I hear ya. I've been lurking since early 2011.
I told myself after the "free ripple give-away" I missed out on that I was going to start posting more... but to be honest, I'm just not that social on this particular type of medium (forums). I'm more of a IRC / Trollbox type.
I have written a few Economic white papers on Bitcoin (econometric, time series, efficient market hypothesis type stuff), so it's probably about time that I try to build some sort of credibility here since this forum seems to be the only way to get in touch with certain members of the Bitcoin community.
I finished my masters in Economics a few years ago... actually paid for it in Bitcoin
I was going to go for my PhD, but Bitcoin has been good to me and I no longer see the benefit to the time / expense necessary. I'll try to post some of my research soon so that you all can critique and hopefully benefit from it.
Sorry about the lengthy nonsensical post with the story of my life... but ya know, you gotta post something of substance to unlock your account. Cheers.