"But you have started x blogs in the past and haven't maintained them. How the hell are you going to do it this time?"
That's what a few of my closest friends and family probably are thinking when they read this, and I don't blame them. There have been a few times where I have been starting a blog, being motivated for a few weeks, and then just dropping the flow and not continuing to post. But this blog I treat as a space for me to just dump my thoughts and ideas when I want to and if I want to. That's why I don't have commments or any sort of social features, because this will be my free space to share my knowledge. If I want social interactions, I would just post on LinkedIn, but here it will be like a knowledge base for anyone who stumble upon it.
Sharing is caring and helps everyone
I was watching a video from NetworkChuck arguing why everyone should have a website and/or blog and he made very good points about why having a website and/or blog is important, and I believe that it has become even more important in this day and age where we use AI in pretty much everything. In the tech industry, AI has become a regular part of our workflow whether we like it or not, and if you don't use it, you will be left behind. Companies often require that you use AI in your workflow, and that is not a bad thing in itself, but I get the feeling that building portfolio projects and posting them on a site is less valuable than before. Anyone can use AI to build impressive projects, and since this is so easy to do, it is harder to differentiate yourself from the crowd. More knowledgable people will be able to use AI better and with more quality, but that will be noticed more by more nitty gritty inspectation of the project, and that is not something that everyone will do when looking at your portfolio. Creating a blog and sharing your own perspective is a quick way to show how you think, and that is more important than ever.
On a side note, I took two courses in ethical hacking as my last part of my studies, and I had to do my own research on how to capture certain flags and how to do certain things. I did use a lot of googling, YouTubing and even using AI to find the solutions. While doing this, I stumbled upon a few blogs that contained documented proof-of-concepts of exploits, and these were the intended solutions to the challenges. Someone just took the time to write down their thought process and how they solved a problem, and that helped me to learn new things and expand my knowledge. That is the magic of a blog, and I want to contribute. I am an educated engineer, I know how to solve problems and love to tinker with stuff (especially code). Maybe I can help someone else by sharing my knowledge and experience, and that is what I want to do with this blog.
And I think a blog is a low barrier way to do this. I did create a YouTube channel with the intention of doing this, and since I already create chess content, I thought it would be a good idea to also create tech content, but it is a lot harder than you think. I have been creating chess content for over 5 years, and while I enjoy it, I don't see myself as a good video creator. I am comfortable with streaming chess amd posting highlights as shorts, but I still struggle to create good long form content. A blog is just an easier to write and post your thing. I already have my portfolio website, and adding a blog to it was very easy. Whenever I want to create a new post, I just create a new markdown file, write my thoughts, and push it to GitHub. And boom, a new blog post is live. No WordPress, no databases, no authentication, just another file that I edit in the same way I edit my code. It is just a part of my workflow, and that is a low entry barrier to start sharing my knowledge and experience.
I miss writing
Well, I have never been the one that writes a lot, but I miss the type of writing before the university. In high school, you had to write reports, but also stories, arguments, poems and more. Although it had some requirements you had to follow, you could still be creative and had freedom of how you wrote. You could have an unique style, and still write stuff your way. In the past few years, my writing has been limited to techhnical reports, documentation and thesis. While I am proud of that work and I take pride in it, it felt like a daunting type of writing, and this took away the fun of writing. I want to write about whatever I want, and I want to have fun doing it. Now with a blog, I can write about whatever I want, do it my way, and don't have to worry about some requirements that would qualify how "good" the text is. Now it is just the content that matters, and I will now just have to enjoy the process of sharing my knowledge.
Do like me, start your own blog
If you are reading this as a fellow junior developer/fresh graduate or similar and already have a portfolio website that is easy for you to edit, just implement a blog on it. It is fairly easy if you have some technical knowledge, which I assume you do if you are reading this. It is a great way to share about who you are, and that is a very important thing to do. You have one thing that is unique to you, and that is your perspective. If you don't show it, you are just another person in the crowd, and that is not what you want. Be proud of who you are and be loud about it. Be you, because nobody will do it for you. We live in a crazy age with AI and it is easier than ever to create, but wherever we will end up in the future, where we still use AI or live in a world where the AI bubble has popped, you will have your perspective, knowledge and experience, and that is what will make you unique. Use that to your advantage and share it with the world. You never know who you might help, or where you will end up, just by writing out your thoughts into a blog post.
Don't overthink it, just do it.