[lethain]

I've been blogging for about 16 years. Writing is an underrated way to cement what you learn any given day or year, and over time has made it possible to reach into any part of the industry and get an actual response. Writing is particularly powerful in combination with actually doing things that (are perceived to) matter; the credibility from doing both is much higher than doing either.

Concretely answering the questions asked:

1. At various points I spent a lot of time maintaining, but now it's just a static blog deployed via Github Actions onto a Github Page. I haven't done any meaningful changes in a few years, and the changes are for fun, not necessity

2. I got my first job in tech thanks to blogging: https://lethain.com/datahub/

3. My blogging has made it possible to write two pretty successful books: https://staffeng.com/book/ and https://press.stripe.com/an-elegant-puzzle (working on a third now)

4. Hard to assess, but I believe I've been able to subtly but meaningfully advance the technology industry through my writing :-)

5. A significant majority of folks are unaware that I write, and that's great! I don't think impact depends on folks connecting their colleague to the writer or whatnot

[corysama]

> Writing is nature's way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is.

- Dick Guindon

[precompute]

I like how you have no filler or cruft on your blog posts, and jump straight to the topic. I went on a "binge" of your blog a year and half ago and left with a lot of actionable advice. Thank you!

[cushychicken]

I try to read your new posts when I get the chance.

Half the time, I find them really interesting and an interesting perspective on corporate psychology.

The other half of the time, I read them and have no idea what you’re talking about, which leads me to worry that my trajectory in my engineering career is doomed to insignificance, because I never have any of these meetings with execs or high level people like the ones you describe.

Do you have any guidance for people like me, in the second scenario?

[benclauss]

Your writing is awesome! I have followed your blog for a while now and have recommended it to my team.

[kanyethegreat]

Love your writing, Will. Have both of your books!