Why You Should Start Writing a (Tech) Blog Now
And How I Decided To Start Writing Mine
What Is This?
Hello 馃憢, fellow internet surfer! In this article, I'll tell you the 3 main reasons you should start writing your own tech/dev blog, or just a blog in general if you're not a developer. But before I give you that (not at all secret and widely available) knowledge, I'll tell you my own experience and share some resources along the way, in the hopes of inspiring you to do the same. So, let's dive in!
Take people behind the scenes.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
Where did I get the idea of writing a blog?
Just start doing projects
I think it's safe to say that most people, including me, don't just randomly start writing a blog out of nowhere. Maybe you have played with the idea in your head for a while but there always has to be that call to action that drives you to do it. For me, there were many calls to action during the first half of this year.
Game developers with years of experience told me to just start doing projects to get experience during the Game Developer's Conference.
Game developers with years of experience told me to just start doing projects to get experience during local events.
Game developers with years of experience told me to just start doing projects to get experience during @LatinosInGaming's CONEXION event.
I hope you managed to see the trend, but just in case I'll repeat it one last time: Game developers with a lot of experience told me, someone who is just starting his professional career, to just do projects to get experience.
You might be wondering what any of this has to do with writing blogs. Well... everything! During the CONEXION event I mentioned, I had the great opportunity to chat with Esteban Maldonado, alongside other Unity developers. Esteban recommended starting a blog so that I could share the progress I made with my projects. Besides, I could even use it as part of my portfolio!
A daily dispatch is even better than a r茅sum茅 or a portfolio, because it shows what we鈥檙e working on right now.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
My call to action
Fast forward a few months and I started playing again with the idea in my head. But this time, I decided to investigate a little bit more about it and while looking at Esteban Maldonado's blog & profile for inspiration, I stumbled across an incredible article by Alyssa Holland called "The Book that Encouraged me to Start my Blog". In her article, Alyssa describes what got her into blogging: the book "Show Your Work!" by Austin Kleon. If you haven't read this book go ahead and add it to your Goodreads "Want to Read" list right now (You do have a Goodreads account, right?). Saying that I devoured this book still doesn't make it justice, but to make a long story short, it gave me the push that I needed to finally start writing my blog.
You can't find your voice if you don't use it.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
What will I write about?
Great, I now have all this motivation to start a blog! But, hold up... what am I even going to write about? Well, the answer is simple, I'll be writing about different projects that I'm currently starting/doing in my free time. Most of these projects are related to game development and I'll start sharing more about them throughout the following weeks/months. However, I'll also sometimes write about more general things I find interesting, such as productivity. In the end, that's the whole point of a blog, to express and share the things that you want with the rest of the world.
The best way to get started on the path to sharing your work is to think about what you want to learn, and make a commitment to learning it in front of others.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
Why should you do the same?
Finally, it's time to keep up to my promise and tell you the 3 reasons I think you should also start writing your blog:
People will discover you
Starting a blog will allow people to discover the work you do. This can open a lot of opportunities in both your professional and personal life.
If you want people to know about what you do and the things you care about, you have to share.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
Join a community
There are probably a lot of people out there who enjoy the same things that you do. If you share your work, you'll become part of a larger community of people who are also sharing their knowledge and desire to grow and connect with others.
Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love and you鈥檒l attract people who love that kind of stuff. It鈥檚 that simple.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
Don't live with regrets
Many times we refrain from showing our work because we fear that other people will judge it, that it's not good enough or that no one will care. As someone who also struggles with those fears, let me tell you that all these thoughts are just in your head. Your work doesn't have to be perfect for you to share it with the world. People with similar interests will find you and support your work. But if you never share it, you will probably regret it someday. So I invite you to avoid having the all-too-familiar thought of "What would have happened if...?" and change it to one of "I'm very proud of what I'm doing! I'll share it with the rest of the world!".
If you spend your life avoiding vulnerability, you and your work will never truly connect with other people.
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
Go write your blog!
So, go ahead! What are you waiting for? Go and start writing your blog right now!
Let me know in the comments what you'll be writing about! Or if you're already an experienced blogger, let me know what got you into writing your blog!