3 ms·

Ask YC: To blog or not to blog?

5 points by deltapoint 19y ago

Is it worth it to have a personal blog? What are the benefits and drawbacks of having a personal blog?

curi 19y ago
they are easy to make. just make one when you have an idea you want to post. post again next time you have an idea you want to post. the drawback of not doing this is deleting those potential posts for no reason.
konsl 19y ago
Benefits: - Having your thoughts/opinions online - Discussions with readers can be valuable Drawbacks: - Taking the time to author original, thought provoking and/or informative posts. When blogs echo or summarize other posts, without any added thoughts/opinions/etc, they suck - Keeping it up-to-date i.e. Wordpress upgrades, etc
- rugoso 19y ago
  "Taking the time to author original, thought provoking and/or informative posts ..." But maybe you should do this sort of thing just because is good for you in the first place (as opposed to good for your blog/PR). Write down and develop your thoughts on paper, just as you do with code/pseudocode. Then once you have something worthy, publish/share it.
  - konsl 19y ago
    Goot pt. Wanted to say this as well, just couldn't find the words.
bkrausz 19y ago
I've tried blogging 2 or 3 times. Right now I post on my blog every month or so. The problem with me is that I eventually run out of ideas and the blog feels more like work than a pass time. But I think that may just be me...I'd say go for it, what do you have to lose besides a little time?
edw519 19y ago
Regular blog postings would divert too much time from hacking. Not posting regularly would be unfair to my readers (if I could keep any). So I come here instead.
goofygrin 19y ago
You know, the best thing about having a blog is how it kind of acts like a journal (I think that Jeff Atwood of codinghorror said this). I look back to some old stuff that I've written and I am continually mortified by either my writing style or what I thought was important. The negative is that people will read your blog and what's that old saying, "better that people think you're dumb than you open your mouth and prove it"
noonespecial 19y ago
Just look at how Paul does it. He calls them "Essays" of course but it seems to be a really good model. He never posts anything just to post it, and so sometimes there are large intervals between posts. Everything he does post seems very insightful and helps us understand where he and YCombinator are coming from. I'm much more impressed by this from, even with the large interval between posts than the "today my cat hoarked on the rug again..." kind of blog.
- 1gor 19y ago
  Jacob Nielsen agrees with you: "Write articles not blog postings" -- http://www.useit.com/alertbox/articles-not-blogs.html http://www.useit.com/alertbox/articles-not-blogs.html
jasonlbaptiste 19y ago
It's definitely good. the real question can you keep up at it? Sometimes I'm too ADD to keep blogging. Twitter on the other hand, I use all the time. Much easier to get thoughts out. Right now, my personal domain just feeds in my tweets lol.
wallflower 19y ago
If you mean personal blog that is a password-protected, private blog, yes, it's worth it. I track my progress in all kinds of areas, diary-style in a blog. It's easier than trying to hand-write a diary and you can mine stories from the jotted-down experiences.
brianm 19y ago
My blog has been a godsend. For me, as a hacker writing about hacking, it has opened doors, made introductions, answered questions, and sharpened my thought. Biggest drawback is that the really bad ideas get archived on the intertron forever, along with the rare nuggets of gold.

5 points by deltapoint 19y ago

Is it worth it to have a personal blog? What are the benefits and drawbacks of having a personal blog?

curi 19y ago

they are easy to make. just make one when you have an idea you want to post. post again next time you have an idea you want to post. the drawback of not doing this is deleting those potential posts for no reason.

konsl 19y ago

Benefits: - Having your thoughts/opinions online - Discussions with readers can be valuable Drawbacks: - Taking the time to author original, thought provoking and/or informative posts. When blogs echo or summarize other posts, without any added thoughts/opinions/etc, they suck - Keeping it up-to-date i.e. Wordpress upgrades, etc

rugoso 19y ago
"Taking the time to author original, thought provoking and/or informative posts ..." But maybe you should do this sort of thing just because is good for you in the first place (as opposed to good for your blog/PR). Write down and develop your thoughts on paper, just as you do with code/pseudocode. Then once you have something worthy, publish/share it.
- konsl 19y ago
  Goot pt. Wanted to say this as well, just couldn't find the words.

bkrausz 19y ago

I've tried blogging 2 or 3 times. Right now I post on my blog every month or so. The problem with me is that I eventually run out of ideas and the blog feels more like work than a pass time. But I think that may just be me...I'd say go for it, what do you have to lose besides a little time?

edw519 19y ago

Regular blog postings would divert too much time from hacking. Not posting regularly would be unfair to my readers (if I could keep any). So I come here instead.

goofygrin 19y ago

You know, the best thing about having a blog is how it kind of acts like a journal (I think that Jeff Atwood of codinghorror said this). I look back to some old stuff that I've written and I am continually mortified by either my writing style or what I thought was important. The negative is that people will read your blog and what's that old saying, "better that people think you're dumb than you open your mouth and prove it"

noonespecial 19y ago

Just look at how Paul does it. He calls them "Essays" of course but it seems to be a really good model. He never posts anything just to post it, and so sometimes there are large intervals between posts. Everything he does post seems very insightful and helps us understand where he and YCombinator are coming from. I'm much more impressed by this from, even with the large interval between posts than the "today my cat hoarked on the rug again..." kind of blog.

1gor 19y ago
Jacob Nielsen agrees with you: "Write articles not blog postings" -- http://www.useit.com/alertbox/articles-not-blogs.html http://www.useit.com/alertbox/articles-not-blogs.html

jasonlbaptiste 19y ago

It's definitely good. the real question can you keep up at it? Sometimes I'm too ADD to keep blogging. Twitter on the other hand, I use all the time. Much easier to get thoughts out. Right now, my personal domain just feeds in my tweets lol.

wallflower 19y ago

If you mean personal blog that is a password-protected, private blog, yes, it's worth it. I track my progress in all kinds of areas, diary-style in a blog. It's easier than trying to hand-write a diary and you can mine stories from the jotted-down experiences.

brianm 19y ago

My blog has been a godsend. For me, as a hacker writing about hacking, it has opened doors, made introductions, answered questions, and sharpened my thought. Biggest drawback is that the really bad ideas get archived on the intertron forever, along with the rare nuggets of gold.