David Roodman on blogging

On his blogiversary, David Roodman shares some blogging advice that I like:

I can only advise on my kind of blogging. I have the luxury of taking intellectual journeys for a living. I am funded in return for sharing what I learn, under the expectation that it have practical value. And I am committed to the discipline of saying things plainly in order to reach to more people. My tone may be personal but I put my prose through a fair amount of editing (if often not enough). If you see yourself in that description, if you are in a position to think aloud and you care how you say it, then I would say, yes, blog your intellectual journey. Keep your posts organized. Cut words, but not necessarily ideas. Tell stories. My longest post is also by far the most read. Figure out why. Read other blogs and analyze what works for you and what doesn’t.

Roodman, incidentally, has an unusual background for an emerging heavyweight at the Center for Global Development - he studied theoretical math, never went to grad school and “has never taken a course in economics or statistics.”