9 ms·

Ask HN: What's stopping you from blogging?

• trifit 4y ago
  I’m not sure how to build a website :P
  • wruza 4y ago
    Plenty of hosted and self-hostable blog engines out there. You don’t have to be a web developer for that. (Sorry if I missed some sarcasm…)
  • fsflover 4y ago
    Try Mastodon?
  • 0xJRS 4y ago
    Try using Hugo, makes it very easy
    • dizhn 4y ago
      I have a hugo site on gitlab. I don't even bother with the tooling anymore. I use the web ide to add a new post and cloudflare builds and publishes it when I commit. All for free.
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    No need. The easiest ways are bearblog, ghost, wordpress.com, substack etc. They are all as easy to use as HN!
• shubb 4y ago
  I feel like I have nothing to teach - the blogs I like to read explain things but anything I know is better explained elsewhere. This is the curse of the internet.
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    And I also found if it isn’t explained well it is quite a bit of work to explain it well (primary research).
• wruza 4y ago
  I thought about it for some time (nothing serious), but can see few obvious stoppers. First, cheap blogging is something I do not like, and producing quality content takes time. An example of cheap blogging is “I npm installed foobaz, passed it a low-effort options object copied from SO answer and voila”. Sometimes I struggle even with HN comments, heh. “Half” of them never get posted. Second, my views on programming (my primary interest in life) are not mainstream and a little bitter, sometimes not a little. I know this from trying to expess them here on HN from time to time. I’m afraid that publishing that would bring nothing but a sense of worse isolation at my own expense. I’m a pretty negative critic, and I don’t get where people like n-gate take energy to continue their public work (I’m not a HN hater, just a random example out of top of my head).
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    n-gate. I wonder how this continues (continued) when you had to keep up with HN wide and deep and write comedy/satire to boot. Keeping the jokes and jibes fresh. Probably takes XKCD levels of commitment. I appreciated it though!
• forgotusername6 4y ago
  Basically anything technical I do is work related. I don't want to share that out of fear of violating some company policy. There are some interesting stories, bug fixes, tech stacks etc but exposing them always risks the company's reputation and it's not worth the hassle to self censor.
• bananarchist 4y ago
  I don't know if publishing will ever suit me. I write all the time and cringe looking back. Not because my writing has improved to some point where last week's essay embarrasses me, but because last week's opinions no longer fit me, and it would be too tiring to constantly rebut myself. But perhaps this is the wrong perspective. Maybe I should write as I donate old clothing. It was once dear, but no longer suits my needs; passed along freely hoping that another might find it useful.
• xemdetia 4y ago
  It's a curse of writing to an unknown audience for me. I have no problem with blogging but stepping back to write a good draft for that 'first time reader' is just is extra effort. I write constantly for myself to myself and I just don't see value spending that extra time to provide context. I also have the advantage of writing to myself and being able to grep for anything I am looking for or better structure the file layout in a way that is more meaningful for me. A blog doesn't really improve upon this amazingly
• dpkirchner 4y ago
  Most of what I write is in reply to someone else and writing those replies in a different location doesn't seem appropriate. Especially if I don't allow comments to host replies (which I surely wouldn't). Additionally, I rarely have unique opinions, and I am loathe to relitigate some topics. Think things like the debate over legal abortion: literally every argument has already been made for and against, I cannot possibly write anything of value on the subject. Finally, I'm wrong often enough that I'm concerned some of the technical content I write could lead people down the wrong path, wasting hours or days of their time.
• NickC25 4y ago
  I enjoy writing, but honestly don't have opinions worth sharing in one specific domain that would keep people engaged constantly nor consistently. I have too many interests to focus on one narrow domain. One day it could be something tech related, another day music related, finance related, sports related, etc. If I was just to blog about one topic constantly, I'd run out of ideas quickly and probably stop writing altogether. Plus, as others have said - any opinion I have is probably also held by someone who already has a consistent readership and is a lot more eloquent and engaging than I could ever dream of being.
• bediger4000 4y ago
  Nothing. Daniel Meissler (Unstructured Learning) convinced me it was a good idea. I followed his outline, choosing to use Hugo rather than WordPress because I ran a WordPress honeypot for a while and WP draws a lot of attention.
• probably_wrong 4y ago
  I've been blogging more or less constantly for at least 10 years. In my experience, the times when I don't blog much are either because there's something in my life that makes it difficult (holidays, life drama, too much work, etc) or because the technology I'm using at the time puts too much friction into getting the thing published.
• cpach 4y ago
  I blog from time to time. Currently these things are stopping me: a) Researching a topic takes lots of time. Writing and rewriting also takes time, and currently I don’t prioritize it. b) For the time being I feel that it’s more fun to do stuff than to write about stuff. Doesn’t need to stay that way forever though.
• speedgoose 4y ago
  A lack of readers. Very few people read blogs nowadays.
• barbazoo 4y ago
  > I started writing, publicly but to myself, primarily so I could remember how to do technical processes that I didn't repeat very often. I have note taking for that. That way I don't have to spend energy on polishing my writing and I don't have to worry about accidentally leaking something that's sensitive.
• orsenthil 4y ago
  I have a blog since 2003, and I started thinking what is the point. It helps me to go back sometimes and review my thinking then. But then, we move forward. This website with my personal words wasn't creating a lot of future value for myself. For others, I realized that market has moved on. There was market for self-publishing for masses, then came micro self-publishing, and now quick videos, edits and nano publishing with using advanced technology in visual media, which wasn't possible earlier. And if those do not create future value, they might faze out too.
• Metalic 4y ago
  For me, it's because I don't know where to start and what to write about (maybe i'm overthinking it). I created a github pages website two years ago but never put anything on it. Maybe I can't just write!
• Silamoth 4y ago
  Writing blog posts has been in my back-of-the-mind TO-DO list for a while now. I just never seem to have time for it. Or rather, there are a million things I end up prioritizing over blogging. One of these days, when I'm less busy, I'll start writing some blog posts. I definitely have some ideas for posts that I think could be interesting.
  • nop_slide 4y ago
    Exactly how I feel. I even made a blank site but have yet to write anything down. I end up just coding instead lol
• taubek 4y ago
  Total lack of free time.
• ajrpugs 4y ago
  I actually just started to blog (somewhat) consistently. Right now I'm posting something about once a month. It's very early days still. The catalyst for me was deciding that I was going to publish writings exclusively about my interest in literature. Philosophy, books reviews, interesting ideas, etc. This helped me to focus. Before, I was vague about what I would blog about. It's an exercise in thinking out loud about an interest of mine and organizing my thoughts. I know most people don't read blogs. It's for me. I've wanted to blog for years but never did. There were a few reasons. I was unreasonably concerned with originality. You have to accept that you're probably not going to write something that's never been said before. That's fine. It's about exercising your cognitive muscles and expressing yourself. I also thought that everything I published had to be philosophically profound. I set the bar way too high. Now, if I think something is cool or interesting, regardless of how niche it is, that's reason enough to blog about it. Who cares! You have to free yourself from that sort of stuff. It does nothing but hinder your natural impulse to do something creative.
• eatonphil 4y ago
  I run a discord for devs interested in (hacking on) software internals. We started a #writing-and-drafts channel recently to encourage folks to share drafts and get excited about writing. You (not just OP) are welcome to join! discord.multiprocess.io
• anon14132 4y ago
  Afraid people will read my blog. I enjoy blogging but it is like a journal. It helps me think. A private journal might work but I tend to ramble on in private journal. A blog makes me want to write a bit more concise. But I am afraid my friends will find it and may make fun of me. I still write but not as openly as I want to.
  • cookiengineer 4y ago
    If people make fun of you when they discover your blog: these are not your friends. Real friends don't do that.
• spratzt 4y ago
  I have absolutely no interest in sharing most of my thinking with a group of strangers.
• mnsh 4y ago
  I built my blog(& personal site) this year. The thing that stopped me from blogging consistently was the notion that blogs are showcase of your expertise. When i realized everyone is unique and have unique perspective, all the procrastination was gone and my mind was filled with things i could write about. False notion of " showcasing expertise" changed to " sharing unique perspectives" I have multiple first drafts that i am working on now. Also this helped: https://guzey.com/personal/why-have-a-blog/ https://guzey.com/personal/why-have-a-blog/ My blog: www.mnsh.me/blog
  • runjake 4y ago
    Clickable: https://www.mnsh.me/blog https://www.mnsh.me/blog
• TechBro8615 4y ago
  The embarrassment of reading it years later
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    Oh yeah I have nuked blogs many times for this!
• adversaryIdiot 4y ago
  i dont want to waste my energy speaking to the void
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    It is OK (…ish) to share the posts. Submit to HN for example. You might just get 10 or 100 views but they are real people!
• arvindamirtaa 4y ago
  I've spent the last several years looking for the perfect blogging tool. As soon as I find one.... /s
• throw149102 4y ago
  I fit in that classic category of "built a website to blog on" and then never wrote a single post. Not really sure why I never posted anything.
• cjk 4y ago
  I know some people are comfortable writing blog posts as markdown files and publishing to e.g. GitHub Pages via Jekyll/Hugo/etc., but that's too much friction for me. What little motivation I have to write dissipates quickly when I think about having to go through this process to publish something. And I can't easily write posts from my phone when I'm on the go. For a brief period of time, I self-hosted Ghost[1], which was great from a writing perspective, but I was really dismayed with how crappy the average request latencies were for visitors. [1]: https://ghost.org https://ghost.org
• shrugsworth 4y ago
  I struggled for years to get going. My primary blockers were 1) not having a clear vision for why I was blogging or what my blog should be, and 2) concern about finding an audience. I finally started over this summer and am 12 posts in (about one per week).
• alexshendi 4y ago
  I don't do interesting stuff.
• anoojb 4y ago
  Many of the people who still write in public are funneling attention they get into those buckets: 1) Power. An example in the tech community are the "public intellectuals." Examples include Tim O'Reilly, Reid Hoffman, etc. They are already commercially successful. But are effectively cultivating influence and power by advocating for their ideas and world view. 2) Sales. Basically anyone who uses Twitter or LinkedIn well is selling themselves, their products, company, etc. You might've noticed that many successful operators and investors who have gone mostly silent and have mostly stopped writing about their thoughts in public, but are hyping their investments, products, company/culture, etc. The downsides are far too great, and so PR firms are engaged to obfuscate and filter. It's a real shame. I found many friends and colleagues through public forums and shared ideas. Most all of them have retreated to private channels like: Signal, iMessage, Discord, etc.
• adityam582y 4y ago
  I have been writing a daily diary (journal) since 11 years, and also I take lots of notes, almost about everything I learn. I've been thinking to start writing a blog since 10 years. I think that the primary idea in my head is to find a way to convert my experiences, lessons from life into a blog. For that, I have to dig through old journals, and it makes me feel dreaded to start it. I also think on writing about what's happening in my life, but then I feel who is going to care about it. So I do not start. Also I read lot of books. Of lately, I started taking notes, and have been thinking to start writing book reviews - at least. My most of notes are in handwritten form, and I used to convert my analog stuff manually typing to digital form. The thought of making a visual summary of books along with traditional text format (digital) deviates me to search yet another tool, or excuse of not putting time to create book summaries. Basically, what to write about (with a bit of "how"), is the question stopping me from starting. I found this quite helpful though: https://perell.com/essay/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-online/ https://perell.com/essay/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-onlin...
• pvaldes 4y ago
  Checkbox ticked. Done. Next thing in the list.
• karmakaze 4y ago
  Hmm. Probably because I don't know where to put it. I put something on gitbook.com but pretty much stopped posting because the latest software became closed source. I would want something with built-in network effects, but... I don't like Medium or Twitter logs. Is Instagram good for posting text? Maybe I could try posting markdown directly in Github without a static site generator, and instead only generate the recent or tag-post lists. I'd also want a place to post random, non-technical, unprofessional content.
• mikewarot 4y ago
  I've been blogging forever, but the audience left and went to all the walled gardens, so I was forced to follow. I usually post longer things I write here and elsewhere to my blog as a reference, but I'd be surprised if anyone ever referenced something I posted there.
• candrewlee14 4y ago
  Perfectionism with a hint of imposter syndrome. I’m a college student right now with not a lot of extra time on my hands, but occasionally I have an idea for a blog post. When that idea comes, I search for other blogs on the topic and think, “wow, what a great blog post… I don’t think I’d be adding much in my own words.” Then I don’t write anything. Anybody struggle with this? If so, how do you overcome it?
  • shyn3 4y ago
    Just write. You are young and it will help you self reflect. I wish I wrote down why BlackBerry would be better than Apple.
• mattpallissard 4y ago
  I enjoy writing much like I do public speaking; while I'm doing it I enjoy it immensely, but I despise reading my own writing or hearing my own a voice on a recording. As a result, going back and proof reading drafts is my main blocker. That and, you know, actually having to deliver real work. That said, I still force myself to do it once or twice a month in the hopes I'll get used to it. https://pallissard.net/posts/ https://pallissard.net/posts/
• derbOac 4y ago
  I used to blog long ago and dropped it because the overhead got to be too distracting. I've become interested in again but haven't really been sure what's the right platform to do it with (static or otherwise, self-hosted or not, federated or both or not, and so forth and so on) and haven't been sure what things I'd write about. With this last point, it's not that I don't have anything to write, it's picking what to write about. Boundaries and persona were always clear lines in the sand for me when I did it before, and at the moment I'm not sure where I want to draw them. It's a bit like deciding to write an ongoing book: on what topic? What part of my mind would I be putting to page? Basically indecision paralysis.
• fundamental 4y ago
  I occasionally update my web log, however updates are rare because writing ends up taking a lot of time. You have to identify an interesting topic, research it to fill the gaps needed to describe it, create a writeup with associated figures/pictures, edit it, and then commit to publishing it. Yes, it's entirely possible to create lower effort content, but it's substantially less satisfying to me.
• rg111 4y ago
  1. Too many options to blog. Wordpress and Blogger are solid but no native LaTeX support. Code formatting sucks. Medium is a closed garden. 2. Do not want to maintain a website. That is too much work for which RoI is very low for me. 3. I am a perfectionist and in this regard, I often never start for this reason. 4. The fear of looking stupid and making a fool of myself. 5. Writing well is a very very hard and time consuming work. I work hard and have little to no time for this extra work. 6. Fear that no one is going to read it. What's the reason to write publicly if I don't get significant audience feedback?
• rektide 4y ago
  Engagement is shit. Im not on Twitter anymore but being in an alive place where the presence of humanity is tangible, where any given post might resound or get replies... that was so much better than time spent in my own isolated little blog.
• rramadass 4y ago
  Blogging == Shouting into the Wind. I find discussing on HN (a la Socratic Method) more useful.
• nicbou 4y ago
  A few things that no longer stop me: * My personal website is truly personal. I'm no longer using it as an online resume. There's no branding, no curation. I share recipes, car repair tips, and the occasional essay. * I don't care about traffic. I don't even measure it anymore. It's no longer about clicks and likes. I'm pleasantly surprised when someone mentions the content on my website. * I keep my writing short and sweet. It forces me to have clearer ideas, and to stay focused. It also means that I can finish a post before caffeine wears off. * I treat my personal website as a garden. It's meant to be imperfect, a constant work in progress.
• CM30 4y ago
  Well, I technically still blog in that I run a news site that I post on regularly. But as for why I don't run a personal blog... well there a few reasons really: 1. I'm not sure how to brand it. I have no interest in becoming an 'influencer' under my real name, and it's hard to choose a domain name or brand if you don't have a memorable name or pseudonym. 2. I'm an utter perfectionist, so every time I consider creating a personal blog I think about how it should be designed, coded, etc rather than the content to post there. 3. I dislike letting other people host my work on their services, so no Substack or Medium anymore. My opinion is that if someone takes offence with something I say (or has another legal issue), there should be no third party that can 'solve' those problems behind my back. But that also means effort when I want to use anything that can be self hosted, since it means setting up a domain/subdomain, hosting directory, email, etc. 4. Other things take priority.
• bonniesimon 4y ago
  Perfectionism and my insecurity about english language.
• billconan 4y ago
  writing is exhausting
• deanmoriarty 4y ago
  I'm worried that I wouldn't be able to monetize it. I am kind of selfish with my time and as such extremely cautious of any hobby that doesn't improve either my physical health OR financial situation :-) I actually asked something related here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32152652 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32152652
• zero_shift 4y ago
  I do have a blog, but I have less to write about now. Mostly it’s focused on software, however the problems I’m dealing with technically feel too specific, messy or open-ended to boil down into a blog post.
• rl3 4y ago
  Humility and self-respect.
• getflookup 4y ago
  My blog is only about my SaaS and, after writing all I had to say about it, I realised that my new ideas were repetitive, so I decided to pause a bit.
• pravenj 4y ago
  I wrote and made collection of stuff, but literally nobody read in last few years. Realized blogging (or making anything on the web) comes with a lot of marketing. Hence found text files to be better for note to oneself.
• 8589934591 4y ago
  Just don't find the time. I use emacs as my editor and it's slighty limiting where I can write my thoughts quickly.
• nancymiller 4y ago
  [dead]
• THENATHE 4y ago
  Even if I wrote a wildly engaging, interesting, and informative blog... who would read it? Im not about to go out and market it, so it would just sit, undiscovered, dusty, and never read by anyone but me.