Interesting. There are two women and two men. The women Ann Althouse (whom I read every day) and Megan McCardle (whom I've never heard of before. Check that, I have heard of her blog and read it on occasion--Asymetrical Information) introduced themselves with long, wordy posts. The men, Michael Totten (whom I read weekly) and Brannon Denning (whom I have never heard of before and couldn't find a bloglink to) adapted to Glenn's style--spare, pithy quote, link--even though, in Michael Totten's case, anyway, he at least is more an essayist.
What gives? Is it a gender-driven style even in the written form? More words, more relational? Because while I honestly don't have penis envy, this is one area where I really appreciate men. Economy of words. Minimal kvetching. Not long on background. (Not all men are this way, but since I'm generalizing here.)
Another theory: Or, are the men subbing for Glenn more socially adaptable? That is, are they aware that while their style is longer winded they know Glenn's isn't and want to appeal to Glenn's readership by staying within the confines of his style? This would go against generally accepted gender norms, wouldn't it? Women are more well-known for twisting into pretzels to make everyone comfortable.
In short, I like Glenn's spare approach. Occasionally he'll offer more rounded opinions, but most of the time he throws out one-line zingers that say what I tried to in five paragraphs. The best writers (I'm a huge Hemingway fan) seem very good at saying a lot without saying everything.
Instapundi guest bloggers--a living homage to gender studies.
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