Analyst/blogger
I am trained to be a public policy analyst. This training entails a couple of implicit rules. I blog and this entails a couple of implicit rules. Here is a quick summary of the main differences as a I see it.
| Area | Analyst | Blogger |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Complete knowledge and a careful assessment of sources and arguments are core to good arguments. | More incomplete forms of knowledge (a link, a rant, a couple of paragraphs) encouraged. |
| Mistakes | Penalised heavily, intellectual reputations ruined.
Fixing mistakes is a long process. |
Simply say “My Bad”. Audiences can however be extremely unforgiving.
Fixing mistakes are as easy as hitting the edit button. |
| Expert | Do not speak or write on areas that you are not an expert. | It is OK to write on areas that you have a limited knowledge of, just make certain to have done the homework. |
| Audience | The policy community which are usually highly educated | It could literally be anyone. |
| Medium | Still largely paper | Online |
| Length | Varies, but usually 1000 words plus. | About 500-600 words. |
| Presentation | Text heavy presentation not encouraged, but is inevitable | More scannable (and some would say scanty) presentation of arguments. |
One of the reasons, I have not blogged more often is that I am rooted in the world of the analyst. But, I still see value in blogging, and ensuring that my work on the blog is of the same standard as my work in writing public policy documents. So why bother? For three reasons:
- Increasingly the web is becoming a medium that provides a voice on public policy.
- The web facilitates connections and opportunities. The public policy world is not an early adopter of the interwebs, but having a voice online will be a standard requirement.
- Organisation tool – The primary reason for me to blog is to share some of my notes with the audience of this site. This means I get to learn from their contributions , comments and emails. But, more simply I have a searchable set of notes.They are public and I have taken some time to edit them. It means I can find them easily.
So from now on I am going to use this site primarily to capture my notes. It raises a couple of questions for me. Do I have the time? Can I write regularly, more shorter and yet meet the expectations of my peers? These doubts are, not just about my challenges, but all part and parcel of a changing world of public policy analysis. I think I am beginning to understand how disruptive the internet is, and will be.
(This note only took me ten minutes, and is under 500 words)
Posted: July 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
Filed under: Internet and Public Policy | Tags: Blog, Internet, Public Policy
