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I'd say that my blogging has led directly to one publication (a reprint of a blog post) and indirectly to a couple of works. Some of my present projects originated in blog series; or, at least, blogging on the topics gave me a chance to put some thoughts down on virtual paper.

The biggest advantage of blogging is no different for academics than for others: social networking.

As someone who tends towards IR theory and conceptual work, however, I've found blogging and invaluable tool for keeping up with current events and integrating theory and practice in my own thinking and teaching more than I used to.

One of the interesting (and depressing) processes associated with blogging and IR was the sudden emergence and abandonment of the the "snide blogs" on academic departments. I'm glad most of these have died, but they provided a window into some very unpleasant aspects of the discipline. One blog that I thought showed some promise but also seems to be moribund is the The Political Science Journal Monitor. I thought that might have been an opportunity for some very overdue discussion of the state of publishing and peer-review in our field. Sadly, not so much in the end.

UPDATE: Daron Acemoglu responds by saying blogging "seems like a lot of work." He adds "I am already overcommitted, so it's a bit scary to take something else on." But he promises to send a "guest blog" at some point.

UPDATE2: Anya Stiglitz writes back to say that she and Joe have been on the road in Ethiopia and without regular e-mail access. Apparently, Stiglitz has been doing a bit of blogging on the NYTimes website to cover for Nick Kristoff.