Not a developer — I've shipped 20+ working internal tools with AI anyway. Writing the honest logbook of going from zero to shipped, for anyone who was told they couldn't code.
Lesson 2 is the one I'd underline. I started a month ago, 26 posts in, and the comments have been worth more than everything else combined — not for reach, but because strangers have found real bugs in my systems that I'd been staring past for weeks. Writing turned out to be the cheapest way to get audited by people who owe you nothing.
On lesson 3, I want to offer a friendly amendment rather than agreement, because I think "numbers don't define success" and "some numbers tell you something useful" can coexist. I got frustrated the same way you did — my posts weren't being seen — so yesterday I actually measured instead of guessing, using the public API. It turns out how fast a tag feed moves varies enormously: the ai tag gets roughly 47 new posts a day, so anything you publish there is off the first screen in about half a day. discuss gets around 14 a day and its posts average three times the reactions. I had been putting every single post under ai. My writing wasn't invisible because it was bad or because I was new — it was landing in the busiest room in the building.
So the version I'd add to your list: ignore the numbers that judge you, measure the ones that describe the room. Views judge; feed velocity describes. And on the English thing, since you mentioned it briefly and nobody picked it up — I'm not a native speaker either, and the odd thing I found is that writing in a second language made me slower and more concrete, which turned out to suit technical writing better than fluency would have. The friction wasn't the handicap I assumed it was.
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. I like what you said about "measure the ones that describe the room." I hadn't thought about it that way before, but it makes a lot of sense. It's a much healthier way to look at the numbers than treating them as a measure of whether you're doing well.
And I relate to what you said about writing in a second language. It's something I was really nervous about at first, but over time I've realized that people care much more about the ideas you're sharing than writing perfect English.
Also, "writing turned out to be the cheapest way to get audited by people who owe you nothing" is such a great line 😄 Thanks again for adding your own experience to the conversation.
Not a developer — I've shipped 20+ working internal tools with AI anyway. Writing the honest logbook of going from zero to shipped, for anyone who was told they couldn't code.
On the second-language thing — one more upside I didn't expect, specifically in comments rather than posts. Writing in English costs me enough effort that I never pad. Native speakers can soften a point with idiom and keep typing; I can't afford that, so what comes out is the shortest version of what I actually meant. Half the time that reads as directness I didn't intend but wouldn't take back.
Congratulations on three months and 26 of them. The Friday cadence is the part I'd find hardest — I've been going a month and already know that the week I don't want to write is the real test, so the fact that you took a week off and came back is probably the most useful thing in the whole post. 😄
Hey, I'm Hema 👋
Developer, writer, and creator of Dev Opportunity Radar, a weekly series published every Friday on DEV, helping people discover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
Thank you 😄 That was actually one of the hardest lessons for me to learn. I used to feel like I had to keep the momentum going, but taking that week off reminded me that it's much better to come back excited to write than to force it.
Wishing you all the best with your own writing journey too 😀
Not a developer — I've shipped 20+ working internal tools with AI anyway. Writing the honest logbook of going from zero to shipped, for anyone who was told they couldn't code.
That distinction — coming back excited versus keeping the streak — is one I haven't been tested on yet. A month in, the momentum is still doing the work for me, so I'm filing your answer away for the week it stops.
Thanks for the AMA, and good luck with the Friday cadence. 😄
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
Lesson 2 is the one I'd underline. I started a month ago, 26 posts in, and the comments have been worth more than everything else combined — not for reach, but because strangers have found real bugs in my systems that I'd been staring past for weeks. Writing turned out to be the cheapest way to get audited by people who owe you nothing.
On lesson 3, I want to offer a friendly amendment rather than agreement, because I think "numbers don't define success" and "some numbers tell you something useful" can coexist. I got frustrated the same way you did — my posts weren't being seen — so yesterday I actually measured instead of guessing, using the public API. It turns out how fast a tag feed moves varies enormously: the
aitag gets roughly 47 new posts a day, so anything you publish there is off the first screen in about half a day.discussgets around 14 a day and its posts average three times the reactions. I had been putting every single post underai. My writing wasn't invisible because it was bad or because I was new — it was landing in the busiest room in the building.So the version I'd add to your list: ignore the numbers that judge you, measure the ones that describe the room. Views judge; feed velocity describes. And on the English thing, since you mentioned it briefly and nobody picked it up — I'm not a native speaker either, and the odd thing I found is that writing in a second language made me slower and more concrete, which turned out to suit technical writing better than fluency would have. The friction wasn't the handicap I assumed it was.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. I like what you said about "measure the ones that describe the room." I hadn't thought about it that way before, but it makes a lot of sense. It's a much healthier way to look at the numbers than treating them as a measure of whether you're doing well.
And I relate to what you said about writing in a second language. It's something I was really nervous about at first, but over time I've realized that people care much more about the ideas you're sharing than writing perfect English.
Also, "writing turned out to be the cheapest way to get audited by people who owe you nothing" is such a great line 😄 Thanks again for adding your own experience to the conversation.
On the second-language thing — one more upside I didn't expect, specifically in comments rather than posts. Writing in English costs me enough effort that I never pad. Native speakers can soften a point with idiom and keep typing; I can't afford that, so what comes out is the shortest version of what I actually meant. Half the time that reads as directness I didn't intend but wouldn't take back.
Congratulations on three months and 26 of them. The Friday cadence is the part I'd find hardest — I've been going a month and already know that the week I don't want to write is the real test, so the fact that you took a week off and came back is probably the most useful thing in the whole post. 😄
Thank you 😄 That was actually one of the hardest lessons for me to learn. I used to feel like I had to keep the momentum going, but taking that week off reminded me that it's much better to come back excited to write than to force it.
Wishing you all the best with your own writing journey too 😀
That distinction — coming back excited versus keeping the streak — is one I haven't been tested on yet. A month in, the momentum is still doing the work for me, so I'm filing your answer away for the week it stops.
Thanks for the AMA, and good luck with the Friday cadence. 😄