Twenty-one years ago, the internet looked vastly different. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter did not yet exist. Only one in four Americans had access to high-speed internet, so for most people, downloading pictures or their favorite music took a considerable amount of time. Since inventors had not yet created smartphones, users surfed the net as a stationary activity.
People mostly used the internet at that time for research or simple communication with friends and family. Blogs provided a large source of information on the net, covering just about any topic, and most offered informative content. Social and political commentary blogs existed, but they remained rare.
Although many blogs appeared on the net, most lasted only a short time before the number of posts faded and bloggers eventually shut them down or abandoned them. Only a few achieved consistent notability. One of them was the TaxProf blog, which Paul Caron — the current dean of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law — ran. While the blog catered to the tax and law school community, it stood out for its consistent release of relevant news alongside the occasional personal or religious post. If news appeared on the TaxProf Blog, it deserved a read.
On Monday, Caron announced that after 21 years and 55,780 posts, he would end the blog. He made the decision after learning that the platform hosting his blog would discontinue all blogs on September 30.
I think I first came across the TaxProf blog when I was a tax LLM student at Chapman School of Law. I was visiting the late Michael Lang during his office hours and I happened to notice the blog on his computer monitor. From that moment, I visited the TaxProf blog regularly in the hopes it would help me understand my tax classes. I don’t think it did, but I learned a lot about legal education and its questionable practices prior to 2010.
Some time later, I transferred to Loyola Law School. I had the opportunity to graduate with honors, but I was required to spend a semester writing a research paper. It was then I remembered a TaxProf post in January 2006 about the IRS possibly taxing the sale of video game currency. I thought it would make an interesting paper topic that people would want to read. At least more interesting than writing about partnership distributive share regulations. But I was concerned that others in the legal community would find it absurd and that it would make me unemployable after graduation.
To make a long story short, I spent the semester going to the library after classes reading more books than I care to admit. I talked to law professors, online game developers, and even an economist at the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
I also read about a new type of virtual coin called Bitcoin which was selling for 50 cents each. I thought about putting $100 on it and let it sit for a while. But it seemed scammy, so I ignored it.
I eventually finished the research paper, and it did more than add a gold star to my LLM degree. It was published in the Virginia Tax Review and was cited by the IRS Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress. This later played a part in the Internal Revenue Service’s initial virtual currency and later cryptocurrency regulations.
All this came from a blog post that I read one morning in 2006.
I will miss the TaxProf Blog not just for the influence it had on me, but also because it represents one of a dying breed of blogs created as a “labor of love,” as Caron puts it. Blogs have given way to social media. Bloggers have morphed into influencers who care more about pleasing monetization algorithms, boosting view counts, or gaining followers. And commentators write in ways designed to troll or provoke reactions, rather than to make people think.
I am hopeful that algorithms of the future will put an end to clout chasing and reward those who provide useful information like the TaxProf Blog did for 21 years.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at stevenchungatl@gmail.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.
The post Goodbye To A Blogging Pioneer: Reflecting On The TaxProf Blog’s Legacy In A Changing Internet Era And Its Influence On One Tax Attorney appeared first on Above the Law.
Twenty-one years ago, the internet looked vastly different. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter did not yet exist. Only one in four Americans had access to high-speed internet, so for most people, downloading pictures or their favorite music took a considerable amount of time. Since inventors had not yet created smartphones, users surfed the net as a stationary activity.
People mostly used the internet at that time for research or simple communication with friends and family. Blogs provided a large source of information on the net, covering just about any topic, and most offered informative content. Social and political commentary blogs existed, but they remained rare.
Although many blogs appeared on the net, most lasted only a short time before the number of posts faded and bloggers eventually shut them down or abandoned them. Only a few achieved consistent notability. One of them was the TaxProf blog, which Paul Caron — the current dean of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law — ran. While the blog catered to the tax and law school community, it stood out for its consistent release of relevant news alongside the occasional personal or religious post. If news appeared on the TaxProf Blog, it deserved a read.
On Monday, Caron announced that after 21 years and 55,780 posts, he would end the blog. He made the decision after learning that the platform hosting his blog would discontinue all blogs on September 30.
I think I first came across the TaxProf blog when I was a tax LLM student at Chapman School of Law. I was visiting the late Michael Lang during his office hours and I happened to notice the blog on his computer monitor. From that moment, I visited the TaxProf blog regularly in the hopes it would help me understand my tax classes. I don’t think it did, but I learned a lot about legal education and its questionable practices prior to 2010.
Some time later, I transferred to Loyola Law School. I had the opportunity to graduate with honors, but I was required to spend a semester writing a research paper. It was then I remembered a TaxProf post in January 2006 about the IRS possibly taxing the sale of video game currency. I thought it would make an interesting paper topic that people would want to read. At least more interesting than writing about partnership distributive share regulations. But I was concerned that others in the legal community would find it absurd and that it would make me unemployable after graduation.
To make a long story short, I spent the semester going to the library after classes reading more books than I care to admit. I talked to law professors, online game developers, and even an economist at the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
I also read about a new type of virtual coin called Bitcoin which was selling for 50 cents each. I thought about putting $100 on it and let it sit for a while. But it seemed scammy, so I ignored it.
I eventually finished the research paper, and it did more than add a gold star to my LLM degree. It was published in the Virginia Tax Review and was cited by the IRS Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress. This later played a part in the Internal Revenue Service’s initial virtual currency and later cryptocurrency regulations.
All this came from a blog post that I read one morning in 2006.
I will miss the TaxProf Blog not just for the influence it had on me, but also because it represents one of a dying breed of blogs created as a “labor of love,” as Caron puts it. Blogs have given way to social media. Bloggers have morphed into influencers who care more about pleasing monetization algorithms, boosting view counts, or gaining followers. And commentators write in ways designed to troll or provoke reactions, rather than to make people think.
I am hopeful that algorithms of the future will put an end to clout chasing and reward those who provide useful information like the TaxProf Blog did for 21 years.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at stevenchungatl@gmail.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.
The post Goodbye To A Blogging Pioneer: Reflecting On The TaxProf Blog’s Legacy In A Changing Internet Era And Its Influence On One Tax Attorney appeared first on Above the Law.
