5 ms·

OK I will be the party-pooper this time. Blogging is a waste of time. You see a website with 100 blog posts. That could easily be 1000 hours of work. And then

OK I will be the party-pooper this time. Blogging is a waste of time. You see a website with 100 blog posts. That could easily be 1000 hours of work. And then if you ask such person if he/she gained something from it the answer will be of course. The relevant question should be - was it worth the effort? Could they have gotten the same thing with less effort in some other way? When/if you are starting to blog you should make your goal clear. Are you blogging to get some money and side income? - there are better ways to achieve this. Are you blogging to advertise something? - there are better ways. Are you blogging for vanity and fame? - there are better ways. Are you blogging to create notes for your future self so you do not forget something? - there are better ways. In my opinion there are very few goals where "having a blog" is the right answer.

KronisLV 4y ago
> In my opinion there are very few goals where "having a blog" is the right answer. My blog has sections for articles and tutorials, even a section for documenting how broken a lot of the software out there is and I'd say that overall it's been a pleasant experience throughout the years. On one hand, it helps me jot down how to do certain things in a structured way, other times to practice expressing my views and experiences in a reasonably structured way and to just get better at writing. I recall someone saying the following in a conference, which stuck with me (paraphrasing): "If you write something down and nobody ever reads it, those keypresses are sort of wasted." So, I occasionally write. A lot of it is sub par but has resulted in a few job offers (which I admittedly didn't take at the time), or just nice e-mail conversations with other people. Here's a brief look at the blog: https://blog.kronis.dev/ https://blog.kronis.dev/ As for personal sites, while I don't see myself having one of those super artistic portfolio sites that some lovely people out there do, I at least have a way of writing down some of the things that I've worked on over the years, my views, others' feedback and so on: https://kronis.dev/ https://kronis.dev/ Is it a super optimized and effective way at getting income, job interviews, clout or whatever people care about? Not really. Could someone call it a waste? Sure, but then again, a lot of the stuff we do as human beings is a bit of a waste when you think about it: watching shows or entertainment videos online, playing videos games, looking at memes, working on side projects that nobody will ever see and so on. Sometimes it's nice to spend time on something that feels almost therapeutic in a way. Not everything needs to be perfect or optimized all the time, or even have a "right answer". The comfiness of it all actually reminds me of this article "An app can be a home-cooked meal": https://www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-cooked-app/ https://www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-cooked-app/
- MrVandemar 4y ago
  > I recall someone saying the following in a conference, which stuck with me (paraphrasing): "If you write something down and nobody ever reads it, those keypresses are sort of wasted." Only if you are looking at objective contribution to the world/conversation. What you don't see, and is not measurable by clicks or page-views or any other kind of real metric, is how you changed yourself by writing. As others have notice, when you write something, your are practicing -- no, developing -- your writing and language skills and you are re-inforcing your understanding of the subject (why do you think teachers made you write essays at school/uni/college? Not so they can grade you, but so you learn).
throwwwaway69 4y ago
What if I'm blogging to demonstrate knowledge and thought around professional topics with the intent to help demonstrate to future employers I know what I'm talking about?
- kkoncevicius 4y ago
  I would bet that the potential future employer would be more impressed by your ability to make and solve things, rather than talk about them. So unless you will be applying for a teaching or writing position it would be safer to use your knowledge for starting projects and creating a portfolio.
  - throwwwaway69 4y ago
    I'm in product management (though a former engineer). You're right that knowing the tools and how to apply them is definitely meaningful. But I also have to demonstrate that I know more than just the use of tools. And unless I want to build out 20 different projects, I feel like writing about the application rather than just doing the implementation is the best path forward with my limited time
ilyt 4y ago
Back when I blogged it was mostly "I did a thing, I want to put notes about the thing somewhere, might as well make a blog post out of it". And it came handy a bunch of times. Why not personal notes but a blog ? Coz I can link it to co-worker
MrVandemar 4y ago
> You see a website with 100 blog posts. That could easily be 1000 hours of work. It could also easily be 1,000 hours of learning. > In my opinion there are very few goals where "having a blog" is the right answer. Self improvement is one of the top reasons to have one, and while there are other ways to work towards that particular goal, it's an entirely valid approach. You raise a definite point though, and when starting a blog you probably should carefully examine your reasons and expectations.

KronisLV 4y ago

> In my opinion there are very few goals where "having a blog" is the right answer. My blog has sections for articles and tutorials, even a section for documenting how broken a lot of the software out there is and I'd say that overall it's been a pleasant experience throughout the years. On one hand, it helps me jot down how to do certain things in a structured way, other times to practice expressing my views and experiences in a reasonably structured way and to just get better at writing. I recall someone saying the following in a conference, which stuck with me (paraphrasing): "If you write something down and nobody ever reads it, those keypresses are sort of wasted." So, I occasionally write. A lot of it is sub par but has resulted in a few job offers (which I admittedly didn't take at the time), or just nice e-mail conversations with other people. Here's a brief look at the blog: https://blog.kronis.dev/ https://blog.kronis.dev/ As for personal sites, while I don't see myself having one of those super artistic portfolio sites that some lovely people out there do, I at least have a way of writing down some of the things that I've worked on over the years, my views, others' feedback and so on: https://kronis.dev/ https://kronis.dev/ Is it a super optimized and effective way at getting income, job interviews, clout or whatever people care about? Not really. Could someone call it a waste? Sure, but then again, a lot of the stuff we do as human beings is a bit of a waste when you think about it: watching shows or entertainment videos online, playing videos games, looking at memes, working on side projects that nobody will ever see and so on. Sometimes it's nice to spend time on something that feels almost therapeutic in a way. Not everything needs to be perfect or optimized all the time, or even have a "right answer". The comfiness of it all actually reminds me of this article "An app can be a home-cooked meal": https://www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-cooked-app/ https://www.robinsloan.com/notes/home-cooked-app/

MrVandemar 4y ago
> I recall someone saying the following in a conference, which stuck with me (paraphrasing): "If you write something down and nobody ever reads it, those keypresses are sort of wasted." Only if you are looking at objective contribution to the world/conversation. What you don't see, and is not measurable by clicks or page-views or any other kind of real metric, is how you changed yourself by writing. As others have notice, when you write something, your are practicing -- no, developing -- your writing and language skills and you are re-inforcing your understanding of the subject (why do you think teachers made you write essays at school/uni/college? Not so they can grade you, but so you learn).

throwwwaway69 4y ago

What if I'm blogging to demonstrate knowledge and thought around professional topics with the intent to help demonstrate to future employers I know what I'm talking about?

kkoncevicius 4y ago
I would bet that the potential future employer would be more impressed by your ability to make and solve things, rather than talk about them. So unless you will be applying for a teaching or writing position it would be safer to use your knowledge for starting projects and creating a portfolio.
- throwwwaway69 4y ago
  I'm in product management (though a former engineer). You're right that knowing the tools and how to apply them is definitely meaningful. But I also have to demonstrate that I know more than just the use of tools. And unless I want to build out 20 different projects, I feel like writing about the application rather than just doing the implementation is the best path forward with my limited time

ilyt 4y ago

Back when I blogged it was mostly "I did a thing, I want to put notes about the thing somewhere, might as well make a blog post out of it". And it came handy a bunch of times. Why not personal notes but a blog ? Coz I can link it to co-worker

MrVandemar 4y ago

> You see a website with 100 blog posts. That could easily be 1000 hours of work. It could also easily be 1,000 hours of learning. > In my opinion there are very few goals where "having a blog" is the right answer. Self improvement is one of the top reasons to have one, and while there are other ways to work towards that particular goal, it's an entirely valid approach. You raise a definite point though, and when starting a blog you probably should carefully examine your reasons and expectations.