Someone asked me why I write blog posts. So, let's write a blog post about why I write blog posts!
#Reason 1: I forget things
As a developer, you learn lots of new things every day. But my memory has limited capacity, so I also forget a lot of things. One solution is to dump part of my knowledge into blog posts. Also, as my blog is public, I can then use my favorite search engine to find things when needed.
Note that this is not the only way to do it. For instance, I store many code snippets on GitHub, such as in the Meziantou.Framework project. I also have private projects and gists for things I don't want to share publicly.
#Reason 2: I want to learn new things
Writing provides an opportunity to learn and confirm your understanding of a topic. Explaining something effectively requires a deep understanding of it; if you struggle to explain it clearly, it likely indicates gaps in your understanding. Therefore, writing a blog post often reveals what you still need to learn about a subject matter. Thus, writing serves as a tool for both learning new concepts and solidifying existing knowledge.
#Reason 3: I don't want to repeat myself
People often ask me technical questions. I don't want to repeat myself. So, I write blog posts and then I can share a link to the right blog post or copy/paste the interesting part of it. Also, I can update the blog post if needed to keep the content up-to-date. Being able to update the content is important, that's why I prefer to write on my own website rather than on another platform.
Write once and share many times!
I strongly recommend reading this post from Scott Hanselman: Do they deserve the gift of your keystrokes?
Side note: I also have a private repository with answers to questions I don't want to share publicly. Not everything should be public. I know other people who use OneNote or other note-taking apps for this purpose.
#Reason 4: Help other developers
Since my website is accessible to the public, people can discover answers to their questions without needing to ask me directly. Many times, coworkers have informed me that they've found solutions on my blog. This saves me from having to repeatedly answer their inquiries, allowing me to assist fellow developers efficiently without additional time investment.
#Reason 5: Improve writing skills
Writing regularly helped me improve my writing skills. I'm not a native English speaker, and I'm still learning. I'm sure you noticed that I'm not a great writer. I'm sorry about that. I'm doing my best to improve my writing skills!
#Want to start writing?
Be sure to know why you want to write blog posts. This will help you know what to write and how to write it. For instance, if you write only for yourself, you don't need to spend time on the presentation. If you write for others, you need to spend more time on the presentation. If you want to write for beginners, you need to explain the basics. If you want to write for experts, you can skip the basics.
If you think the topic of your posts is too niche, don't worry. There are always people interested in the topic.
Don't forget that it's better to write something than nothing. You can always improve your post later.
If you want to write content, don't wait for the perfect moment. Just do it! Buy a domain, and start writing. You can host your content for free on GitHub Pages, Azure Static Web Apps, Cloudflare Pages or any static site hosting, or you can use WordPress. If you need something more complex, you can still move your content elsewhere later. As long as you own the domain, you can transparently move your content anywhere later.
Do you have a question or a suggestion about this post? Contact me!
