The blog. Originally a shortened form of “web log”, the blog has become a staple of the digital information age. Less formal than an essay, more casual than reporting from a mainstream news organization, the blog is a unique medium for people with a deep interest in a subject to share that interest with others.

Today we’re discussing a sub-genre of this medium, the technical blog. Lots of people do it. You could do it too. Is this a good idea? How does one get started? Are there any benefits?

We’ll focus on the good, the bad, and the ugly of technical blogging. We’ll talk about processes, content, feedback, and outcomes from spending years raving on our respective blogs, and the risks and rewards of writing things down for other people to read.

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Show Notes:

Part 1 – Thinking About Content

* How do you come up with content?

* There’s no real reason to scour the Internet to see if someone else has written about the topic you’re learning or wish to share.

* The answer is pretty much always: yes, someone has written about it.

* It’s OK to also write about it.

* If you feel like a piece of content was helpful, say so – and add a link to the content. Links are a great way for the author to see that you are writing about them via a Pingback (essentially a comment that generally appears on most websites saying “Hey, I created a link to you!” in their feed).

* Content comes and goes

* Some days you’ll have more ideas than others

* Use a tool to help jot down these ideas.

* Chris just saves new ideas a blog posts drafts. This is where links, images, and what-not are saved for later. I usually have half a dozen just sitting around in various stages of formation.

* Scrivener

* Use the Pomodoro technique to write

* http://wahlnetwork.com/2015/10/22/picking-up-new-skills-tips-and-tricks-to-build-your-technical-tool-chest/

* http://wahlnetwork.com/2015/06/03/pomodoro-standdesk-review/

* Content from work

* You’re always within your rights to share ideas and thoughts that are original.

* But be careful what you are bound to from an employment perspective. Some employers retain intellectual rights on everything you do.

* Never share information about your clients or your specific day job work unless you are 100% sure it’s OK. I often advise having written permission. Even then, talking about a client is risky. It’s pretty much best to generalize the client and abstract the problem, your understanding of the technology, and the solution.

* Don’t even use muddled wording, such as “the best provider of widgets in the South” to obscure the client – because someone will probably fig...