Here we go again

This isn't my first attempt at blogging. Many years ago I started (multiple times) writing posts for fun but I never stuck with it. It always fizzled out after a month or two. I suppose this is the fate of most blogs. I think most of the allure for me back then was to play around with the latest blogging software as opposed to actually having something to say.

Back then, for me, it was Wordpress and then Fargo which was based on the OPML file format and built by Dave Winer who invented blogging and RSS. Today it is Eleventy which is a light-weight Static Site Generator (SSG) written in JavaScript. However, this time around I am truly more interested in the writing and networking part than the software. So, why try again? Why now?

Why now?

• I recently listened to Episode 114 of the React Podcast with Shawn Swyx Wang and he was advocating for learning in public.
• I watched a talk from the well-known blogger Jeff Atwood called How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead where he also advocates for learning publicly (also discovered this via a link from Swyx).
• This got me reading and thinking a lot about the idea of learning in public. This isn't a new concept and there is a lot of information out there.
• I am currently trying to learn a lot of new things as quickly as possible and I don't plan on slowing down. Long story short, I'm working on shifting gears in my career, and although I have built and managed a bunch of websites over the past 15 or so years a lot of the tools and tech stacks that I know are outdated. I am currently focusing on learning the Jamstack, React, and all the other associated tools/libraries/buzzwords that go along with developing modern web applications.

Why start a blog/learning in public?

• Accelerate my learning and keep me motivated: Writing about new things forces you to fully understand the subject and helps solidify your learning. I also hope it will help me stay motivated to keep learning and writing.
• Clarify my thinking and improve my writing: It's easy to let your thoughts run off in a bunch of different directions. It's much harder to organize them into cogent, well-structured arguments. Writing public posts will force me to improve my thinking and writing skills.
• Engage with the community: Between my current day job not being a development role and the on-going global pandemic there are very few chances for me to engage with other developers. I want to change this.
• Become a creator and contributor instead of just a consumer: I like building and learning new things. I want to be an intentional creator, not a passive consumer.
• Share knowledge that may help others: I tend to be my own worst critic, but I do know some things. Maybe I can share something I've learned that will help somebody else out. Especially things that I've had to learn the hard way.
• Because I am excited about it: After a year of pandemic life, working from home, and not really going anywhere or doing anything fun, I woke up last night in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep because I was still thinking about kick-starting this stupid blog. What the heck?!
• Because I feel Resistance to doing it: Resistance is the invisible force that sabotages any and all creative pursuits or higher callings. It's what keeps most people stuck in the status quo and prevents them from pursuing what they know they should be doing. The general rule is the more resistance you feel to doing something, the more it means you need to do it. I'm not saying this blog experiment is my true calling, but there is resistance here. The resistance concept is the subject of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I highly recommend all of his books.

Why not start a blog/learning in public?

• What the hell do I have to say that possibly needs to be posted on the internet?
• I am more of a private person and shy away from broadcasting on the internet. I even quit all social media a couple of years ago accordingly (among other reasons).
• What if (gasp!) people I know read it and think I'm a phony?!
• But mostly... FEAR
• Fear of judgement and opening myself up to criticism
• Fear of appearing stupid and/or ignorant
• Fear of being wrong
• Fear that my writing sucks
• Fear that I will look like a scatterbrain
• And on and on...

But you know what?

I'm going to do it anyway. At the end of the day, this is going to be a place for me to organize my thoughts and solidify what I'm learning. Most of what I write will end up disappearing into the void of the internet anyway. Maybe one day something I post will help somebody out. If not, that's fine too. So what is there to be so afraid of anyway? What is the worst that can happen? I think the potential benefits far outweigh the risks.

What next?

• Write about things that I'm working on and that interest me. Right now that is primarily web/software development. I'm sure there will be some motorcycle talk as well.
• I think I will aim for one post a month at a minimum for a year and see what happens. In the beginning, I will probably end up posting more frequently about whatever is going on just to get myself into the habit of writing. I think the trick will be posting useful things with some frequency without getting paralyzed trying to come up with some profound idea and never writing anything.
• I'll be bringing my Twitter back to life after about a 5-year hiatus and posting more frequently there and using that as a platform to engage with others.
• This blog is built with Eleventy so I need to learn the ins and outs of that.
• Have fun!

• Next: Day One