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"I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is the key to do anything over a long period of time but certainly applies to blog

"I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is the key to do anything over a long period of time but certainly applies to blogging. Nothing is better than intrinsic motivation and something you do for yourself. I have a blog that I try to keep up with. I fail to be consistent and one reason always has been me asking "Who should I write it for" instead of "What do I want to write about for myself". Something to take away here.

ryandrake 2y ago
It’s a spirit from the old Internet that we’ve all but lost. Replaced with the toxic “write for engagement” spirit that brought us SEO, blogspam, influencers, “YouTube Face” thumbnails, ragebait, and now AI slop. Same for writing and releasing open source software. Write software that you want to write and don’t worry about how many users you have or how many pull requests you get or how many GitHub stars you have. These are empty vanity metrics, and another side of the same “write for engagement” coin.
- geerlingguy 2y ago
  I think some of the blame has to do with how metrics and analytics started taking over every aspect of online culture (as is hinted at). I noticed I tried to optimize my blog more when I was using Google Analytics; that whole setup really pushes you to look at certain metrics like time on site, bounce rate, etc. The best decision I've made for blogging sanity a few years back was to switch to a simple self-hosted analytics solution that just focuses on total traffic and referrers, which is mostly helpful to see if a post hit some aggregator like HN or Reddit... but even that's fundamentally a vanity metric.
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    I think it is a huge mistake to use metrics, analytics, or any kind of quantified “audience measurement” to justify or rank a creative endeavor.
- unchar1 2y ago
  I also feel this with X/Twitter, where everything feels like a promotion for a course or a book or a new product. Posting things because they are fun to write is a lost art.

ryandrake 2y ago

It’s a spirit from the old Internet that we’ve all but lost. Replaced with the toxic “write for engagement” spirit that brought us SEO, blogspam, influencers, “YouTube Face” thumbnails, ragebait, and now AI slop. Same for writing and releasing open source software. Write software that you want to write and don’t worry about how many users you have or how many pull requests you get or how many GitHub stars you have. These are empty vanity metrics, and another side of the same “write for engagement” coin.

geerlingguy 2y ago
I think some of the blame has to do with how metrics and analytics started taking over every aspect of online culture (as is hinted at). I noticed I tried to optimize my blog more when I was using Google Analytics; that whole setup really pushes you to look at certain metrics like time on site, bounce rate, etc. The best decision I've made for blogging sanity a few years back was to switch to a simple self-hosted analytics solution that just focuses on total traffic and referrers, which is mostly helpful to see if a post hit some aggregator like HN or Reddit... but even that's fundamentally a vanity metric.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  I think it is a huge mistake to use metrics, analytics, or any kind of quantified “audience measurement” to justify or rank a creative endeavor.
unchar1 2y ago
I also feel this with X/Twitter, where everything feels like a promotion for a course or a book or a new product. Posting things because they are fun to write is a lost art.