Diane Levin’s blog, Mediation Channel recently posted “Blog responsibly: a public service reminder for dispute resolution bloggers,” in which she recommends that ADR bloggers to follow three important rules:
1. Create good content.
2. Be social.
3. Don’t plagiarize.
This sage advice applies not only to ADR blogging, but to serious blogging in general. And Diane’s Mediation Channel is a fine example of a blog that sticks to these important principles.
Diane was also kind enough to mention the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum — along with several other, excellent ADR blogs — as “examples of [blogs that] . . . make the ADR blogosphere a great neighborhood to hang out in,” and which “consistently honor[]” her three principles of responsible blogging. We were, of course, flattered by this mention, and thank Diane for her support of not only our blog, but of the many other great ADR blogs with whom we are honored to keep company.
Diane’s comments made me reflect on the question whether there is a cohesive reinsurance blogging community in place, and, if not, what we could do to help foster one. There is unquestionably a very social and accomplished group of bloggers that cover ADR-related topics. While there are a few blogs out there that regularly cover reinsurance-related matters, there are not that many, and they do not interact as much as one might think they would. There are exceptions to this rule — we’ll make it a point to survey the “reinsurance blogosphere” in the near future and report to readers on what is out there — but, let’s face it, compared to the ADR blogosphere, the reinsurance blogosphere is still pretty undeveloped.
I think reinsurance bloggers could learn much from ADR bloggers. In the coming weeks we’ll give some thought to how the reinsurance blogosphere might improve itself. And we’ll draw on Diane Levin’s teachings, as well as those of other accomplished ADR bloggers.
