My Brand New Blog

An Exercise in Futility?

Maybe it's the infinite hubris of a millennial or maybe its just that I doubt anyone will actually read this, but I found a few reasons to convince myself to do it anyway.

Why Even Have a Blog?

I thought about that question a lot before building this. Most blogs are out of date, under-maintained, new year's resolution-esque things that wither and die after a few entries. Why create something that has a high likelihood of being abandoned? Beyond that, how could I possibly think that anything I have to say is worth writing about? Maybe it's the infinite hubris of a millennial or maybe its just that I doubt anyone will actually read this, but I found a few reasons to convince myself to do it anyway.

I'm Already Writing Anyway

I've been in the habit of keeping a journal for a long time. I keep it for a lot of reasons: it helps me think aloud, it helps me recap my days, weeks, months, years, it teaches me about myself, it gives me perspective on why things did or didn't break my way. However, a journal, at least how I write mine, doesn't work well for giving a single topic more attention. I still write about topics that interest me, but diving in and exploring those topics fully isn't something that fits in a medium whose primary purpose is to record and reflect. A blog, on the other hand, is the perfect medium to write in-depth on a single topic. A blog also gives me the flexibility to write about any topic that's currently interesting me.

I'm also one of those people who think that writing is an essential skill that everyone should work to perfect. Honing your writing skills is a balancing act of getting to the point without losing clarity. It makes you realize what's important to communicate and the best way to express it. I think that even in our verbal or otherwise non-written communication, being a better writer will make you a better communicator. This blog gives me one more way to keep writing regularly.

Learn New Things

I believe that one of the best ways to truly learn something is to try to teach it to someone else. By going through the process of deconstructing a topic so that anyone can understand it, I get to the root of any assumptions and gaps in my knowledge. So whether it's reading an article about new tech or experimenting with it myself, writing out my thoughts and experiences should deepen and cement my understanding.

Keep Up To Date

Keeping up to date is similar to learning new things, but distinct enough to talk about. The tech industry moves quickly; it can be challenging to keep up with all the latest news and technology. We all have family, friends, hobbies, and more that vie for our time and attention. Adding extracurricular reading and research to our schedules can be difficult if not impossible. Committing to writing regularly on this blog means that I have to come up with topics for new posts which in turn should force me to keep my ear to the ground.

Cultivate A Professional Online Presence

Working in the technology industry is great for a lot of reasons, but it has its own set of drawbacks. For one, it's expected that I have a professional online presence. For a developer like me, this means a self-built website or portfolio, a GitHub account with contributions to open source projects, an active interest in technology blogs and news, an array of personal side projects, and more. It can be challenging to stay on top of all of it. A blog (and more broadly my main website which launched at the same time) will help channel and display all that effort. I'll be able to write about my personal projects, work, and interests all in the same place. It should also help motivate me to take on new projects so that I can add more content to my portfolio.

Another drawback is that my personal online presence is on display in the same spaces as my professional one. My generation has the great misfortune of being the first generation to have their immature teenage thoughts documented for all time. In the future, we'll be more accustomed to the idea that people grow and change and that their tweets and facebook posts from when they were 13 don't reflect who they are at 30. Unfortunately, it seems the two older generations don't fully understand the internet and how it upended societal norms. In that vein, I've been cleaning out my old social media posts. I've never been a rebel or a particularly outspoken person. There's nothing offensive or divisive in those long forgotten archives, but there are unquestionably some embarrassing moments on display.

All said and done, I'm really excited for the launch of the site and the blog. Let's get working!