Posted by: Cynthia Sadler on Sep 22, 2008
It seems like everyone is blogging today. Phurnace has a blog. I have a blog. My mother
has a blog. All the cool kids are doing it, right? There are many reasons for starting a blog.
For some, it is like a personal (or non-personal) diary for the whole world to read. Artistic
folks use blogs to showcase their poetry, photographs or art. Businesses (like Phurnace
Software) use a blog to show a more conversational and personal side to their company
while still generating interest.
So, how can technical people benefit from blogs? When doing work related web searches, a good portion of information that I actually find and use comes from blog postings. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there, as well as some really good tutorials on a variety of topics. Looking for WebSphere related information? You could check out the WebSphere Community Blog as well as the developerWorks blog hosted on IBM. There are also plenty of programming languages blogs as well. Coming to mind are java.blogs and O'Reilly Ruby blog. And there is always my favorite all-around geek blog (and occasional gratuitous timewaster): Lifehacker.
Rather than just being on the receiving end of information, it is important for technical people to contribute to the blogosphere. Are you excited about a new technology? Spread the love. Did you discover a new technique? You should share with the rest of the world. Did you spend hours troubleshooting a problem? You should write it down to save yourself (and others) the pain the next time that occurs. And for these reasons (and there are many more), if you are the type reading this blog, then you should have your own blog or contribute to a team blog.
What makes a good technical blog? One that shares news or technical ideas. For example, you find a provocative news item (e.g., the latest web application server release), and have an opinion or comment on it. Or perhaps there is a specific bug or coding technique you can abstract to a wider audience. And include code samples! We love code samples! Think about this: if you were looking for information, how would you search for it on a search engine like Google. You should include that in your title for your blog entry.
Since writing a good technical blog is like being a mentor or coach, in that you will master your subject the more you do it, you should write, write, write. Hopefully you are now inspired to do so.
So, how can technical people benefit from blogs? When doing work related web searches, a good portion of information that I actually find and use comes from blog postings. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there, as well as some really good tutorials on a variety of topics. Looking for WebSphere related information? You could check out the WebSphere Community Blog as well as the developerWorks blog hosted on IBM. There are also plenty of programming languages blogs as well. Coming to mind are java.blogs and O'Reilly Ruby blog. And there is always my favorite all-around geek blog (and occasional gratuitous timewaster): Lifehacker.
Rather than just being on the receiving end of information, it is important for technical people to contribute to the blogosphere. Are you excited about a new technology? Spread the love. Did you discover a new technique? You should share with the rest of the world. Did you spend hours troubleshooting a problem? You should write it down to save yourself (and others) the pain the next time that occurs. And for these reasons (and there are many more), if you are the type reading this blog, then you should have your own blog or contribute to a team blog.
What makes a good technical blog? One that shares news or technical ideas. For example, you find a provocative news item (e.g., the latest web application server release), and have an opinion or comment on it. Or perhaps there is a specific bug or coding technique you can abstract to a wider audience. And include code samples! We love code samples! Think about this: if you were looking for information, how would you search for it on a search engine like Google. You should include that in your title for your blog entry.
Since writing a good technical blog is like being a mentor or coach, in that you will master your subject the more you do it, you should write, write, write. Hopefully you are now inspired to do so.
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