I love to write but whether I should I publish what I write or not is a question that I have faced forever.
If you read the about section of this blog, I mention that this blog is meant for my own amusement. The purpose of this blog is to help me externalize my thoughts, reinforce what I learn and to serve as my go to knowledge repository. Basically it’s meant to be my personal space.
The dilemma
If whatever I write on this blog is meant for my own consumption then why bother publishing it on the web? Why not just write it in my notes app?
If I don’t intend to share the content publicly or even disclose my identity then it makes no sense to publish it on the web. So why do it?
The answer
To be honest, I don’t know what the answer is. When I ask myself why I do it, I get multiple answers. I’ll list them down below.
The build process
I enjoy the process of building the blog. Mainly the tech part behind it. WordPress, servers, code, customization, analytics, etc. I just love the process.
Every once in a while, I get this urge to completely revamp the blog. May be the thrill and excitement of starting from a clean slate drives me. But I am well aware that this sense of excitement can quickly spin out of control when I go down the rabbit hole of searching for the next perfect domain name, CMS platform, programming language etc. to use for my new blog.
The good thing that comes out of this process is that I end up researching and learning a lot about new technologies and platforms. Like recently I got to know about JavaScript based static site generators (SSG), headless CMS platforms, or even learning about the Gutenberg editor in WordPress that I have stayed away from for the last 5 years. Now, I just love the new Gutenberg editor!
The writing process
The other thing that drives me to write this blog is I love the process of writing. I love beautiful typography. I enjoy seeing words being typed into the editor. It’s a feel-good experience overall.
The inside need
When I probe my mind deeper on this subject, I realize that somewhere deep down inside me, I have this urge to share my knowledge with others. The more I learn, the more I get this urge to share. It makes me feel intelligent and smart to know about a lot of topics.
But I have also realized over time that true wisdom lies in learning and listening more than sharing and talking. I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all when I am socializing. It’s a challenge to keep my mouth shut when I know deeply about a topic and it’s the topic of discussion. But still I take conscious efforts to curb my knowledge sharing as much as I can to avoid being a mansplainer.
I think writing this blog helps me strike a balance. In my mind, when I publish a blog article I know it’s being shared with the world and it’s available for everyone to read. At the same time, I also know that I am not actively boring someone specifically with a topic that they might not be interested in.
Every time I face this dilemma, I feel like taking down this blog. However, I now know that instead of pulling the plug it’s best to just let it be there so that the next time I get an itch to write something I can quickly post a new blog!
