Early 2023, I launched a blog (https://saasify.work).

The purpose: write about my mindset around building software and tools (for non software companies). I focus on the management, decision and architecture aspects. In that context, technologies are a detail. You can read there why.

It is public and not public at the same time. Public as it is free for anyone to access. Not public because I didn’t promote or talked about it (besides a link on my LinkedIn profile). It is a personal outlet to explore and think about ideas, concepts, … in a clear and understandable way albeit raw form.

9 takeaways after a year of writing :

1. Consistency is hard, especially in a context that relies on self-accountability. I first set myself to publish a new post several times a week. It became a couple times a month. Then, I stopped for a couple of weeks (months ?) … At first I had a bunch of article written and scheduled. When it became irregular, I back-dated some of the new ones to look like they were published “on-time”. Now I write whenever I want to write, there is something I want to write about or explore, and well, that's fine.
2. Finding topics is easy, once you start writing. Very often it seems complicated to come up with something new, new ideas, new thoughts ... But once you start, it almost instantly becomes an endless flow. When I write a new article, there is always a part I want to explore deeper (a concept that deserves its own explanation, adjacent thoughts worth mentioning, …). All those are options for new articles instead of extending the scope of the current one. Now, I only need to pick the inspiring topic out of a list of ideas.
3. Keeping a tight scope is key. That piggy backs on the previous takeaway. When building software, scope creep is a serious concern, there are endless options of what can be built. When writing, it is even more critical. Keeping a tight scope is very important. The more you focus on the single topic of the article, the better it is. The reader chooses to read the article because it answers a question, an interest he has. Keeping a tight focus makes it easier for you to deliver. Anything that feels even slightly out of scope for any reason can (should ?) become a new article.
4. Better done than perfect... I don't spend too much time on reviewing the content. I take time on the first draft, making sure I like the post enough, that it matches the scope and my expectations. Then, I hit publish. I could add photos, schemas, drawings, ... elements that would improve readability, experience, ... I may do that in the future if the site unexpectedly takes off. That takes time.
5. I know stuff and have good thoughts, ideas that I can express and defend. But, I also know their limitations when there are. Despite strong belief in those, I am ready to adjust and adapt to specific contexts. There is something about writing that clarifies your mind. Presenting information to an audience forces you to be clear to yourself first.
6. Nobody cares or will see your corner of the Internet if you don't want to. I would lie by saying that I was not hoping to get some opportunities out of that blog. But, by not promoting the site, I knew it would be very unlikely. And indeed, the analytics and feedback I received reveal that only 1 person besides me may have read (part of) it. It confirms that "if you build it they will come" is not enough.
7. I started writing for fun, exploring my thoughts, ideas. I wanted an outlet to express myself in a way that could also educate others. I am glad I did.
8. After a year of writing, I would advise anyone to do it: express yourself. Would I recommend writing? yes, if you want to, no if you don't. Find the medium you like whatever it is: writing, audio, video, ... writing works for me now. I may switch for something else in the future. Make it public and treat it as such even if you don't want to. In the same way I would suggest to build software, automation, internal tools, ... with a product mindset (I wrote about that). Express yourself as you would explain to someone else. It forces structure and clarity. When starting, identify why you are doing it (I wrote about that too) and who would be your target audience (the language you will use depends on that). Don't overthink the details and implementation (also written about).
9. I should have started earlier.

A final thought, if you are writing with the purpose of expressing yourself and your ideas, don't use AI to do it. Be yourself, unique.