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by lambdaxyzw 746 days ago
Strong disagree.

>it's a poor use of my time.

You state this as a fact, but it's it really true? Is "a years-deep backlog of papercut bugfixes" really that important? I don't think so, the bugs have waited for 4 years already, they can wait another year.

In contrast, good technical blog posts bring actual value to the world. You share your hard earned knowledge with others[1] - imagine how much poorer the world (or HN frontpage) would be if nobody wrote blog posts.

Blog posts also bring marketing value to your company (way more value than fixing the css bug in privacy policy that was filed 3 years ago), and bring value to you (by allowing you to self-promote).

I'm not saying everyone should write - I do it because I like it, and my job is in large part research so I have insights/stories to share. But claiming you don't do it because it's a poor use of your time is - in my opinion - an excuse .

[1] Assuming you have something to write about, instead of writing yet another post about a well covered topic, like "introduction to C++". In this case I agree, that - unless your approach is really novel - it's pointless.

2 comments

> Blog posts also bring marketing value to your company

there's an european engineering firm doing amazing work and they attract amazing engineers because, in part, they document their work via some youtube videos that rival the quality of most documentaries out there. fascinating work and fascinating videos. if anyone is looking for a video to watch today the drilling one and the moving bridge one are great https://www.youtube.com/@MartiGroup

Think of how many bugs would be fixed if people did work instead of reading blog posts. A good, relevant book beats 100 isolated blog posts.
A book is a huge amount to write and will probably be outdated in a few years. Generally speaking, blogs probably have a lot more bang for the buck than most books. (Yes, there are exceptions and books/big reports have a certain "thunk factor" and perhaps outsized halo effect than blogs but I'm skeptical as someone who has done a bunch of both.)