> real work This is a a very "programmer" view of the world that the work is when code is being produced, and everything else (especially anything involving pe

> real work This is a a very "programmer" view of the world that the work is when code is being produced, and everything else (especially anything involving people) is not actually productive. You can have enormous impact with that other form of work. Marketing is huge, even for open source projects, even hobby projects. It very directly affects your ability to have an impact on the world. If you do zero marketing, the only impact you have is what you do with your hands, which is not a lot in most cases. Blogging and talking about what I do (=marketing) has opened doors to the extent that I've been able to quit my job and do full time work on what was once a zany hobby project to pass the time during covid isolation. That is, investing some time in marketing in the past let me spend more time "working" on code in the present. The impact has been kind of insane. I've been in The New Yorker because of this. I've done radio interviews. Nothing of this would have happened if I wasn't constantly writing about my projects, constantly making rings on the water stretching farther and farther out. It takes a while to get going and pick up momentum, but the accumulated effect can get very strong. This is marketing. It doesn't have to be shallow and corporate and SEO optimized and pestering users for newsletter subscriptions. It can be authentic and personal... but it's still marketing. If anything, that's the best sort of marketing. I believe what I write, I stick to my principles and I'm not trying to bullshit anyone. That stuff shines through.