiciary. Sadly, she didn’t seem keen but she might come around!

A Law Student’s Ringbinder: A novel blawg with a wholly fresh approach, LSRB is written by a current LPC student who’s the Miss Motivator of the Organisational World. A self-professed techie, LSRB lists a vast array of organisational tips and suggestions, as well as documenting the trials and tribulations she experiences on the LPC. It’s hugely refreshing to have a female techie frequent blawgosphere and remain true to her geekiness without reserve; she’s such a techie in fact, that she probably listens to TWiT religiously, hangs out daily in the iPhone app store and has Cali Lewis on speed dial! LSRB is a frequent-poster whose content is always thoughtful, well-written and above all – useful. Although the blog has been going for a while, it’s remained sadly unknown to the UK inner sanctum of blawgers. I discovered LSRB via Twitter and thankfully, her existence is a secret no longer.  While this blawg is no longer updated, it remains online.  However, Travis has started a new blawg which can be found here.

Scots Law Student: Another blog that has escaped detection for way too long, I discovered Scotslaw student via comments left on Law Actually. Focussing heavily on technology related matters, Scots Law Student is a blawg well worth checking out if your interests extend to the techno-world. That said, SLS is certainly not afraid to go off piste and covers topics as broad ranging as vintage typewriters to student food. I see a lot of parallels between SLS and Law Actually and unsurprisingly, I’m a big fan. Definitely worth checking out.

The Wanderings of a Law Student: Another blawg that seems to have popped up and settled into the inner sanctum as if a long-lost relative. (Word of warning: I think I said the same about Legal Seagull and look what happened there). Wanderings of a law student is a new-born blawg and but was straight away Pupillage Portal-bashing like a seasoned pro. The author, Odysseus, is currently at a ‘northern’ university and seems hell-bent on a career at the bar in criminal law.

Obiter: A BVC graduate and newbie blogger who has hit the ground running. Well written, interesting posts, focussed predominantly on his tireless quest for pupillage and gripes over Pupillage Portal related stuff.  Missing in Action/AWOL.

The Aimless Wanderer – A current LPCer and would-be solicitor, AW has returned to blogging after a recent bereavement. Like Curious Black Cat, AW is a law student also plagued by the traumas of romance – in AW’s case it’s a law school tutor who she’s developed an ‘itsy-bitsy crush’ on. Stay tuned for more.

Curious Black Cat: Thoughtful and insightful, CBC is a law student extraordinaire with a broken heart. Despite pining after her true love – mysteriously labelled ‘Leo’ – CBC leads the reader on a curious journey of legal tidbits, personal insights and wacky news stories. As the name suggests, CBC is a is a feline-lover and the colour scheme and writing style means that this blog takes on a dreamy nature which is as refreshing as it is welcome. And, perhaps most importantly, there’s not a mention of the Pupillage Portal in sight.

So there you have it. Prior to the last few weeks, not only was there a dearth of new blawgs entering the fray, but I felt the topics on which most were blogging had converged considerably. If it were not for these new blogs entering the mix, the blawgosphere might have been in danger of degenerating entirely into a bevy of frustrated moans and screams directed at chambers for not offering enough pupillages or threats of bodily harm to the code monkeys who made such a hash of designing the Pupillage Portal. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve nothing against distinguished members of the blawgosphere bemoaning such things but a bit of diversity might be just the shot in the arm that the blawgosphere was looking for. It is reckoned to be the spice of life after all. Long may it continue!