Metablogging 0
risk.
I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a {technical, personal} blog for a long time. In the past, I often wrote up some stuff, especially for the former. I still have old drafts of posts detailing my solutions to problems, or accounts of “quirky” things I did, or notes I created for school or friends.
Yet, none ever really saw the light of day. I never published anything, or at least beyond a limited audience. And if it was so hard to even write about (or justify writing about) technical subjects that are far removed from the human behind the screen, then personal writings were definitely out of the question.
It’s somewhat scary putting oneself out there for a public audience, or to think about why one would want to say something to the faceless public. Since things online stay forever, there’s an urge to sanitise the the things said, make them more palatable, and refrain from thinking out loud.
reward.
Why do people blog anyway? Some reasons I can think of:
- an excuse to write about subjects they’re excited about
- track their own growth and learning
- (how digital natives socialize) interact with people (fans?)
- monetization. ads.
- personal branding. job hunting.
Or maybe there isn’t a reason that people blog at all. Maybe, people just do it because they think it’s cool. Or fun. Or saw other people doing it.
What’s my reason, though? What do I even have to say that’s worth taking a risk to say?
rebalancing.
Nevertheless, while I wouldn’t think blindly writing nonsense isn’t worth the time/effort, living in fear of doing so could be worse (what are the ratios of nonsense to some-sense anyway?). Personally, weighting the two considerations equally probably isn’t the best way to maximise my expected output, and despite the lack of much apparent immediate utility, maybe it’s time to readjust the multipliers in the calculus (in preparation for the future).
(not a guarantee of more timely posts)