Venerable forms of self-aggrandizement and in-group strengthening pursue us through the very gates of the Internet itself:"The Rosenzweig Prize will be awarded annually for an innovative and freely available new media project that reflects thoughtful, critical, and rigorous engagement with technology and the practice of history."I think that means
We will decide what is thoughtful, critical, and rigorous and only those projects that meet the approval of our committee will be honored.The crusade has begun. Inroads into the trackless realms of unapproved history web pages are being cut. Domestication of outlaw bloggers has begun. Little gold medal gifs for those who play ball are being smelted.
They are going to sort us out at long last.
Why don't these people do something really useful, something in their realm of competence, like starting a scholarly history journal? Their prize panel could be used to do the honest work of vetting journal submissions - while the public decides for itself what is "thoughtful, critical, and rigorous."
Ultimately, this old school logrolling, power-grabbing, and self-adulation is just not new media friendly.
You've got credibility issues, prizeboy.
