Allan Jenkins, Denmark-based PR practitioner, comments on the ongoing discussion about the nature of blogs and whether they should be about anything at all or focused on a topic. Among other thoughtful points, Allan writes:

Look at the Federalist Papers. Hamilton, Jay, and Madison wrote editorials, deftly woven to build on and refer to one another’s posts, to argue for ratification of the US Constitution. A conversation in public to provoke a wider conversation. It worked. While only the editorials of Madison, Jay, and Hamilton are today collected as The Federalist Papers, those editorials sparked dozens of opposing editorials, hundreds of letters, thousands of fist-fights.

That’s quality blogging, 18th century style. Ratified a Constitution, too.

But what gave Madison & Co influence? Timeliness and relevance, sure. But stict focus helped. John Jay never gives us sushi-bar reviews. Madison never interrupted his closely-reasoned argument with moblogs from weekends at George and Martha Washington.

If that was blogging.. and it was, just low tech, then the same rules will apply to high-tech blogging.