A long time coming

I’ve been planning on starting a blog for years but somehow never got around to it. Sometimes too busy, other times too lazy. But, for some reason, I’ve been thinking about it more and more over the last few weeks. Additional to my own fixation on the idea of blogging, I’ve met a number of people lately who have told me about their blogs, and when I’ve gone to them, I’ve really enjoyed the insight that you get from a chronological series of thoughts. I’ve found them both very useful.

Tim Kastelle is an academic at the UQ Business School who specialises in networks. http://timkastelle.org/blog/

Cameron Murray is one of my Young Economist cronies. http://ckmurray.blogspot.com/

As such, I’ve decided now is the time.

I guess I have a range of objectives for the blog. I would like to have somewhere to store and share my thoughts. I would like to have an outlet to practice my writing on a regular basis. I’m also hoping that forcing myself to blog on a regular basis will ensure I stay on top of topics that I should really be on top of. Finally, and probably most importantly, I like to think that others might find interest, enjoyment and/or use in the lamentations of my mind.

Whilst I find it intimidating that people may disagree with my points of view, I like the idea of being challenged. My thoughts and points of view are things that I hold dear, so I should make sure I can back them up, and I should not shy away from letting the world know.

I’ve named the site the Social Economist for a couple of reasons. Firstly because I’m a serial socialite. And secondly, because the thing that really turns me on about economics is the social/psychological side. I love to get together with other people and find out what makes them tick. And I have a penchant for late boozy nights with colleagues.

On a more personal level, my wife is rather pregnant with our first child right now. The baby (we do not know the sex) is due in 25 days. I’m very excited about becoming a father and just hope that I’m up to the job.

Anyway, I’ll try to put some meat into the next Blog rather than just writing guff.