This is going to be a more personal post, exposing my entire personal branding strategy, or rather, the complete lack of one. ๐ If you're only here for technical content, feel free to keep scrolling. Maybe I'll write something technical later this week. I have no idea how many people will read this one โ maybe five โ but that's kind of the point!
I'm writing this post because it's just been a year since I started publishing here. My beautiful badge:
It has been a truly crazy year, during which I've had the enormous pleasure of earning your trust, and somehow ending it with stats like these. Thank you! โค๏ธ
@francistrdev suggested under one of his posts that I should tell the story of how I ended up on DEV. But I decided that deserved a separate post, preferably an anniversary one, because the story is definitely not the usual one. You see, I started a blog because I wanted... something to put on my "About Me" slide at a conference. ๐
But let's start from the beginning.
It Didn't Exactly Start at the Best Time
In the summer of 2025, I wasn't in a particularly good place mentally. The previous year had brought several very negative events in my personal life, which I don't want to write about publicly (but seriously, objectively speaking, things were pretty bad).
And then, as the final blow, I had to give up my beloved judo because of an injury. Not my first one, either, so this really felt like the final nail in the coffin. I'd only trained for two years, but I went three times a week. I had my routine and friends there.
For most of that summer, I was just somehow drifting through life. I wasn't depressed, but I was constantly stuck thinking about all the bad things that had happened.
After many weeks, I finally decided that I had to somehow get myself out of that loop and start trying new things. A party, a workshop, a local event. Anything.
And it turned out that it worked! Obviously not overnight, but every new activity and every new idea helped me take another small step out of the darkness and toward the light.
And Then There Was JS Poland
One day, while scrolling through LinkedIn, I came across a post from a friend of mine who travels around Poland giving talks at meetups. And it suddenly reminded me that I'd once dreamed of speaking at JS Poland.
I figured their CFP was probably open. It was, indeed. I submitted exactly one topic.
Now, JS Poland is a serious conference with some world-class speakers, so I estimated my chances as... rather tiny. But I'd submitted something! A few more dopamine points unlocked. I was very proud of myself.
Some time later, conference organizer, Darek, contacted me and asked whether I happened to have recordings of any of my previous talks. As luck would have it, I had exactly one, from six years earlier. I sent it over and assumed I'd probably get a yes/no answer sometime the following week.
He called me back half an hour later. (The talk was 20 minutes long.) He said the presentation was "excellent" and invited me to the conference. OH, WHAT A DOPAMINE HIT THAT WAS!!! I felt amazing.
In the meantime, another tragedy happened very close to me, but because something was happening in my life, because there was movement and something to look forward to, I didn't completely fall apart.
So... Maybe I Should Start a Blog?
After a few weeks, however, the dopamine started wearing off, and it was still too early to start working seriously on the conference presentation. I have no idea why, but at some point I thought: Maybe I could start a blog? Then I'd have something to link on my "About Me" slide, so it would look like I was doing something in the community. ๐คฃ
I didn't feel like building my own blog, though, so I decided to use an existing blogging platform. I chose DEV because I'd always liked... the layout. ๐ Also, the articles I came across on DEV had always seemed interesting and approachable.
My friends laughed and said I'd probably get bored with it pretty quickly. I told them that was fine. I'd write one post a week, and if I got bored, I'd switch to one a month so it would still look like something was happening. xD
Wait, There's a Community Here?
Before that, I'd mostly encountered DEV articles through tech newsletters. I knew basically nothing about the platform itself. So little, in fact, that when @ben once commented on one of my articles, I remember wondering why his one-line comment had received so many likes. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ๐
Eventually, I realized there was a feed here. A whole stream of posts, a community!
And there's something you should know about me.
A long, long time ago, I worked on the side as an editor for the biggest internet portal in Poland. And even by those standards, I have to admit I was pretty good at it โ especially at finding interesting topics and coming up with headlines. ๐
Working in media is incredibly addictive, and that addiction came back immediately. You know, like an alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in ten years and decides to have "just one beer."
Okay, that's an exaggeration.
But only slightly. ๐
I started publishing on DEV much more often than once a week because I wanted to see "what gets clicks here". Or, translated into normal-person language, "what are people here actually interested in?" I still remember how excited I was about my first like, my first comment, or when one of my posts finally passed 25 views. ๐
And even better: on DEV, I could use my old editorial skills, but I could do it well. No impossible traffic targets to hit. No annoying publishers. No need to squeeze every last drop out of one topic until everyone is sick of it. I could rotate topics. Under my own name, in my own words.
So, Here Are a Few of My Blogging Rules
So what are my publishing "rules"? Maybe some of you will find these useful.
A headline can be controversial. It can even stretch things a tiny bit, as long as the content delivers. If it does, readers usually won't feel cheated. I always spend quite a lot of time thinking about titles. And yes, I almost always choose the most controversial one. ๐
If you went back to my earliest posts, you'd also notice that I published pretty chaotically and wrote about somewhat different things than I do now. I started series that I never finished. I experimented with topics. I didn't really know what I was doing yet. And I think that's completely fine. Maybe that will help someone who's currently wondering whether they should start blogging. You don't need to have some grand content strategy from day one.
I've always said that I write half for myself and half for the reader. ๐I don't go to either extreme. I write about things that I think might interest you, but they also have to interest me.
Not every post needs to go viral. I'm fully aware that not every topic will be equally popular. But that doesn't stop me from writing more expert-level technical posts, sometimes with a GitHub repository and a working demo. And there's no point getting upset when those posts attract fewer readers. That's natural. For one thing, not everyone is interested in the same technologies. Meanwhile, obviously everyone is going to click on something called: "You're the real software developer only if..." xD
However, I think that if you want to allow yourself to write posts like that, it's worth first proving that you actually have some credibility in the field you're talking about.
If you want to write about the mistakes senior developers make, then for God's sake, prove that you are a senior developer yourself, that you actually know how to build things, and that you bring something to the community besides clickbait.
And Then There Are the Comments
When it comes to comments, I've often read influencer advice saying that you should only reply selectively. Apparently, you're supposed to create the impression that you're slightly unavailable.
As you probably know, I couldn't care less about that advice. ๐คฃ I try to respond to every valuable comment. Of course, I don't always manage. Sometimes I miss one, forget about it, don't notice it, and so on.
But generally, I genuinely think that many of the discussions under my articles are much better than the articles themselves. ๐
From "Something for My Slide" to Conference Invitations
As you probably know, I like speaking at conferences.
Over time, the blog was promoted from "something to put on my slide" to "something I can put in a CFP form to show that I'm active in the community."
But over the last six months, that situation has changed dramatically. More than once, I've actually been INVITED to speak at a conference because someone found one of my DEV articles and wanted a talk about that topic. Or, less often, I'll attach one of my articles to a CFP so that the committee knows roughly what the talk would be about.
And let me tell you: this is probably the most comfortable situation possible. The organizer can relax because they know what to expect. I can relax because I know what the organizer has already accepted. Win-win!
But DEV Would Be Nothing Without the People
And, of course, DEV would be nothing without the people I've met here.
I obviously have to mention @pascal_cescato_692b7a8a20, who I think was the first person here with whom I started having discussions about all kinds of completely different topics.
Then there are the two Daniels:
@dannwaneri gives me a glimpse into what life as a developer looks like in a different part of the world.
@gramli, on the other hand, is living proof that across Eastern Europe we apparently have very similar problems, and a very similar sense of humor. ๐
There's @georgekobaidze, who seems completely different from me, yet somehow, at the end of the day, we always end up having the same obsessions. ๐
And I can't forget about @adamthedeveloper, @anchildress1, @pengeszikra, @xulingfeng, and many, many more, but DEV allows to tag a maximum of 10 users here ๐ .
Thanks to founders for building the platform I originally chose because I liked the layout. Turns out it was a pretty good choice. ๐ โค๏ธ
And honestly, I could mention many, many more people here. I'd run out of evening. ๐
So What's Next?
What am I planning for the next year? I'm not going to say anything like "I'm only getting started!", because that wouldn't be true. I plan to do exactly what I've been doing so far: publish roughly one post a week.
Sometimes I'm tempted by other distribution platforms, but then I quickly realize that I'd have to spend time figuring those out too, and time is something I don't have much of.
I'm also a little tempted by YouTube, mostly as an extension of what I'm already doing on DEV. Will I actually do it? We'll see!
So, for my DEV anniversary, I wish myself exactly the same amount of joy from writing that I have today. And I wish all of you all the best! โค๏ธ
Top comments (27)
380k reads??? ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ And you say youโre not famous? ๐คฃ
BTW, Iโve always admired how you manage to answer so many comments. ๐ Almost all of your articles have 100+ comments, and you reply to most of them. That must take a huge amount of time, maybe even more than writing the article itself? ๐
PS: I think we definitely need more articles like โYouโre a senior developer only ifโฆโ ๐คฃ๐คฃ
Hahaha, I don't know! Nobody stops me on the street yet. ๐คฃ The employees at my local Biedronka do give me high-fives sometimes, but I think that's mostly because I'm there every single day. ๐
As for the comments, surprisingly, it doesn't take me that much time. I type really fast and, more importantly, I don't think at all while doing it. ๐คฃ Unless the comment itself is way too smart. Then I have a problem, because suddenly I feel like I need to come up with an equally smart reply so I don't make myself look like an idiot. ๐
And as for โYouโre a senior developer only ifโฆโ โ that's actually my most popular piece EVER, so maybe it really does deserve a sequel. ๐คฃ๐คฃ
First of all, thank you for featuring me in such a special article. That means a TON! Really. And oh my goodness, what an inspiring story. I absolutely love it.
Going from a really tough place to becoming one of the most popular writers in DEV Community history is extremely rare.
I wouldn't call myself even remotely as popular as you around here, but I can absolutely relate to your story. The path was different, but the mental struggle part hits so close to home.
By the way look at your stats. Absolutely insane!
And yes, we're quite different in many ways, but honestly, that's exactly what makes our talks, discussions and articles so interesting. Imagine if we were completely alike... OMG SO BORING! The goal and the passion for what we do are almost identical though, and that's what really matters.
We're also both European software engineers, so we understand the culture, the quirks, and the pros and cons compared to other parts of the world. That alone gives us plenty in common.
And lastly, I have to respectfully disagree that you're not getting started, because you are! This is just your first year on the platform... first! One year is literally nothing. Becoming this popular in a year?! Lady, you're still on your formation lap. The lights haven't even gone out yet (sorry, huge racing nerd here ๐๏ธ). The rest of the grid should be worried... including me.๐
Looking forward to more articles, more YouTube videos, and more collaborations from you!๐ฅ๐ฅ
Thank you so much, Giorgi!!! โค๏ธ
Hahaha, I completely agree, if we were exactly the same, it would simply be boring! ๐ On the other hand, you're right: we're both European software engineers, so our situations probably aren't that different after all.
And yes, it seems that quite often, bad events and being in a really low place mentally can eventually lead to some surprisingly great outcomes. Whether someone sees it as some higher power at work or simply as using that difficult moment as a springboard for growth. In my case, so many things fell apart at exactly the same time that I'm slowly starting to believe in the higher-power version. ๐
As for racing... I'm absolutely terrible at it. ๐ But I am the kind of driver who might be slow, but will get you safely to the finish line!
Knock on wood. ๐๐๏ธ
I totally get what you're saying. There's that old saying, "God only tests those who can handle it." I'm not particularly a religious person, but I do believe tough times happen for a reason. Character gets built by getting through them.
And as another classic goes, "slow and steady wins the race." Or in racing terms: better to bring the car home in one piece than to set the fastest lap and end up in the wall. Nobody puts the driver of a crashed car on the podium, no matter how quick they were.๐
Oh yes, absolutely! ๐ And to keep the racing metaphor going, sometimes I actually feel like I'm doing surprisingly little โ just doing it consistently.
But then I look back after a few months and realize how far I've actually come. So maybe I'm basically the tortoise from The Tortoise and the Hare. ๐๐ข
Not particularly fast, not very spectacular, but somehow still moving forward while everyone else is busy setting fastest laps and crashing into walls. ๐คฃ
Championโs mindset right there.๐
I opened this post as soon as I got notification. Finished reading and it has 21 likes and 5 comments already. By the time I finish this comment, it will probably be even more :D
I might not comment that much, and I didn't even login to DEV for some time lately. But I like your style, and how deep your articles are and I read them when I can. And I can see why other people feel the same :)
Happy anniversary!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Kamil! ๐ And of course, people read whenever they have the time. I don't read everything on DEV either, not even everything I'm genuinely interested in. If I tried, I'd probably have no life left. ๐
So I really appreciate that you still find the time to read my articles when you can! โค๏ธ
Sylwia, thank you for naming me in this one. A year in and 380k reads is not an accident.
Your line about a glimpse into a different part of the world is exactly why I keep writing the honest parts too. My own DEV anniversary is in November.
I started for visibility, after googling my name and finding almost nothing. A year later, the visibility came but the real win was connecting with developers like you across the world. Happy one year on DEV.
Thank you so much, Daniel! โค๏ธ Meeting people like you here really does change your perspective and gives you that glimpse into completely different parts of the world. I genuinely hope I'll get to visit Nigeria someday! ๐
And yes, visibility has definitely been a HUGE side effect for me too. I didn't really expect it when I started, but looking back after a year... wow. ๐
And since your anniversary is coming in November, I really hope you'll write something about your first year too! I'd love to read your version of this story.
Sylwia, Nigeria would welcome you well. And yes, I will write my version in November. I already wrote pieces of the story this year, the low points and the wins both. November just makes it official.
Lovely Sylwiaโค๏ธ I really loved reading this. Especially the part about how you still try to reply to every comment even after becoming such a big creator. That honestly makes me so happy.
And thank you, Poland, for giving us such a lovely person. โค๏ธ
Thank you so much! โค๏ธ This is so sweet, you actually made me a little emotional. ๐ฅนโค๏ธโค๏ธ
Js Poland video on YouTube?
Truly a top-tier creator among all veterans! Congratulations on your one-year milestone on dev.to! And the line "this is just the beginning" is honestly intimidating, haha ๐. With 380k reads, I canโt help wondering if youโre just humblebragging ๐. Iโve only hit 30k... Iโm the one whoโs really just getting started. Hahaha.๐คฃ
Thank you so much, Lingfeng! ๐ But you know, 30k is actually A LOT! Think about it: when I speak at a conference, there are usually maybe 200 people in the room (and perhaps 1k will eventually watch the recording on YouTube). At a meetup, it might be around 40 people.
So when you look at it that way, 30,000 people reading your work is HUGE!!! ๐คฏ๐ฅ
Starting a blog just to have something for a slide and ending up at 380k reads is a great story. The bit about proving credibility before writing hot takes is solid advice too. Happy anniversary!
Thank you so much, Kudzai! ๐ And actually, out of all those stats, I think the one that makes me happiest is the reading time. Knowing that people didn't just click, but actually spent their time reading what I wrote means a lot to me! โค๏ธ
Sylwia, I really love your articles ๐ Congrats on one year on DEV! Wishing you lots of love and success for the next year too ๐งก
Thank you so much, Hemapriya! ๐งก I love DEV mostly because of people like you. ๐
Hey Sylwia, great read! Your journey from a conference slide to 380k reads is inspiring. Iโd love to hear more about how you leveraged community feedback to shape your content.
Thank you! ๐ I think it depends. Sometimes I look at what people are discussing in the comments, what questions keep coming up, or what seems to bother them the most. Of course, I also pay attention to engagement, reading time, and things like that.
But honestly, I don't think I do anything particularly sophisticated. ๐ I mostly just observe what resonates with people and keep that in mind when deciding what to write next. ๐
I want to write a response of equal weight. I do not have the time. So here is a bunch of random emojies instead! You are not alone in your chaotic journey. What I can say is I think about how I feel when I do or don't get responses/likes on my posts. I try to give that feeling back as much as possible, because that is the addictive wildfire you speak of.
๐พโ ๏ธ๐๐ฆพ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐โจ๏ธ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ