[HN Gopher] Some Blogging Myths
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Some Blogging Myths
Author : GavinAnderegg
Score : 47 points
Date : 2023-06-05 19:12 UTC (3 hours ago)
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| snewman wrote:
| Great post. I'll propose one more "myth": _writing a blog doesn
| 't benefit you personally, except by drawing attention_. I've
| found that writing about a topic can also be a great way to
| solidify your own thinking on that topic. There ideas that I've
| understood much better after blogging about them. Basically,
| you're using the entire Internet as your "rubber duck".
| z3t4 wrote:
| About the "posts need to be 100% correct", I sometimes read
| through my old blog posts and find a bunch of errors. If it was a
| post on HN you can no longer edit it, but if it's your own blog
| you can just edit and make corrections! Sometimes I add a note
| like "Me from the future..." it feels like time travel.
| SeenNotHeard wrote:
| > I still don't know if all of those statements are true (is it
| true that PHP programs can't have long-lived persistent TCP
| connections? maybe not!)
|
| They can, depending on how the PHP program is coded. PHP even
| supports non-blocking I/O.
| zabzonk wrote:
| i wrote blogs simply becauase i enjoy writing and having fun, and
| i would have thought that is the primary motivator for most
| bloggers. and i really enjoyed writing training courses. given up
| now because of health and other problems.
|
| a couple of mine:
|
| https://latedev.wordpress.com/
|
| https://punchlet.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/hello-world/
| gavinhoward wrote:
| I'm a blogger too, not as famous as Julia, but I'm too famous for
| my tastes. [1] [2] [3] [4]
|
| I agree with Julia's points perfectly! In fact, some of those
| four posts were "boring" (I thought), but got a lot of traffic.
|
| I just want to add two more myths that are unfortunately pushed
| in today's clickbait culture.
|
| _Myth: You need to make your posts clickbait._
|
| One of the posts linked about used clickbait-ish titles
| ("Considered Harmful"), but they weren't _very_ clickbait-ish in
| general. Yes, my thesis may have been opposite of mainstream, but
| I don 't think the titles were clickbait.
|
| _Myth: You need to make your posts appeal to people 's emotions,
| i.e., make them ragebait or similar._
|
| Those four posts are my highest traffic posts on HN, and they
| were all level-headed posts.
|
| I had an earlier version of my "Considered Harmful" post, and it
| was ragebait, but it didn't get much traffic (thank goodness!).
|
| Be constructive.
|
| I think if there's a theme to Julia's points, it's that: be
| constructive and useful. Sometimes, that means being boring.
| Sometimes it means having a short post, sometimes a long one.
| Sometimes, it means repeating something. Sometimes, it means
| skipping concepts.
|
| My $0.02.
|
| [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34662666
|
| [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30965805
|
| [3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28736238
|
| [4]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29671325
| GavinAnderegg wrote:
| Julia Evans is a better blogger than I'll ever be, but I've been
| trying to get back into blogging. These tips are great, and all
| things I need to keep in mind. "You need to be original" and
| "writing boring posts is bad" are two thoughts that often keep me
| from writing on a subject.
| pncnmnp wrote:
| I am facing a similar dilemma. Lately, I have been writing
| about data structures and the "original" aspect has really
| taken over my writing. Breaking down the content into a
| readable format and complementing it with intuitive figures can
| become a challenge. I have two almost-ready drafts sitting on
| my computer, but I cannot gather the courage to post them as I
| feel like they might be missing more analysis. I am not sure if
| this is necessarily good or bad. I have been trying to treat my
| blog as something I enjoy, with content that will still be
| relevant in a decade or so. Perhaps, I need to take Julia's
| advice and write more boring posts, like some of my favorite
| things in my bashrc.
| Minor49er wrote:
| Maybe you ought to adjust the approach. Rather than have a
| complete and finished reference now, post what you have so
| far to show what you have been trying. Someone may reach out
| with additional insight. Though whether or not you get any
| feedback at this stage, it can lead up to a post that covers
| everything that you want once it's ready
|
| You can always edit old posts or just create follow-ups and
| link them together. Or just keep it as an open topic that you
| periodically post smaller updates on
| mattrighetti wrote:
| > writing boring posts is bad
|
| This is highly subjective, what you think is boring might be
| super interesting to another person.
| didgetmaster wrote:
| The mistake that too many people have, is thinking that your
| blog has to appeal to the masses. Unless it goes 'viral' and
| attracts millions of views they think it is a failure.
|
| Instead, focus on topics that might only be 'not boring' to a
| small subset of the population. HN tends to attract people
| with very particular interests. I often browse through a
| hundred or more posts before finding one that truly interests
| me.
|
| My own blog is dedicated to those who are passionate about
| data management. This is a small group indeed, but who cares
| if less than 1000 people read my posts. All it takes is a few
| to learn something meaningful from it to make it worthwhile.
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