Recently, I’ve been reading Liu Weipeng’s “Dark Time”. There’s a chapter discussing why one should write a blog, which resonated deeply with me. Borrowing the thought process from “Dark Time” on this topic, I want to combine it with my own experiences to record my views.
My Blogging History
I created my first blog in the third year of middle school. During a computer class, the teacher introduced the concept of blogs, so I followed the trend and applied for a free blog, uploading a few photos I had taken. Apart from those initial uploads, I never updated it again, and over time, I even forgot the address.
Later, I sporadically created several blogs, each time driven by a sudden urge to express something, but once the blog was set up, I would forget what I wanted to say, leaving it unfinished. In college, while working on ACM problems, I started a Sina blog to post solutions, but that too ceased updates after a few days.
The blog I have now was created during my senior year internship. I encountered a challenging problem at work, and after consulting various fragmented resources to solve it, I felt a sense of accomplishment and wanted to document the thought process. So, I set up a WordPress on SAE, which is the blog you see today. It wasn’t until then that I truly began blogging.
The Value of Blogging
- Blogging is a Record and Sharing of Experiences
The initial purpose of setting up this blog was to document my problem-solving processes at work. Therefore, the first few posts were about solutions to specific issues. I have always positioned this blog as a technical one, partly to record these things for future reference and partly to share with those in need. Of course, it also satisfies a bit of my vanity : )
- Blogging is a Personal Resume
When job hunting, I felt frustrated that the technical work I did in college was reduced to a sentence or two on my resume, which is hardly convincing for technical positions. Interviewers wouldn’t know what I specifically did. At that time, I had just started the blog with very few posts, and I realized how regrettable it was not to have documented my past experiences. If I had a well-maintained blog over the years, many things would have been much easier.
- Explaining to Others is the Most Effective Way to Learn
Last year, I saw a small test called “Do You Really Understand JavaScript?” on the official SAE Weibo. I tested myself and felt I had a pretty complete understanding, so I decided to write a blog post about it. While writing, I realized that some principles I took for granted were incorrect, even though the results were right. Some things only become clear when you try to explain them to others.
I think many people, like me, don’t blog not because they don’t know the benefits, but because they’re concerned about potential problems.
Problems Encountered When Blogging
- Feeling It’s Not Valuable
This was a major reason I didn’t blog for a long time. Ultimately, everything needs a purpose to support it. If no one reads the blog, including myself, and I still have to pay for hosting and a domain, it feels counterproductive. I started blogging not because my life suddenly became meaningful, but because many valuable things worth recording were previously overlooked.
- Fear of Being Ridiculed
I rarely blog, and when I do, it’s mostly technical articles or trivial matters, avoiding personal opinions. I once wanted to write a book review after reading a good book but never did. Besides fearing my writing would lack value, I also worried about being ridiculed. Posting opinions online partly aims for recognition, and if met with criticism, it can be discouraging, especially since many people enjoy being critics. Even if no one criticizes, if I accidentally post misleading content that negatively impacts others, I’d feel bad.
Now, I think this needs a dialectical view. Writing subpar content can lead to ridicule, but without writing and communicating, improvement is impossible. You can’t hide forever. If today’s content is ridiculed, persistence over a year or two might make it less immature, and after ten years, one might become a semi-expert. The key is to dare to take that first step.
- Writer’s Block
I have some experience with writing: the more you write, the more you can write. Some people read a lot but dislike writing, and over time, they struggle to express their thoughts on paper, which is frustrating. Sometimes, you need the determination of an elementary student writing a diary, forcing yourself to write. Writing skills can be honed.
I’ve mentioned that I rarely write non-technical blog posts. This exception is largely inspired by the section in “Dark Time” on this topic. I didn’t expect to write so much, so I must thank the author Liu Weipeng. If not for reading this masterpiece, I might still be confining myself in a cage.