Another lament related to my volume of blogging is that long ago I lost the ability to recall the content of every post. Somewhere in the 100-150 post range I could remember exactly which post said what. At the current post count–closing in on 1,000,* not all, but most, by me–there is little chance I can do that. What makes it harder still is that there are many posts on the same topic (e.g., probably over a dozen on health care insurer and/or health care provider market concentration).
Why is this a concern? Well, one reason I blog is to document for later what I know now. But if I can’t really find it later because I can’t recall that it exists that sort of defeats the point. I’m saved somewhat by search engines. But there will probably be a day when the amount of content on this blog on some topic or another turns the problem of finding the key sentence, paragraph, or reference I seek akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
This all begs the question, why write so much about the same thing? After all, how many times do I have to make the point that hospital market power increases health care costs? The answer is that if I want this blog to be relevant and interesting (and reflective of my thoughts at a point in time) then I need to make that point (and others) as frequently as warranted by internal and external developments.
Thus, there is a tension between being current and being information efficient. I can imagine a blogging style that is all links and no new content. Why write that sentence again when I can link back to a similar one? But that would be no fun for readers, nor would it be fun for me.
Ultimately I blog because I like to write. I like to write because I like to think. If I were to stop in order to satisfy some other concern the baby would be tossed out with the bathwater. So, lament though I may, there is really no point to it. It’s not a problem that has a solution I wish to implement. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it and therefore writing about it. And so you, dear reader, have once again fallen into the deep pit of my own muse. Don’t blame me for being down here with me. You’re still reading so I presume you like it. Next time bring some rope or chocolate.
* By the way, last year I wondered which this blog would attain first, 1,000 posts or 1,000 RSS subscribers. Looks like the former. I would have put a lot of money on the latter when I launched The Incidental Economist. Sometimes I’m very wrong.
