In response to one of my blog posts, Jeremy Brown gave an excellent insight into why people in academics should blog.
You should read about it at http://brownelearning.org/index.php?id=69
“In short, every “soft” science suffers from disjointed research by unconnected researchers developing microuniverses that do not interrelated. You an I have both worked on projects in the past that create new models that offer little to no benefit over existing ones, and do not discount previous models.
The key to this is to communicate. Post your thoughts on this blog, ask for feedback and other collaboration early. Expose your ideas to harsh realities, and accept criticism.”