The development blogging crisis
Initially I wanted to include these reflections in my annual blogging review post . In the end I decided against it partly because I felt a bit like a grumpy old man shaking his fist at the outgoing year. But development blogging is definitely in a crisis and as it is a format I care deeply enough about to write academic articles on I will share some reflections on the nature of this crisis. Chris Blattman announced in September 2017 that he would not blog anymore : few people read blogs anymore. Including me. I no longer feel the pressure to write often, because the person who comes directly to the page daily or weekly in search of something new is a dwindling breed. Most people reach blogs by twitter and facebook. This has taken the pressure off of me and, what can I say, I respond to incentives. In December Nick Kristof said good-by to his blog hosted by the New York Times : I was apparently the first blogger for The New York Times, most recently using this “on the ground” spac