Kelly in Kansas

I've been working on my handout for the paper I'm doing on blogging at the AHA in a few weeks. Until I started trying to put them in categories, I didn't realize how many academic-related blogs I read. The anonymity question is something I'll discuss. I know some that are anonymous and want to remain that way are trying to plan an informal get-together at AHA. I'm also afraid I'll forget someone and/or a blog I want to mention - just like the concern that there's a source you missed for your dissertation. I need some space from the previous semester to really cogitate on this topic. I am only one of three presenters discussing our connections with our various audiences and so I will also need to see the focus the others are taking. More importantly, the audience and its familiarity with blogs (including trying to see how many academic bloggers are in the audience) will be a prime determinant of the direction of our discussion since I intend it to be a discussion and not a traditional paper presentation. I can't tell you how glad I am that both the AHA and the OAH are steering away from only allowing the traditional formats. Tradition definitely has its place (as every historian would agree) but at such a seminal stage, the evolution of ideas is even more important than a literature review. I couldn't believe when I was reviewing my own blog in order to get geared up for this paper . . . . oops, presentation . . . . that I had been keeping it for two years now. Time flies!