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so I made a blog |
2024-11-20 18:39:22 -0700 |
me |
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So here we are. I made a blog.
I can't remember all the times that I've read about the upsides of writing a professional blog, but I've heard it enough that at this point I consider it typical modern advice. The basic idea iiuc is that it's a tool for connecting with others in your field, growing your "brand", and demonstrating how you work.
This advice generally didn't appeal to me for a couple reasons.
- I'm not super professionally-oriented in how I think. I.e., I like to do math and coding because it's fun, not because I want some big company to help me play make-number-bigger simulator with my bank account. (But also it's hard to turn away from big-tech money.)
- I've never felt important enough to have my words heard. "Why should anyone want to hear what I have to say? I'm just one person, I'm not working on anything earth-shattering, this is just amateur work. This isn't interesting enough to have a whole platform." These were the kinds of thoughts I'd have.
However, I also remember working on projects in the past, in particular when I was out of work living in my mother's basement (okay it wasn't the basement that's not the point), insistent that I would work my way towards a programming job through personal projects. While I did eventually succeed in that after ~3 years, I experienced a deep depression in the process with which I only now, ~5 years later, have (nearly) ceased grappling.
What I now realize (aside from needing to be more practical with how I approach professional development) is this:
Even if the stuff I work on is not important, finding a way to communicate it is.
Being able to share my work in a meaningful way, even if just with personal friends, adds a lot of value to the work itself. E.g., I think this is especially important for me now, having just quit a big-tech job and taking a break from employment for a bit.
So. Here we are.
I just want a place where I can put down & share thoughts. Likely this will be primarily coding process post-mortems, but I want to leave it open to other content as well.
I don't plan to write on any particular schedule; when I have content, time and energy, I'll write content.