I've been a professional C, Perl, PHP and Python developer.
I'm an ex-sysadmin.
Back in the day, I had a geekcode which I'm not going to share with you.
418 I'm a teapot.
I'm only going to drive-by comment here to talk about phrasing. A lot of articles here make the same assumption - that users of the site are only reading it because they want to have lots of numbers next to their names.
I'm not here for that, and I'm sure I'm not alone. I throw occasional articles at the wall and some of them stick. I sometimes put in more effort, and I sometimes get reactions. But I don't see it as a failure when I don't: I'm not trying to build a brand, make new friends or launch my career as a Typescript influencer.
You might say, "that's fine, in that case this article isn't for you"; I say using words like, "fault" for people who don't have a lot of magic Internet points is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Accessibility First DevRel. I focus on ensuring content created, events held and company assets are as accessible as possible, for as many people as possible.
There are a lot of things in this article that I think I could have prefaced better and there are key points where I address stuff (but it is a massive article).
However I think I can stand by what I said with some confidence (but I certainly am considering how I can improve the message).
But, with all that being said, there is a key factor that is less tangible: does asking questions and creating listicles help your "personal brand", does it help build up your authority in a subject? Probably not.
Long term, that personal brand value does start to add up and results in opportunities and meaningful conversations. If that is what you really want from your writing then focus on that and ignore the numbers.
I know it is 2 paragraphs in a gigantic article but that is certainly right for people who write for enjoyment. But at that point you aren't bothered about growth so much.
I will stand by "fault" as it is your fault if you don't grow, but I certainly cover that as "it isn't necessarily a bad thing" in several places. In fact I end with it...
In summary: if you aren't growing it is your fault, it is down to choices you make. That is not saying those choices are bad, but you certainly need to put in the effort and adjust your content creation if views and growth are your primary concern. Once you reach a certain size, pivot to writing more and more content you want to see, you should hopefully have the community around you at that point to support it!
As for blame, I take the blame for the poor structure of this article meaning some of the message I was trying to make is being lost! It is a lesson in practicing what you preach and I wrote this article on a whim and without structuring it first.
Hopefully there is still enough value in the rest of the article that you still enjoyed it though ❤
I've been a professional C, Perl, PHP and Python developer.
I'm an ex-sysadmin.
Back in the day, I had a geekcode which I'm not going to share with you.
418 I'm a teapot.
I'm only going to drive-by comment here to talk about phrasing. A lot of articles here make the same assumption - that users of the site are only reading it because they want to have lots of numbers next to their names.
I'm not here for that, and I'm sure I'm not alone. I throw occasional articles at the wall and some of them stick. I sometimes put in more effort, and I sometimes get reactions. But I don't see it as a failure when I don't: I'm not trying to build a brand, make new friends or launch my career as a Typescript influencer.
You might say, "that's fine, in that case this article isn't for you"; I say using words like, "fault" for people who don't have a lot of magic Internet points is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
There are a lot of things in this article that I think I could have prefaced better and there are key points where I address stuff (but it is a massive article).
However I think I can stand by what I said with some confidence (but I certainly am considering how I can improve the message).
I know it is 2 paragraphs in a gigantic article but that is certainly right for people who write for enjoyment. But at that point you aren't bothered about growth so much.
I will stand by "fault" as it is your fault if you don't grow, but I certainly cover that as "it isn't necessarily a bad thing" in several places. In fact I end with it...
As for blame, I take the blame for the poor structure of this article meaning some of the message I was trying to make is being lost! It is a lesson in practicing what you preach and I wrote this article on a whim and without structuring it first.
Hopefully there is still enough value in the rest of the article that you still enjoyed it though ❤
I always enjoy your articles :)