On blogging and the academic job candidate

(Or on the view "bloggers need not apply")

I don’t think this is about control of the academic employee primarily. Hierarchies require closed ranks. We know officers aren’t supposed to fraternize with troops, and when you post on the Web you fraternize with the troops. In a university, students need to know the professors are the scholars, and the students are the humble vessels. Teaching seems to require or benefit from awe. Universities are selling prestige, and awe is part and parcel of that. The Web isn’t even the public at large—it’s disproportionately young and educated. Just the people you want to keep impressed.

- Point I raised in this thread