I wouldn’t say I blog, I would say I post links, news and code that I may need in future. As a software engineer, I need a searchable place where my notes and thought, but most important, my code can be found. I started in 2005 and after losing my database with all the post, I learn two important lessons: the fine art of backing up and second that I actually was using those notes and “articles” pretty often.I won’t call them articles when they were barely a paste from my clipboard. In 2006, I started cleaning my blog a bit and posting more towards other people to read than just myself; I share some of my code with coworkers.
In 2007, I started reading more blogs from “well-known” bloggers and enjoying their style and learning the new and fast way of sharing information. A blog to me is a faster and more interactive way of sharing information and knowledge than a newspaper or a magazine, I, for once, canceled all my subscriptions to the LA Times and geek magazines, that I used to enjoy. Searching blogs or using RSS to read them gives me immediate access to that information without waiting for a person to deliver the magazine or paper. On the same token I like to share with other people the problems, solutions or the little tricks and tips. This is why I post!
Needless to say that (picking topics day after day) is one of the most difficult things to do lately. It was simple when I just posted code and tips about code. Whatever technology or code I was playing at the time, was pasted on my blog, no such thing as cleaning the code and writing an article about it.
Now that I started writing a little bit more instead of just posting code, I find myself searching for a topic that might be interesting to the readers of my blog. I am lucky if I have some research project, a new product or technology coming up to write about. Some weeks I’m so busy at work that when I get home I find that I have nothing to say, and prefer not to post anything.
I must come clean to let you know that I have, more than once, posted something, just for posting something. If you read my blog on a regular basis or you are subscribed, you know what I’m talking about. Please let me take this chance to apologize about those minutes of your life that I cannot give you back.
This year, I received more emails from people reading my blog and asking questions; if the question was already asked by another email, I would reply that on blog instead of an email back. Something very important to me is to see the timeline of my blog, see where I was a year ago and what kind of technology was I working.
I do see an evolution at my blog, maybe the learning curve is longer than other blogs, but is a path I’m enjoying. So please, do keep the emails coming as from them I build the content.
Templates? Promotion tools? Are we still talking about blogging? I haven’t promoted my blog, because I don’t know or I did not search ways to promote my blog. Right now my blog is on the Microsoft ASP.NET blog roll and readers come from there or from Goggle searches.
Mainly I talk about AJAX, ASP.NET and C#, so my audients are geeks and nerds like me. I don’t think a bumper sticker can help my blog to be read by more people. I do not know how to promote a blog, blogs should be promoted by peers. That’s how I find out about other bloggers.
Blogging is a way of communication that allows anybody to voice their opinion with a simple mouse click. I do believe blogging is going to develop to a more professional and structured “art.”
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