My response to a question on Quora (English notes below):
I agree with the other answers that suggest that you focus on your research work, as opposed to blogging.
Having said that: I myself am an academic, and I sometimes benefit from using my blog to solicit feedback on work in progress. Particularly, I will post the occasional introduction to a paper and ask people to tell me what parts of it are not clear. Since feedback on this specific kind of question is better if it comes from non-specialists in your field than if it comes from specialists, a blog with a random readership base is actually a pretty good way to get it.
Note that I do not recommend this approach to getting feedback if you are not yet at a place in your career where you see critiques as attempts to help you, as opposed to attempts to attack you! Thick skin is a prerequisite in academia in general, and certainly when you ask others to tell you about the problems with your work. Having said that: comments on your blog might be a good way to start getting thick skin!
Good luck with your studies!
English notes
to solicit: When followed by a noun, this means “to ask for (something).” Examples:
- We solicited participation in an online survey through national and city LGBT organizations and personal contacts to examine differences in depression, anxiety, alcohol and tobacco use, and body mass index among lesbian, gay, and transgender veterans (n = 252) in suburban/urban and rural/small town locations. (Source: Kauth, Michael R., Terri L. Barrera, F. Nicholas Denton, and David M. Latini. “Health differences among lesbian, gay, and transgender veterans by rural/small town and suburban/urban setting.” LGBT health 4, no. 3 (2017): 194-201.) It’s so interesting to me that neither Trump nor any of his children have served in the US military–and yet, he wants to keep transgender troops from doing so. Could we have, like, at least five of them to make up for his, Melania, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka’s failure to serve?
- This study utilized qualitative interviews and focus groups with veterans with documented polytrauma/TBI history to explore veterans‘ perceived barriers to employment and vocational rehabilitation program participation, as well as to solicit thoughts regarding interest in an evidence-based vocational rehabilitation program, the Individual Placement and Support model of Supported Employment (IPS-SE). (Source: Wyse, Jessica J., Terri K. Pogoda, Ginnifer L. Mastarone, Tess Gilbert, and Kathleen F. Carlson. “Employment and vocational rehabilitation experiences among veterans with polytrauma/traumatic brain injury history.” Psychological services (2018).
- It is critical to solicit and use input from team providers and leaders when establishing PST services. (Source: Chinman, Matthew, Rebecca Shoai, and Amy Cohen. “Using organizational change strategies to guide peer support technician implementation in the Veterans Administration.” Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 33, no. 4 (2010): 269.
The verb to solicit is interesting in that if you use its nominalization solicitation without an object–i.e., without specifying the thing being asked for–the most obvious interpretation of it means to ask to purchase the services of a prostitute. Examples:
My gawd, it’s like the area south and north of Mar-A-Lago is spa-sex-trafficking-ring-massage-parlor-central. Over 200 arrests, women held in captivity from China and several prominent businessman and civic leaders arrested for solicitation in this multi-agency 8-month investig.
— Laurie Brenner (@lauriebrenner) February 23, 2019
Jeff Lurie is the best owner in the league at not being arrested for solicitation
— FakeWIPCaller (@FakeWIPCaller) February 22, 2019
BREAKING: if the hooker is actually a cop, you’re still guilty of solicitation
— Amy Hoy ✨ (@amyhoy) July 11, 2017
…and the adjectival form means something completely different:
solicitous: showing or expressing concern. Examples:
- a solicitous inquiry about his health (Source: Merriam-Webster)
President Trump shld put American nat’l security first instead of being solicitous of a KGB thug who attacked our democracy&elections.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) November 11, 2017
I get that Trump doesn’t want to end the Saudi alliance over Khashoggi murder.
I don’t get why he’s so much more solicitous to MBS than, say, Abe, Macron, May, Merkel, and Trudeau.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 21, 2018
“Baffled by his solicitous tone toward Mr. Putin, some people close to Mr. Trump have concluded that he feels vulnerable to Mr. Putin, even if it is in his own mind, rather than because of any damaging information possessed by the Russians.” https://t.co/V97PGQlL5y
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 18, 2018
…and then the “agentive” nominalization solicitor has yet another unrelated meaning:
solicitor: “the chief law officer of a municipality, county, or government department” (Source: Merriam-Webster). Examples:
Former Acting Solicitor General @neal_katyal says Pres. Trump seems not to fully understand the number of legal threats he faces outside the Mueller probe:
“He’s like a 1950s hacker cutting a phone line. This is a much bigger much more metastasized investigation.” pic.twitter.com/ML4aTQtCWV
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 21, 2019
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“This is now squarely within the ambit, if these reports are accurate, of criminal activity by Donald Trump.” -Former Acting U.S. Solicitor General @Neal_Katyal pic.twitter.com/zk0suBngcV
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) January 18, 2019
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Quite a damning statement @realDonaldTrump
Former Acting Solicitor General: Trump Could Get A Longer Prison Sentence Than Cohenhttps://t.co/mNI7SJJbRq
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) December 13, 2018
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How I used it in the response to the question:
I myself am an academic, and I sometimes benefit from using my blog to solicit feedback on work in progress.
Zipf's Law 