mtlynch

32 ms·

1. 421.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   I don't trust the founder, and I don't want to do business with him. His previous company was called fomo, which added popups to ecommerce stores to manipulate users into buying by claiming that others had recently bought the same
2. 422.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   Maybe you can, but I haven't seen anyone do that. It is tricky because the cases are apparently glued shut, so you need to do some delicate surgery to access the screen without breaking the device.[0, 1] [0] https://blog.lid
3. 423.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   The Waveshare e-ink display he's using is $172.99.[0] The one that jgrahamc used in a sibling comment is about $200.[1] It's a shame that it's not easier to pull the e-ink displays out of used e-readers because you can buy ol
4. 424.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   > Imagine you're launching a book and you reckon if you get 100 pre-orders that means you'll be able to sell 10,000 books down the line. So you convince 100 of your mum's baking club friends to buy your book on SQL. See ho
5. 425.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   Author here. I'm not sure what you mean. How is a successful Kickstarter at odds with gauging customer interest in the book? Isn't the fact that customers paid money to pre-order the book a good indicator that there's a marke
6. 426.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   Thanks for reading! I think most of the top authors on the list actually do align with the techniques I mention here. Paul Graham doesn't, I agree. But a lot of the rest do. Krebs, Julia Evans, Dan Luu, John Gruber, and Simon Willison
7. 427.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   Yeah, that's true. I considered a Venn diagram, but I feel like those convey that the emphasis is on the overlap, whereas I actually just want concentric circles. I think the issue is more the top-level category. I should change it to
8. 428.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   > almost all of my front-page posts were no-headers! Those posts would all still be on the front page today if they had included headings! But really, I admit that this is my most subjective point. I feel like headings are helpful, but
9. 429.▲
   by mtlynch 2y ago

   > The link on your website says "Write Blog Posts that Developers Read". I'd have expected that to explain _why_ writing blog posts that developers read is worthwhile. The post is aimed at people who want their writing to
10. 430.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    You're kind of moving the goalposts. You went from "Images should above all never be funny," to "You get this jarring tonal whiplash when you add funny images to an otherwise serious text." Yeah, if a post's te
11. 431.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    > I guess I was getting at the fact that 99% of people won’t consistently hit high reader numbers. So to pick this as your goal, or starting point for an article, is dangerous because it just leads you to stop writing at some point. Oh,
12. 432.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    > And read it out loud! If you cannot, at least get an AI voice actor to read it for you. You catch so many more problems that way. Definitely agree. I initially included this in the article but I took it out because I wanted to limit t
13. 433.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Author here. Thanks for reading! > Counterpoint: writing blog posts so that they are read by someone else completely defeats the point of writing for 99% of people. I think it's totally fine for authors to write for themselves, but
14. 434.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! My advice for just starting out is to not worry too much about following all the right practices. The more important thing is to try the process start to finish of picking a topic, writing a draft, edit
15. 435.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Author here. Your comment suggests that you at least read the last section. : ) But still, that's headings and structure working as intended: You skimmed it, got a good sense of what it's about, and decided it wasn't for you.
16. 436.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks so much for reading and the kind words! I'm really glad to hear you've found the previous course valuable!
17. 437.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    I know you're kidding, but I think it's actually more nuanced. Jokes in HN comments typically don't play well if the whole point of the comment is to make a joke, but if you make a joke in service of a substantive point or at
18. 438.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks Jason! But haven't I pestered you about passive voice enough? You still want more? : )
19. 439.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Haha, none personally but maybe the photographer did. It's a free stock photo.[0] I hired an illustrator to design a custom cover for me, but the project went off the rails, as the artist was using AI in ways I disliked, so I ended up
20. 440.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    > So long as your article has a decent enough structure – which this article makes it seem is the only thing that matters. Author here. I hope I didn't give the impression that structure is all that matters, as that's not what
21. 441.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks for reading! > I'm curious, what is the motivation for moving into the content business? I'm certainly interested in this project, and will likely buy the book, etc, but I'm also somewhat disappointed to not see you
22. 442.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks for reading, Viktor! > I'm less bullish on images, unless they are profoundly relevant to the text. Illustrations for the sake of having illustrations are no bueno in my opinion. You want to reduce distractions and visual no
23. 443.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Author here. I'm happy to take any feedback or answer any questions about this post.
24. 444.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Thanks for reading! I get the sense that it's the topic more than the title. I think there's a lot of bad writing about blogging, so people have an allergic reaction. Is there an alternative title you suggest?
25. 445.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    That's okay! Coincidentally, I cover this in the post. FTA: > The point isn’t to write articles that appeal to every possible reader but to notice opportunities to reach a larger audience.
26. 446.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Author here. I'm happy to take any feedback or answer any questions about this post.
27. 447.▲
    How to Write Blog Posts That Developers Read(refactoringenglish.com)

    8 points by mtlynch 2y ago|6 comments
28. 448.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    That's a good idea. I've just implemented that. It doesn't change much, but it means less special-casing for universities.
29. 449.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    It's somewhat arbitrary, but the threshold where you're not allowed to resubmit a story on HN is if it reaches over 20 points. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but it was a few years ago when I asked why I couldn&#
30. 450.▲
    by mtlynch 2y ago

    Okay, updated! https://github.com/mtlynch/hn-popularity-contest-data/pull/4... But privately, I think of you as a security researcher, and there's nothing you can do about it. : ) Thanks for your writing