4 ms·

Attacking your sucky excuses for not blogging

59 points by duck 16y ago

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
tomjen3 16y ago
Dammit Bear man, I am a software developer, not a writer. But more seriously, he is dead wrong, except for seo purposes. Nobody reads on the Internet anyway so steal a page from the Danish entrepreneur Martin Thorborg and blog in video form directly from your iphone.
- AngryParsley 16y ago
  Uhh... according to your HN user page, you blog at www.tomjen.net, which you just started 12 days ago. That's a pretty short time in which to do a 180.
  - tomjen3 16y ago
    Nah, just trying to make a cheap star trek joke, since I am tired of being told that I must do this and that when I just want to write software. Do you really think I keep a blog because I like writing? I don't, but I have seen too many posts saying you must have a blog that I can't disagree with. Doesn't mean I should like it, nor do I intend to keep doing it for long, just until I have a couple hundred articles then I hope that will be enough to point to if anybody asks.
    - wladimir 16y ago
      But to be honest, "seriously, nobody reads on the internet anyway" on a site that is built around reading and discussing articles is a bit strange. Was that meant as ironic too?
      - tomjen3 16y ago
        No. Nobody reads on the Internet is what everyone here is told the moment they make their first landing page. Hn is so far of the chart for what is normal.
        wladimir 16y ago
        HN likes to feel so special :) Sure, most people (even HNers) don't like landing pages with a lot of text, as it looks scammish. However, blogs are not landing pages. People read blogs because they are interested in the subject, instead of, like a landing page, as a sales talk. And there is no need to take it into hyperbole, which rings as true as "There are no girlzz in the interwebzz!".
brianwillis 16y ago
You already know that nowadays you’re invisible without some sort of social media presence. You know, some of us kind of like it that way. Anonymity has its virtues.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Unfortunately, being anonymous and unheard of isn't helpful if you're building a business, which was the point of the OP.
  - bruce511 16y ago
    I suppose it depends on your definition of "social media". The other day i heard someone say "if you're not on facebook, no-one will find your product." I suppose that depends on your market. If you're buying wide-body jets for national airlines for long-haul service, I suspect Facebook is not your first port of call. That's not an isolated example, I suspect most B2B type sales are not affected by Facebook. On the other hand if your product is social, or the latest hip thingy, or relies on some sort of "fashion" driver (fashion in the broad sense, not necessarily related to clothing) then obviously facebook, twitter, blogging - anything at all - is good. If you're starting out, and no-one has ever heard of you then social media helps spread the word, but it'll take more than that to build something of substance.Fashion, by definition, is fleeting.Lots and lots of stuff is "famous for a day" and then sinks without trace. Of course the author of the article is writing a blog post about blogging - to people who (by definition) read blog posts. Blogging is important for "really small businesses" to build at least some sort of profile, but it's by no means the best, or only, way to build that audience. Those of us who "do" tech all day, every day, assume that tech is the way to solve all problems. Sometimes that's true, but in many cases not.
    - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
      Yep, the company I work for is a market leader - no Facebook account, no Twitter account and unlikely ever to have one simply because we're B2B in a very specific market sector where face to face networking is everything.
kaib 16y ago
There is a second really important reason to blog, if you write software (and are any good at it). Blogging is a great way to improve your writing and the more senior you become the more you will find that your challenge is not just grokking things yourself but helping other people grok them. Almost all of the really stellar software engineers I worked with, like the senior people at Google, were excellent writers and constantly working hard to improve their writing. A side note, if English is your second language don't despair. It's easier to rise above the mean than you think and all the good native speakers have achieved their skills by working really hard on it. You might not have enough lifespan to hit the literary top but more than enough to become a really efficient communicator.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  The thing is that while I do blog, I don't really want to become a communicator, I, and I guess plenty of other people, am plenty happy being a software developer. I will much rather spend a weekend playing with node.js than write. I do believe many people feel the same way, but obviously the viewpoint isn't blogged about so often.
  - linker3000 16y ago
    I'm an IT Manager and communicate with my peers and friends in real time. Anything of merit goes into a helpdesk ticket or our knowledge base. When I am not doing my job, I have a life with friends and family and don't plan to spend it writing up all the things I did or experienced while I was working.
    - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
      Ditto. This all comes from the perspective that maximising your work related potential is the ultimate goal in life which simply isn't the case for me. Sure I want to be good at what I do and I want to know as much about it as I can but it's one thing in my life and there are massive time pressures. Simply put blogging is not an effective use of my time given the varying demands placed on it (primarily a 22 month old child and another one due in the next two weeks).
michaelochurch 16y ago
Here's the most important one that is a concern for a lot of people: It might damage my career. In technology, this isn't so much of a concern. In banking or law, however, you're best off not to have a blog. The cultures of those industries are secretive, conformist, and conservative. You wouldn't be fired for being the "office liberal" or being an out-of-the-closet gay in an investment bank, but it would prevent you from getting into the upper-management club. Being a blogger is in the same category: not something you'd get fired for, but something you just wouldn't do if you were serious about climbing the ladder. My thoughts: networking and blogging are important, but people need to do those things when they're happy and able to make positive and professional impressions rather than beaten-down and bitter ones. A lot of people treat networking as a "foul-weather friend"-- something to do when in career trouble-- and this is a mistake, because then it's too late. You want to be visible when you are happy and things are going well; then, if you get into trouble, reach out to people who've seen you at your best.

59 points by duck 16y ago

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

Dammit Bear man, I am a software developer, not a writer. But more seriously, he is dead wrong, except for seo purposes. Nobody reads on the Internet anyway so steal a page from the Danish entrepreneur Martin Thorborg and blog in video form directly from your iphone.

AngryParsley 16y ago
Uhh... according to your HN user page, you blog at www.tomjen.net, which you just started 12 days ago. That's a pretty short time in which to do a 180.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  Nah, just trying to make a cheap star trek joke, since I am tired of being told that I must do this and that when I just want to write software. Do you really think I keep a blog because I like writing? I don't, but I have seen too many posts saying you must have a blog that I can't disagree with. Doesn't mean I should like it, nor do I intend to keep doing it for long, just until I have a couple hundred articles then I hope that will be enough to point to if anybody asks.
  - wladimir 16y ago
    But to be honest, "seriously, nobody reads on the internet anyway" on a site that is built around reading and discussing articles is a bit strange. Was that meant as ironic too?
    - tomjen3 16y ago
      No. Nobody reads on the Internet is what everyone here is told the moment they make their first landing page. Hn is so far of the chart for what is normal.
      - wladimir 16y ago
        HN likes to feel so special :) Sure, most people (even HNers) don't like landing pages with a lot of text, as it looks scammish. However, blogs are not landing pages. People read blogs because they are interested in the subject, instead of, like a landing page, as a sales talk. And there is no need to take it into hyperbole, which rings as true as "There are no girlzz in the interwebzz!".

brianwillis 16y ago

You already know that nowadays you’re invisible without some sort of social media presence. You know, some of us kind of like it that way. Anonymity has its virtues.

philwelch 16y ago
Unfortunately, being anonymous and unheard of isn't helpful if you're building a business, which was the point of the OP.
- bruce511 16y ago
  I suppose it depends on your definition of "social media". The other day i heard someone say "if you're not on facebook, no-one will find your product." I suppose that depends on your market. If you're buying wide-body jets for national airlines for long-haul service, I suspect Facebook is not your first port of call. That's not an isolated example, I suspect most B2B type sales are not affected by Facebook. On the other hand if your product is social, or the latest hip thingy, or relies on some sort of "fashion" driver (fashion in the broad sense, not necessarily related to clothing) then obviously facebook, twitter, blogging - anything at all - is good. If you're starting out, and no-one has ever heard of you then social media helps spread the word, but it'll take more than that to build something of substance.Fashion, by definition, is fleeting.Lots and lots of stuff is "famous for a day" and then sinks without trace. Of course the author of the article is writing a blog post about blogging - to people who (by definition) read blog posts. Blogging is important for "really small businesses" to build at least some sort of profile, but it's by no means the best, or only, way to build that audience. Those of us who "do" tech all day, every day, assume that tech is the way to solve all problems. Sometimes that's true, but in many cases not.
  - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
    Yep, the company I work for is a market leader - no Facebook account, no Twitter account and unlikely ever to have one simply because we're B2B in a very specific market sector where face to face networking is everything.

kaib 16y ago

There is a second really important reason to blog, if you write software (and are any good at it). Blogging is a great way to improve your writing and the more senior you become the more you will find that your challenge is not just grokking things yourself but helping other people grok them. Almost all of the really stellar software engineers I worked with, like the senior people at Google, were excellent writers and constantly working hard to improve their writing. A side note, if English is your second language don't despair. It's easier to rise above the mean than you think and all the good native speakers have achieved their skills by working really hard on it. You might not have enough lifespan to hit the literary top but more than enough to become a really efficient communicator.

tomjen3 16y ago
The thing is that while I do blog, I don't really want to become a communicator, I, and I guess plenty of other people, am plenty happy being a software developer. I will much rather spend a weekend playing with node.js than write. I do believe many people feel the same way, but obviously the viewpoint isn't blogged about so often.
- linker3000 16y ago
  I'm an IT Manager and communicate with my peers and friends in real time. Anything of merit goes into a helpdesk ticket or our knowledge base. When I am not doing my job, I have a life with friends and family and don't plan to spend it writing up all the things I did or experienced while I was working.
  - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
    Ditto. This all comes from the perspective that maximising your work related potential is the ultimate goal in life which simply isn't the case for me. Sure I want to be good at what I do and I want to know as much about it as I can but it's one thing in my life and there are massive time pressures. Simply put blogging is not an effective use of my time given the varying demands placed on it (primarily a 22 month old child and another one due in the next two weeks).

michaelochurch 16y ago

Here's the most important one that is a concern for a lot of people: It might damage my career. In technology, this isn't so much of a concern. In banking or law, however, you're best off not to have a blog. The cultures of those industries are secretive, conformist, and conservative. You wouldn't be fired for being the "office liberal" or being an out-of-the-closet gay in an investment bank, but it would prevent you from getting into the upper-management club. Being a blogger is in the same category: not something you'd get fired for, but something you just wouldn't do if you were serious about climbing the ladder. My thoughts: networking and blogging are important, but people need to do those things when they're happy and able to make positive and professional impressions rather than beaten-down and bitter ones. A lot of people treat networking as a "foul-weather friend"-- something to do when in career trouble-- and this is a mistake, because then it's too late. You want to be visible when you are happy and things are going well; then, if you get into trouble, reach out to people who've seen you at your best.