This new study looks interesting. The study is sort of hard to read, but its basic finding seems to be that prominent liberal blogs are more often based on a community group model while prominent conservative blogs are more often based on a single-blogger no-comments model. I suppose that’s true, although I wonder if there’s a historical explanation. My vague sense is that the prominent conservative blogs have been around longer, while the prominent liberal blogs are newer. (Remember, five years ago it was common to hear that popular political blogs usually leaned right — few say that anymore.) Given that successful blogs tend to stick to what works, I wonder if the different styles reflects the technologies common in the period when the blogs became popular.
Thanks to Crooked Timber for the link.