Starting a technical blog in 2025
Table of content
Introduction
For more than 2 years now, I've had the idea to start my own website and publish content on it, but I haven’t made the first step as I was uncertain about the value it would bring to others and myself.
As time passed and I gained more experience over the two additional years, I finally realized it was time to jump in and embark on this journey, hoping to share relevant and interesting content.
Why
There are a few reasons why I started blogging this year.
First, I wanted to share my thoughts on technologies I love and those I truly dislike, which I plan to explore in future posts. Additionally, I aim to provide solutions to common challenges faced during my daily job.
The second reason is that I want to have a place where I can share my knowledge and also with my future self, as it should be easy to access this blog from anywhere when I need it. This could also be a place to share knowledge with my colleagues, even if we still want to have an internal knowledge-sharing platform (that we actually care about…).
The third reason is that it could help me gain the motivation to explore things I do not do during my job and enable me to share what I also do at work (when possible). Finally, I think it might also help in showcasing my experience to get new opportunities throughout my career.
As a side motivation boost, as I considered beginning this endeavor, I also discovered the book "Writing for Developers" by Piotr Sarna and Cynthia Dunlop, which I began reading alongside the blog. I still have to read the final chapters of it, focusing on additional challenges, such as presenting at a conference or writing a book.
I'll share my thoughts on the book later below.
What
The general idea here is that I will try to provide interesting tips, anecdotes, or rants about what I use or learn at work (and outside of it), while also consolidating my learning. There might be other posts on different topics, but only time will tell which ones I'll feel motivated enough to write.
Of course, initially, the posts I create may be rough around the edges; they might lack sufficient detail, or perhaps contain too much. However, I hope that with more writing, the content will become smoother and more refined.
In summary, I want this blog to become a space where I can teach and learn new things, as well as offer guidance on various topics.
So far, I'm not sure if blogging is something I'll continue in the long run, but I suppose I'll find out as I explore this practice further.
Writing for Developers
While the book offers a solid understanding of what blogging is, and what it isn't for developers, I believe it holds more value for those considering starting a blog or those in doubt about their writing abilities. For individuals who already maintain established technical blogs, the book's value might be somewhat limited. That being said, there may still be some tips and ideas they can apply to increase the reach of their blogs.
Without going into too much detail, there are a few takeaways that I have from the book.
The main takeaway is the idea that writing for developers is an effective way to gain recognition, open up new opportunities, and overcome imposter syndrome, at least somewhat. By writing and sharing your knowledge, you will hopefully reach those who are interested in what you wrote for various reasons. In the ideal scenario, you receive constructive criticism, assist others facing similar challenges, or learn new insights from the diverse comments and feedback provided by your audience. Of course, you may also encounter unconstructive criticism, especially if you inadvertently sparked controversy over a technology or methodological approach that was misapplied or criticized excessively.
The book offers extensive explanations about why it is still relevant to share your thoughts and experiences, alongside examples of what to do and what not to do, as well as expectations when posting content online.
If I were to provide somewhat negative feedback on the book, my critique would be that I'd prefer fewer examples, perhaps with a deeper analysis of these instances. Additionally, interviewing blog authors could offer insights into their thoughts on the entire process, from writing the post to engaging with comments and criticism. Incorporating their insights would offer significant depth in crafting targeted content.
Would I have started blogging without reading the book? Most likely, as I had some goals in mind, but I probably would have made a lot of mistakes that the book highlighted and provided alternatives for.
Further research
While developing this blog, I researched various online resources to understand the best practices and strategies for promoting blogs. Most of the time, the advice is about SEO optimization, backlinks, and establishing a community.
A frequently asked question is “Is it too late to start blogging?” or even more directly, “Blogging is dead.”
Generally speaking, it seems most successful individuals in this field believe it’s not too late and that blogging remains valuable. However, gaining visibility has become more challenging due to fierce competition in certain areas and the rising prominence of AI.
There appears to be a noticeable shift in how traffic is driven to blogs since the start of the year, due to major search engines providing AI-generated content at the top of their search results, resulting in fewer clicks on actual blog posts.
Conclusion
From all the different sources I've been skimming through over the past month, they all seem to agree that blogging is worthwhile if you're considering starting. So, jump into this journey as I just did. What's the worst that could happen? Even if your blog is not "successful" and does not reach every soul on the planet, you could gain new insights while preserving your knowledge beyond just memory (unless you're already documenting it in some other form). You may still connect with others, enhancing your understanding and benefiting from their appreciation of your insights.
And, in the event that blogging isn't for you, consider doing it personally, through journals or conversations. Perhaps now isn't the right moment for you, however, it might change along the way.
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