Comments on: Four More Years?

By: Kenny Easwaran

Kenny Easwaran — Mon, 29 May 2006 23:59:06 +0000

I’d like to see statistics like this of myself, and other bloggers! I guess I could compile it myself for myself, but that would be hard. (Well, it would either take a while, or require me to know more programming than I do.)

By: eudoxis

eudoxis — Fri, 26 May 2006 22:44:27 +0000

“Maybe I’m entering another pithy period.”

I hope so. Keep up the great blogging!

By: luci

luci — Fri, 26 May 2006 17:37:18 +0000

there is a pessimistic and an optimistic theory of the relationship between writing, blogging and academic productivity

Was there a change in academic productivity between the first year (mid-02 to mid-03) and subsequent years? (Though it’s not a lot of data to go on, other factors, etc.)

By: Roaming while burning fiddles

Roaming while burning fiddles — Fri, 26 May 2006 12:36:51 +0000

Sociologists make for poor bloggers. Not many out there, those that do blog don’t communicate much of interest to an audience that aren’t careerists, and consequently blog in fits and spurts and ultimately fizzle. So Kieran, congrats for bucking the pattern.

However, I wish you might reflect on your concern over productivity. Output isn’t typing. And so much of the typying that is published is careerist-induced flatulence.

But I fear sociologists really have so little to say that they would seriously entertain the notion that they’ll spill whatever they have to say in a blog. Like an accountan’ts account of masturbation.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 26 May 2006 11:46:39 +0000

Blargh – insomnia for four nights running, and I can’t even keep a coherant thought in mind long enough to make a post. What I was intending to get to, was that in the next few years there’ll be at least one very interesting election happening, and I suspect that will rejuvenate any flagging bloggers.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 26 May 2006 10:41:39 +0000

Hrm. I’ve had my LiveJournal (which I use for reading friends’ LJs and silly things like quizes) since 2001, which is as long as my blog has been up and running (in some form or other – switched servers, like everyone). I’ve definitely noticed productivity trends… lately it being mining said blog for journalistic articles. Resources, eh?

Seems to go in fits and spurts, although sometimes I think William Gibson might have the right idea – blog, or write. Not both.

By: Norman David Gerre

Norman David Gerre — Fri, 26 May 2006 09:33:00 +0000

WRT monthly counts, you can get a ghetto count with some SQL like:

SELECT COUNT(`ID`) AS `count` , DATE_FORMAT( `post_date`, '%Y-%c' ) AS `month`, AVG( CHAR_LENGTH( `post_content` ) ) AS `characters` FROM `wp_posts` WHERE `post_author` = '1' GROUP BY `month` ORDER BY `post_date` ASC

(Where `wp_posts` is the correct WordPress table, `post_author` is your user ID etc.) Only gives the average number of characters, but unless you’ve started using smaller words then it’s a reasonable indicator.

By: almostinfamous

almostinfamous — Fri, 26 May 2006 08:03:05 +0000

re: the title of this post: no, four more beers! and congratulations on the soon-to-be 4 y/o blog. that makes it one older than this guy's

By: Bitch | Lab

Bitch | Lab — Fri, 26 May 2006 06:09:56 +0000

Hell, I figure I’ve written the broad outlines of a couple of books by now. The trick would mostly be in footnoting, which would take up the bulk of time since I usually bust it out from memory.

I think writing for a living, with deadlines, helped. But my undergrad education was one that required a great deal of writing. I’m continually shocked to read students who complain about writing 20 pp papers. All that writing, well, it makes it easier to write.