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Why don't I have a blog?

fede.dm

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Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#41

Post by MH15 »

commandlinefan wrote: post #8

> They are your typical run-of-the-mill tutorials that replicate what's written on the official framework/language guide Yep, I'd like to permanently blacklist those idiotic baeldung, w3schools, tutorialspoint, and geeksforgeeks blogspam entries that SEO'ed themselves to the top of every google search I do for anything programming related.

Baeldung I've found to be fantastic for Java tricks and Java library usage. Geeksforgeeks blogspam really helped me with algorithm problems while preparing for Leetcode-style interviews.

I'd agree though that w3schools and tutorialspoint do as much harm as good.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#42

Post by decebalus1 »

I kind of agree with the author. There's also a lot of garbage content online and the problem with:

> I don't have anything interesting to say

is that people who truly don't have anything interesting to say often don't have the self-awareness to think like that.

I used to have a blog. Actually, multiple blogs back in the mid aughts and I've learned the following:

- from a game theory perspective, unless you're really good and have truly interesting things to say, you'll be better off not saying anything as you only have things to lose. You're only increasing your 'attack surface' for stalkers, future job prospects, etc.. It's very hard to keep things to yourself especially when you start having a following and then you start to overshare, push out some ideas some might find controversial or even ideas which become controversial as time goes by. You're better off just not saying shit.

- if you have a dry technical blog which may help some poor souls only searching for a technical solution then go for it. But don't try to make a career out of it.

- if you work for a BigCo, you need to self-censor big time. Anything you say can be associated with your workplace (regardless of your disclaimer) and get you in hot water.

- even if you are anonymous, that's not a guarantee you won't get doxxed (see Slate Star Codex as an example).

- if you think it will help your job prospects, even if you have a dry emotionless uncontroversial blog, think again. Nobody actually gives a shit about your blog except if you're on a very VERY narrow technology niche with few professionals. I don't know about others, but in most of my employment efforts, hiring gauntlet maintainers barely care about your actual experience and your blog is not even a data point.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#43

Post by greggman3 »

going_ham wrote: post #39

I have a blog, to write things as a note for myself. It has helped me keep pushing and satisfying my curiosity. I write random things. I don't even have trackers or cookies enabled because I do not care if blog gets any view! So if you are afraid that people will find it boring, then write for yourself. Writing for oneself means you want to be able to write in a way such that you will go back to your note to remind y…

If you're only writing for yourself why make it public? Writing for myself I'd expect lots of internal thoughts I don't really want to share.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#45

Post by giantrobot »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #29

this made me wonder if FB got huge because it simplified blogging, combining with something like RSS reading, in a single web app.

FB and Twitter don't require subject lines. I think this is one of the biggest factors in their attraction for writing (ignoring social aspects). Facebook and most other social media gives a simple writing prompt "what's up?". There's no need to plan out the post or give it a title. This is the same UX as text messages/messaging over e-mail. You can just write a message.

The implied requirement and/or UI requiring a subject line or title to a post or e-mail is a pain in the ass. People don't want to metacognate on what they're trying to say. They just want to type out a thought or ask a question.

Blog software tends to enforce things like a subject/title because it often generates a URL from it. Facebook et al don't give a shit about such things. A post is just the latest and it gets assigned an ID number.

Even the HN favorite RSS suffers from this because it really wants entries to have titles. They're not technically necessary but most reader software uses titles for UI elements. The implied requirement to title everything I think creates a higher barrier of entry than most people want to deal with.

Even this post I'm typing, if I had to title it I'd probably not bother. I have something to say but having to think up a contextual title for it would be a waste of time and serve no benefit to the point I'm trying to make.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#46

Post by PenguinCoder »

leephillips wrote: post #33
kenny11 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an extension for Chrome and Firefox called "uBlacklist" that lets you do exactly this - you can maintain a list of domains that you never want to appear in the results of Google searches that you do.

You don’t need an extension. You can just use the `-site` operator, and put your list in a bookmarklet, or use your browser’s ability to define search shortcuts, if it has that.

Until Google starts ignoring that operator. Or the next blogspam SEO site pops up that's not on your -site list.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#47

Post by reureu »

A few years ago, I decided to stop blogging and instead focus that energy towards sharing my work and thoughts in other (typically more academic) venues. So, now, I focus more on posters, talks, papers, and the like in my professional spaces. It's a bit more involved than just throwing up a blog post, but it also helps me narrow in my interests so the work I do submit is more complete and interesting. It also has a wider audience than my blog ever had. And so, instead, my personal website looks more like an academic CV with links to my work presented at conferences and in journals, but with a decidedly industry spin and sometimes with some additional context/summary.

YMMV, but just a thought for those that are also weighing decisions around blogging versus not.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#48

Post by hrishi »

Simple solution: Write, but don't publish. Most of the blocks of feeling like you have nothing to add get better if you write more.

Write for your colleagues, your partner, or just yourself, so you can clarify the streams of thought in your head and bang them against something.

Even if you never publish, you'll benefit. Chances are, you'll find a few you want to publish along the way.

Re: Why don't I have a blog?

#49

Post by tpoacher »

What a lovely looking webpage though.

Btw, I've been thinking of the younger cousin of blogging a lot lately. Gemlogs on the geminispace, that is. Seems like a nice place to be, is all.

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