I wrote earlier this week about the fact that I had reason to reflect on the future of my blogging. Many thought this the precursor to some big announcement. I am sorry to disappoint. It was instead a hint that I had realised that I was about to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this blog. The first, rather short, post was on 8 June 2006.
There have been just over 13,100 posts since then at a rate, on average, of near enough 3.6 a day, 365 days a year for a decade.
There have been just over 99,100 comments, at a rate of 27 a day, every one of which I have had to read (and some of which, of course, I have written). Despite the claims from right wing commentators, the vast majority of comments that were not spam have been posted over that time.
There have been more than 10,350,000 reads on a rising trend:
That is an average of 2,836 a day for a decade.
I suspect there may be 4 million words on the blog. But I have never counted. And that does not include comments.
Despite the opinion many seem to hold I have never had grant funding to write this blog. It has played a role in my work, but I have always thought I write it in my own time. That is why so much has been written early in the morning.
Despite that along the way some things published here have gone on to make headlines elsewhere, change laws or international agreements and certainly influence debate the world over. I make few specific claims, but I do think the taxes on corporate profits in all the Crown Dependencies changed because of what I did here. Most specifically, my one person campaign to remove the UK's £200 million a year subsidy to the Isle of Man that let it be a tax haven resulted in its abolition. I may never have such influence on a place again. And I have, of course, used the blog to promote country-by-country reporting.
Some other victories have, of course, been had. Progress on beating tax abuse has been better than I might have dared hope. Equally, there is a long way still to go.
No less importantly, some friends have been made and kind comments have been offered. Some others have seen fit to offer abuse, ridicule and outright hostility. Such is life: I learned to deal with it because nothing had prepared me for it.
So thanks for your company. Few people have blogged in the way I do for as long as I have. I admit I have enjoyed the experience.
And now, to address the question about the future. Will I be doing this in ten years? Health permitting, I hope so. But things will change, as they have in the last decade.
When I left university I had a career plan. I was going to spend twenty years as a chartered accountant, and then twenty years as an academic. Then I would retire.
The first part worked pretty much as predicted. What I did not anticipate was spending the next near 15 years or so as a campaigner. I do not regret the interruption, and expect that to be a continuing theme of the rest of my life.
But, somewhat belatedly, and a little to my own surprise, I have become an academic after all, and I am enjoying it. In fact, whilst I cannot provide details as yet, I expect to increase my academic role, starting in September, although solely with a research focus. I have, as a consequence, and because I have now begun earning book royalties, given up the assistance of one of my grant funders by mutual consent, although with an offer that if ever I need support in future they may look on me favourably.
This will, I think, change my approach, whether I intend it or not. I am now thinking about much longer term research projects that are more theoretical in their nature and, inevitably, academic in their output. That is what this aspect of my new role demands of me, and, to be candid, I relish it. I can assure you that the focus will remain tax, social, accounting and economic reform to relieve poverty: nothing will interrupt that. How I choose to affect that change may differ though. Right now the concentration that those issues is demanding of me is reducing blog output, but who knows, this may be a temporary phenomenon.
What I am quite sure about is that separating me from a keyboard ( or a microphone, because some of my blogs are dictated straight to the computer) is very unlikely. And nor, come to that, is retirement likely when I predicted. I was asked to nominate a retirement age recently and suggested 83, simply because that is when I think my father began to slow down a bit, but even then I think that might be a little premature. There may be time to get that full planned academic career in after all.
Whatever happens, thank you for your company. I intend to be back tomorrow, subject to getting back from Norway on time, because that is from where this particular blog has been posted. I am talking to members of its tax authority on the Transition to Transparency today. And as I am quite sure that invitations like this would not happen without having written this blog I think it fair to say it has had an impact. That was always the intention.
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Well done on all you have achieved so far Richard, and I hope the academic career pans out the way you hope for. As for retirement, may you continue as long as you wish to. Unfortunately I don’t think there will be a choice for many other people. But that is beside the point. Well done and long may you continue to blog.
God morgen. Congratulations and Happy Blogging Birthday! Here’s to the next 10 years.
I echo John D’s sentiments.
Your hard work and research is valued and respected.
“I expect to increase my academic role, starting in September, although solely with a research focus.”
Oh Dear! Does this mean you will not be teaching?
I admit that I will be sticking at my current teaching commitment – which is 30 hours a year
I am there to do research in the main
I am very lucky to have stumbled across your blog back in early 2010, Richard. It’s taught me a great deal, not only from your blogs but also the comments of many of your readers. I note that some have come and gone over the years, whilst others – me included – contribute less than we once did. But newer readers have more than taken up the cause, as your graphic shows. I have no doubt that you have many years of blogging and agitation for change for the better in you, and will make a very valuable contribution to academia along the way. Unlike you I never had a career path planned, becoming and academic more by luck than judgement. But I’m extremely pleased that our paths crossed, even if that has so far only been online. All the best and happy birthday to your blog.
Thanks Ivan
This blog has been very enriching for many of us that take part and I hope, one day, to be able to thank you personally for that. Your blog, Richard, has helped speed up the steep learning curve I embarked on in 2002 when I realised (via the buy to let madness) that something was ‘rotten in the state of “Denmark”.’
I proceeded slowly from then having practise aversion therapy in order to get myself to read about economics and the monetary system (having no background in it). Getting involved with your blog accelerated the learning, which has much to do with your ability to value people and share your own development with us and connect as a full person. This is what learning is about and you clearly share your joy of it. This blog, in my view, is unique in that respect. It also feels like a little community which offers sustenance in a time of fragmentation.
Above all: despite the seriousness of the subject we can all share a good laugh with you-which I find is essential to keep sane.
So happy Tenth Anniversary!
Niches that have authority and personality always win. Great to see that steady and impressive climb over the years.
It was all your fault in the first place, of course
Thank you!
LOLS – nah…you’ve done the work.
I discovered your blog rather late.
But I’m still glad I discovered it at all.
I’d like to say (at the risk of sounding like a mutual appreciation society)PSR that I’ve always enjoyed and valued your contributions – you challenged me on the EU vote and that contributed to me shifting from my ‘angry’ out vote to an abstention -thanks for the debate!
Exhausted just reading this. For all that you are a man of peace, you don’t seem to enjoy it much. Keep yourself safe, Richard.
Peace is living with oneself
Amongst other things
Thanks for your concern Carol
Change is exciting, change is good, change is inevitable, But do fit your blogging in somewhere. This senior has to keep abreast.
Congratulations Richard.. I hope to still be reading your blog when you are 83 🙂
Thank you for all the hard work, insights, bringing together this community on the comments thread and for your encouragement. Your deviation from the life plan into campaigning has, and will bear, many fruits.
So glad to hear that we will be able to continue to learn from and enjoy your blogs for the foreseeable future. For me its compulsory reading every day and pretty much every word. Ive also shared them with other appreciative audiences
To echo others thoughts, Ive learnt so much and followed much intelligent and thoughtful debate. Its a salutary lesson in how to manage a blog and its comments in a way that avoids it being subverted and devalued by the trolls that haunt others. If that seems a little authoritarian at times, I can also appreciate that its a difficult line to steer. I reckon you are succeeding pretty well Richard
If its any consolation, I had a conversation with the guy who runs the Telegraph website at a conference on the role of social media in Middle East politics. He was explaining just how difficult they found it to steer a line between outright censorship and maintaining open debate. And his trolls were way off to the Right!
Thanks Robin
The alternative free for all is so destructive: despite their claimed belief in free speech trolls are only intent on closing down debate
Many thanks Richard and good luck with your future. I have only been reading your blog for about a year; one of our mutual Facebook friends recommended you. Very nice to have a sane voice – your blog gives me hope, it is so easy to despair at present. Should you need some heavy duty mathematics at some stage let me know
Now there’s temptation
And I am only half joking
More specifically if there is need for a complex system of interacting non-linear differential equations (linear ones are of course trivial by comparison) then I’m possibly your man – one of the delights of doing Astrophysics is that one develops a certain amount of mathematical competence
More than any economist might….
Sean – oddly my final year project at university (40+ years ago…) was on non-linear differential equations, using an analogue computer. The insight that the world can behave in a non-linear fashion has never left me but over the years I’ve observed that whilst most people get the idea of straight line relationships, rather fewer get exponential relationships and very few indeed grasp the idea of non-linear relationships. Accountants in particular!
Meteorologists have understood this for years as have other environmentalists and it is at the core of their modelling, but just a very few economists understand it, though it would seem to me that human behaviour is a perfect example of non-linearity. If you are interested, Andy Haldane, the BofE’s chief economist seems to get it and there is at least one paper on the web by him. However, Im not sure that it has penetrated many of the ivory towers of economic academia
I very strongly agree
I decided to bake a cake to celebrate your anniversary Richard.
But as it wouldn’t travel very well by post, I have consumed it all myself (while still celebrating your anniversary)
Which if nothing else proves that greedy people really can have their own cake and eat it!
Long may you continue (and don’t worry it was a crap-italist cake anyway!)
This bear runs on buns
How dare you mention cake and not mention it
Almost, but not quite, enough to get you on the troll list for 30 minutes 🙂
Justly deserved admonishment, I never was any good at getting a bun in the oven!
Love the humour above – and that is an important part of posting!
As late arrival, I, too have learnt a lot from this blog and it is a must read when/where ever possible.
It is also a must contribute, whenever you can find something to add – often difficult! But it certainly makes you think…
Thanks very much for a stimulating read.
Thank you and everyone else who has commented today
Just back in the UK much later than planned due to storms (apparently – have you had some?)
Travel makes blogging at any time seem like fun
This is a reply to Robin Stafford seems no button to drill down.
thanks Robin for the interesting reply. I did some work with analogue computers in 1975 in the 3rd year of my degree, but I learned digital computers the following year and used them for my final year project. Shame analogue computers went out of fashion; though If I remember correctly the old Treasury Model was hydraulic and probably linear? Thanks for the suggestion of Andy Haldane’s paper – I will check it out. I fell out of interest with economics when the Monetarists came onto fashion. My gut feeling was that that form of economics was more a religious dogma rather than any form of science. Sorry to Richard for being a bit off topic
You are spot on topic with your description of monetarism as quasi religious dogma
It is
Or as Edward Heath I believe described it, ‘one club golfing’ – thinking you could steer the economy using just the interest rate.
Just need to get the economic modellers to learn from the meteorologists
I have a fundamental problem with the use of interest rates to control credit/debt expansion and contraction.
There have been huge numbers of non-financially minded people enticed to borrow on the basis of very low interest rates, who at some point in the future are highly likely (under the current non-sensical financial system) going to be severely financially penalised for doing what they were encouraged to do.
Some will be made homeless, some will be bankrupted, many will be placed in serious financial hardship.
Now call me an old cynic, but that looks like a crime against humanity to me and worthy of a United Nations investigation (if only the UN was not a vehicle of the same financial corruption!)
Happy 10th anniversary Richard. May there be many, many more.
I credit you with having educated me on so many different topics over the last seven or eight years, even when the going has been tough for you. For that I am enormously grateful, as I am to your family for allowing you the time to write and contribute so much.
On a selfish note, I hope you will be able to continue as long as possible because I’m not sure what I’d do without my daily Murphy fix!
Thanks Nick
I am not sure the family even notice: me typing is just what I do!