Blogging and Technical Writing has become extremely popular these days. I think it's one of the few great things that emerged from this global pandemic. We had an almost infinite amount of time at home to do anything that we wanted to do. It created a new generation of aspiring developers and writers. We all know the importance of having a GitHub account to show your work. It is one of the best ways for a company to see your coding style. Furthermore it gives other developers an insight into the projects that you are working on.
Nonetheless blogging is seeing significant growth right now and this has opened up a new path for developers to get into the industry. Here are 8 reason why having a blog is as important as having a GitHub.
1. It is an insight into your personality
When you write you are projecting your thoughts and opinions into the world. In doing so it is quite easy for someone to understand your personality and what makes you unique. One of the main interview stages that a candidate has to get through is the culture fit interview. They company and your potential team wants to know what you would be like to work with. Blogging is an amazing way for you to show to the world what type of person you are.
And as a bonus every person that you engage with shows how good you are when it comes to connecting with other people and getting your point across. These are skills that every great developer should have.
2. You can learn about someones coding style
This point is more applicable if you are writing tutorials or courses with lots of code snippets. Something that you need to realise is that usually when you are on the job market it is recruiters and hiring managers that will be approaching you. Unless they are a developer or have that type of background then they won't really understand how you created the projects on your GitHub.
However most people know how to read so it would be significantly easier for them to read through an article that you have written instead. Even if they don't understand it 100% it is still far simpler to digest. And if they do happen to be a developer then reading through something that you have written which relates to the job you are applying for will score you bonus points.
3. The bar to entry is super low
If you are a beginner when it comes to programming then creating apps that go beyond the simple generic to do app could be quite challenging. Whereas writing an article requires little more than words. We are all used to typing, talking over IM or even writing tweets. So we have the skills to be a writer already.
If you are able to get your point across well in something you write then it will make it easy for people to understand you. Putting together a few articles requires less effort than creating some apps from scratch. In this fast moving world speed matters and the more of your content you get out there the more opportunities that will come your way.
4. The appeal is significantly wider
Let's face it not everyone is tech savvy and you can't expect everyone to understand work that you are doing. This is extremely true with GitHub if you are not working in the tech industry then it does not really resonate with you. It's the complete opposite when it comes to writing. So long as you are writing articles that cater to a larger audience pool then you are likely to get more attention.
Not all articles need to be about programming. You can write about personal development and motivation too for example.
5. The community is super active
There are blogging communities everywhere these days. Hashnode, DEV and Medium are probably three of the most popular ones right now. This is a really fast way to get into the industry and connect with likeminded people.
6. It can be a passive income stream
Getting paid to write is an amazing feeling. Just knowing that your words are heard by hundreds or thousands of people really can be life changing. Check out this article Get Paid to Write for These 45+ Websites by Olubisi Idris Ayinde.
7. You get better at writing documentation
Reading and writing documentation is a skill that really levels up your coding game. The ability to create something that other people can follow and learn from is a gift that has no end. It also has the added bonus of giving you another soft skill that increases your chances of getting hired.
8. It shows a timeline of progression
On GitHub you can see how active someone has been and how many projects they have on their GitHub sorted by date. With this information you can see a timeline of how they have developed and honed their skills over the years. The same rule can applying to blogging as well.
For example in my case my articles started off simple as I was still learning my way and figuring out the best way to code. My most recent articles are much clearer and I have refined the way that I write tutorials and guides.
Final Thoughts
I really hope that you enjoyed reading this article and learned something from it. As a content creator and technical writer I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and helping other people reach their goals. Let's connect across social media you can find all of my social media profiles and blogs on linktree.
Peace ✌️
Top comments (26)
Awesome piece, I couldn't agree more! The only thing I might add is that Dzone is also a great website for blogging/technical writing. You might consider checking them out - I personally post there and have found them to have a strong developer community.
It's a great point and one that certain old timers like myself have used, the point that most people miss is make your content poignant and interesting. After awhile you can tend to run out of ideas, I started my first online postings more than 20 years ago and kept it up for a few then go back now and again. Long term being able to keep it up is what can help focus you, and making the time as blogging, especially if you plan to do many (once or many times per week) can take more time than one a month. Set yourself an achievable goal and make sure you leave time for edits, rarely does one create an illuminating and polished post the first time.
Yes consistency is key.
I run two blogs.
Each attracts a very different audience.
I have a nerdy blog, and a personal blog.
Also, if you want to stand out from the crowd, do a customer WP theme, that you wrote yourself, or better, don't use WP
what's the full form of wp
WordPress
As someone who has been playing with the idea of starting a programming blog, this article is a nice reminder of the benefits to having one.
First post is the hardest it seems.
You are absolutely right! I prefer to use medium because it has a simple and fast space and also can not be each other, But dev.to is not as professional as the medium and is just a community to talk and connect with each other
Medium is great for getting noticed. Ever since I started adding some of my articles to publications my following has grown a lot on there.
I learnt to setup and host a WordPress while I was studying I.T and found blogging and managing it to be a drag. I find writing articles and technical documentation painfully boring, words won't just come like that if I'm not enjoying what I'm doing. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert who doesn't care about connecting with other people and would rather just code instead of writing. I just do and learn what I like.
I'm an introvert too and enjoying it. Maybe you just need a spark or that ah ha moment 😉
Hello, have you used, or use any notes app? Like notion?
Yes Notion is amazing!
Nice, how do you use it?
I use it to manage my projects and life administration. Goals, tasks, projects, finances etc...
Because Its help you for explanation to someone whose is newbie.
Got me into serious thinking. I should get in a habit of writing blogs. Thanks for sharing ❤️.
Yes please do the more writers the better!
100% agree with this. It’s amazing to think that out of all the skills that my mum taught me, writing well and touch typing are still so useful!
It's a free skill and we can all do it.