Truck and Barter

With this blog, I have met so many amateur economists and aspiring economists and Ph.D. economists that I long ago lost count; I have "met" currency speculators and smugglers, exiles, soldiers, high school students, corporate executives, and of course, newspaper reporters.

Do you remember that I was in the Washington Times a few years ago? It's not something I think about regularly, but last week, this blog received a unique comment:

Kevin,

Can I have your email address (by emailing me)? I want to send you a request. Thanks

Warm regards,

Ali
Brunei

Definitely not spam. So I emailed him. It turns out that he's teaching Malay to undergrads in Brunei; they have a blog! As an exercise, he had them translate the Washington Times article into Malay, and debated whether blogging could improve writing.

A few years ago, I invited any person who wanted to blog about economics, regardless of training or experience, to join Truck & Barter. It was not an experiment intended to measure response, though I was happy with the number and quality of people who volunteered. It was not a well-crafted attempt at expanding my social network, though I've developed a network of some strong, but mostly weak ties from all over the world... I just wanted to meet eager and interesting folks, giving newcomers a somewhat established shop, instead of them having to set up their own.

Now I can say that I've met advanced Malay language learners. And I say to them that blogging is what you make of it. Treat it seriously, and your vocabulary, style, and grammar will improve; treat it as a chore or a game or a joke, and you will gain nothing.

For more of what I think blogging ought to be like, see my reply to the article you guys read.