steve-yegge
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I since May 2004 has been writing articles No. 10 on Amazon.com's internal blog。During that time I accidentally formed its own unique style of writing，And I have come to realize that some of the problems regarding to blog。I think I should put these ideas to come out，And hope they can help you。
Why write a blog?
This is what I have always stressed in the blog：You should write blog。
Even if no one read you should write。I increasingly find，For me, to blog is the key to innovation and clear thinking。When I write a blog when，I'll have a lot of great ideas and insight。When you put your mind to explain your thoughts or feelings when，This would give you a more thorough understanding of them。
I found work when Amazon people said a lot of interesting things，But these are rarely recorded。If you do a luncheon briefing，Or send an Email to the very idea of some internal contact list，This would indeed have been affected，But this does not and will not affect you the same result by writing blog。
I have had a lot of people hate to write blog chat。The same reason we are given no more than a few：They are too busy，Or they are afraid to write something to publish "a permanent public record," which，Or they simply feel that no one will come to see what they write，Or they think a blog in itself is narcissistic。Some people even think that there are not any good to write，Or it simply could not write。
Now I am here to tell you，None of the above should be a reason to stop you to write blog。Next, I will discuss each and everyone of the top issues。
the reason #1 I am very busy。
Ok，Exactly。We are busy doing things we do not want to do。At all events，You would have done a lot of work writing task。Can you write a lot of Email，Sometimes you have to write technical documents, and so a lot of work - perhaps not often write，But if you write a document or twice a year，You can still create some things to help others。In addition you may also solve some of the problems in their own time to make a record。
What I am saying is that you can focus on to record work by blog。Many people understand the benefits Wiki (here does not refer to that site) of：Compared to the same thing over and over again to explain it，You put your interpretation on one-time into the Wiki，The next time you just have to let people go there to read just fine。
But Wikipedia is not a storage site looks good blog post media。Blog usually more casual，More exploratory，And people on their blog has different expectations。This is not to say that Wikipedia is not good - it was really good。So there are some people submit content simultaneously on both，Because the blog and Wiki is (now) a major ongoing communication mechanism，Advantage of having the lowest conflict。This shows that we are now only two independent releases of modes to choose from，Both of these mechanisms will be extended when people are trying to find how they function N kinds of communication。But for what you want to write something in terms of，Blog is your stage。
You write something about your daily work quite possible that some people find interesting，And even useful。You need to do is just for those who might you (work) is worth writing published content to keep sensitive。In this case then, "I'm busy" reason this disappeared，Because a blog is just put your work in some documents or tucao Email 7788 and some other stuff coming down your blog Bale。
In addition, these can also be anything。I want people to recognize that this is a diary-type blog，And most of the time we are busy doing other things。Others will not ask you how much of the standard；They will not ask you every article written some interesting or useful to。No one can ask you to write a blog and more law - to blog every day are not shit pee，Although it is true some of my articles and they have some similarities。But people are very tolerant，In general。
Too busy is no excuse，At least for me。You can not be too busy year can not publish an article to your blog，and，Even so，Not much stronger than。No one has ever rule that says once you start to write blog，We must adhere to every day write down。
the reason #2 I was afraid to publish my honest opinion online
Yes, that's right，me too。My blog is an absolute irrigation version of the blog。
I fully understand your feelings，Even though doing so might make me look like an amateur，What I did was drink a bunch of wine，Get rid of all the repressed my heart，My naked soul release them to the world。It also may look very professional。This is OK，This is what I have done。
But you do not need to put your ideas on the blog。You can be careful to remain neutral，Across the plain between the objective and the ambiguous fence，Positioning itself as tolerant and indifferent。Your blog may be completely awful，But you have to understand，This is your blog。
If you want people to read it，So do yourself。If you think of myself as a missionary in the field of advanced technology in your area，It also welcomes you to publish your manuscript to your blog。If you think you are an expert in the field，And you want to write technical manuals on your blog，Never mind that，Write it。
But I do not think it is that people really want。People want isyouwant，The real part of your own voice is heard most clearly they can。Not everyone will like you，But I want to assure you that there is always someone just like you do things，And they will talk about the things you own aggrieved interested。
It is understood the focus to blog：You can not make everyone satisfied，And you will not want to please everyone，So you want to focus on to make yourself happy。Rest of the things they let it happen naturally。Some people will come to see your blog，They may hate or feel that your blog is boring and never look。Some people might not agree with you，But some peculiar charm led them to still concerned about your article，As if you are walking on a rope acrobats jitter。For these people,，You are a snake charmer，The final until you fall off the ropes。Some people will simply love what you write，Even if they never wanted to say。When they really tell you，You will be very impressed。That's it，Unless some people are clearly a number of groupies，I'll return to this later。
Kurt Vonnegut Jr，One of my all-time favorite writer，He said he wanted success in writing，You need to pick one person and then wrote this personal。In that moment forget your article there will be other people to read，It feels like you just wrote him a man。This seems to me to be a good suggestion。
Stephen King also has a good suggestion：honest。His definition of honesty is very subtle，In a sense he used his entire book "On Writing" ("Steven King on Writing" or "Writing-My Writer's Career") to define it。This is an interesting and very hard book，I recommend everyone read，Even if you are not a fan of his。His "honesty" of significance is difficult to use one or two words to describe，No words to explain approximate。If I have to explain words，That's what you have to forget the school to teach you those things about writing，Then write directly to your inner words。
Of course，Then you need to go back and start from scratch or edit it before posting it。Your heart may occasionally send out legitimate content easily accused，And your heart is not always a good baseline criteria or common sense。You should write according to the official company blog guidelines。They allowed range is minimal，You should follow。
But good judgment will be deeper than those guidelines。You have your readersresonance。It's easy for you to forget that we are all human，Whether we play what kind of role at work，People will feel the pain inside。It's not something you need to remember；But you need to understand the fundamental level。The real empathy that allows you to do a better manager，A better team member，Even a better person。
This also helps you recognize，If you more than words in a blog Tucao，Your article will have more weight。This is also where I need to learn。
As for the blog about the "eternal"，Ok，You can always delete your article，Or to switch them to a "junk" status，If, after you publish it, then worry。Nima，If you wish,，You can even delete your entire blog。Within a short time period，Everyone will forget it，Almost like you have never written as。
At last，Your point of view is you write the article in the color of the Department。People will respect your considered views，Even if they do not agree, you。
the reason #3 No one will come to read my blog
This one is really。Paradoxically，This is the reason so effective blog。
probably，Oh，Three years ago may，Long before we have an internal blog，Jacob Gabrielson wrote and spread a great article called "Zero Config"。So at least now people call it。The actual title to be longer，But the popular title will always be shorter，Like Dick Gabriel'sThe Rise of Worse is Better’ It became widely known”Worse is Better”Articles。
Jacob's article clearly points out the pain points we have endorsed，But no one put it elevated to the status of a sore point。that's it，Configuration problem has been a big trouble，But this did not let anyone realize that this is a formal question，We should dedicate company resources。
Of course，Everyone was complaining and whining，But we all complain and whine for everything here，So the noise was drowned in not a problem。
Jacob articles are very good at several levels。He was able to distinguish the configuration problem is a troublesome，And worth writing an article - that the Amazon is almost no time in writing and circulated precedent。He memorable and fun way to point out his views，Articles written off with the power of thought and style quite wise。And he would write long version of the article in order to complete a problem。His goal is not to solve it，But simply to increase attention on this issue。This is a small masterpiece。Also nobody read it。
I've read this，Although not immediately attended；As I recall，It was a few days before I went to see published，I was very excited，And I think we should look at this immediately。I started asking around about，It was found that only a few people read the article on the list spread，It makes me feel frustrated：The company missed an important opportunity，Can help us develop a rapid，more stable，Less chance of suffering。I'm sure Jacob waste time writing this article would be very disappointed。
After that I did not have more ideas，While inside of me after his core ideas，This has occasionally helped me lead my own team。After about eight months，It is noteworthy that many things happen：All of a sudden they are discussing VP "Configuration issues" (”config problem”) They citedJacob articles，Since then they have discussed up，This obviously takes into account a well-known long-term problems：in other words，8Since months，It has come to permeate into the unknown company from the point of awareness relative。
This is not an easy thing。He published articles about four months after I began to hear people reference to that article at conferences，And the frequency gradually rises，Until configuration problems finally appeared in various strategic planning agenda this entire process publishing articles on this issue from the start about Jacob spent a whole year。
I was surprised at the time it all happened so long，But now I understand。People will only just time to find what they need。But this is not the right time everyone the same。
All things being equal，Word of mouth determines the choice of the article。Only a few people will read it the first time：Friend，And some happened to see and think it might be interesting to people。If the article is not relevant enough，Then people will forget to continue to live。it's not a big deal。
But if your article and enough people resonated，It will eventually reach a critical mass，And you will have influence change throughout the organization。It may not be a huge change，But you think：The idea to disperse hundreds of people into，In this way they will remember what you think，More or less agree with you - it will not be easy。You can not do that by just an Email，Unless thisReallyOne thing is controversial，Then you will therefore notorious。You can not just because a public lecture：Only people in the room might remember your words。Even the corridors are not。
Jacob's "Zero Config" article is a good chestnuts，Articles are the best way to change people's ideas，And perhaps the only way，Even at that time，It often takes months of large-scale penetration into。
So your fear is justified：Almost no one will come to see your blog。Unless it itself is excellent。Even at that time，The same for a long time before there are a lot of people began to read it。But do not worry。If you got the idea to write，A serious effort to write，People will eventually find your blog。
You do not even advertising，Self-recommendation also no use。Actually，I will let you stop reading my blog。This is a direct command。Quick stop。It is now on，Get going。Do not look。You can not find anything of this，Now quickly go。
see it? This does not work。I've never done advertising for my blog，Until today Itotally no ideaHow many people read my blog，Not to mention how it will look。I never do things to please others。My blog is not "about" anything，And while written several topics，I have not wanted to stagnate on one single theme。And I'm terrible style，There capricious update frequency，And writing quality, etc., etc.。I was really just for fun to write，And even if all do not read my blog，I am still very happy to write their own。
So do not care about people read do not read，You write on the line!
(by the way，Jacob may be attributed to the other two articles will help him。Mike Yegge dreams and drive him intranet publishing articles，He inspired Jacob to complete and publish his article。There Todd Stumpf，As I recall，Helped to check the。Todd is like a man standing outside the spotlight，But his technical influence permeates the entire company，Those who worked with him and will prove it。）
the reason #4 Write blog is narcissistic
Ok，This is definitely a great effect of pain points，The question really pains me for a long time。I have talked for a long time and Sunny G。On the question，At a beer recruiting trip。He is the one who gave me point out the "narcissism" of the word - that time，I knew I hated the whole idea of these blog and people to blog，But I can not accurately say why。Sunny me sum up these complex feelings into a word - he was too shrewd，If you ask me,。
I do not like people who put themselves at the center of，Not like those groupies。I know that most of the really smart people who are actually down to earth，And they would not be great ambition or dreams，Even if they become famous in their field of work。They still think of themselves as a struggle and strife in painful difficulties of ordinary people。
A few days ago，I was fortunate to participate in the Amazon Developers Conference Dinner。It helped me to have an event organizer as my office neighbor。Our hotel's "W" Earth and ocean private room - a huge private room filled with great minds。Larry Tesler later commented that the good news was that no bomb exploded in the private room at the time.，Or else may suffer，Many IQ are stuffed in there。
Before dinner we all stood around，Chat in his inner circle。At the dinner exchange between those eminent brain it is like using gravity to create a small satellite system，So when there is a circle of people around James Gosling，There is another track surrounded by Joel Spolsky ，Etc., etc。I can not go into the crowd to approach these people fast hardware，So I went swinging between asteroids other freedoms，Then it happens just like a very clever，Low-key guy chatted up，His name is Duncan。We just hit it off - we have to consider many of the same problems，So we were happy to chat up。
At the dinner I was sitting between Duncan and Bonnie Sheen from O'Reilly，We are playing a little game with its，Guess who is this private room is the smartest person。In fact, this itself is a very interesting story；When we are discussing a few people came over and we asked their opinions，Everyone said it was Larry Tesler，Well his victory。
Anyway，Duncan told me that a General Assembly - a secret，Membership of things，These fast hardware brains ran from all over the world come to discuss "who knows"。I did not get more details，And I'm not sure if I can tell him these things I，It sounds just looks like a very fast hardware，And several great God is here on Amazon's old members。
Duncan (his full name is James Duncan Davidson) said in this Assembly，Everyone is very modest，Sometimes play down his racing。Some people will be surprised at the more famous they had that house most stupid people，Some will say no serious，I was in this room is the most stupid people，Really，I'm the one who most stupid。Soon everyone wanted to be the most stupid，They compete with each other and，With the most convincing reason to prove that he is the most stupid。This is a paradox of competition，Only those geeks could love。
There were a lot of heated discussion on dinner，So I did not recognize who actually won the final official "I'm the most stupid" game。I do not know who won the happy or cry。I guess estimate that people will gradually withdraw before the end of this competition is too difficult。
Duncan's focus on the most intelligent people usually do not think he is very smart，Those who fast hardware but will self-restraint。
If you feel like me，Braving the risk to write blog looks like narcissistic，With does not mean you should not write a blog! I think you go the right way，Do not narcissistic enough，I hope you will not turn into narcissistic。
My own blog
Facts have proved that I wrote my release to be more than。
People are sometimes surprised to write so I can ( "all this nonsense"，I see them in the comments)。Actually I did not spend much time to write a blog：One week it three hours，Probably so much。I can not guarantee the quality of my collaboration，But the number is certainly in that the。I think I put a lot of ideas on the ability to entirely due to my current level of proficiency using Emacs editor。
These things. You have to look at ourselves to understand，Emacs than Eclipse is like a lightsaber than shock - shock, but for others it may be more easy to learn。I hope to have the opportunity in the future of the blog to talk about this in detail。
For various reasons，I'm not every article will be published out，Here I would like to share with you what these reasons，Because once you start seriously writing blog，I guarantee you will certainly encounter the same problem with me。
First of all，Write a blog weird is that you may have addressed a wide range of readers。This is likely to put you bound up。There was this person HR department and other non-technology sectors came running to tell me that they read my blog，I sincerely hope they tell you that I have not seen。The more people you tell them to read your blog，The more you will try to make them like，If you force yourself too much you will surely go mad，Because it was impossible。
The best thing you write what you already know，Or you have solved。You'll be amazed at much looks like a "common sense" things actually many of the same smart people who are new things。It seems equally strange。In fact, there are just too many things in this world we need to understand，We are constantly learning Bale。(hope so)。
Sometimes I will be pouring cold water，Because it looks like something I would have already been discussed and we discussed the。I need to remember that there is always a "just in time" to learn certain things just，This "just in time" is different for everyone。For chestnuts，Many universities teach students the Scheme programming language，They want students to understand why this study。Many students do not understand，I was also。Some people spend years of time to figure out the，While others study their lives can not understand。I spent almost two decades，With twenty programming language written nearly a million lines of code to finally figure out。But that is not my "just" time Bale。Now I understand Scheme has been my own personal pursuit，But I do not think everyone should do it。
But that does not mean they do not like to hear this。No matter what stage you are in your career education，Some people would like to know your process of struggle。When you write a blog，You should put that in my heart。Your readers which everyone has a part of their own different clock，They are in some ways better than you，But in some ways than you weak。Meaning to blog is that we are happy to share their location，And not to laugh at those who look behind us，Because most likely they would have to know the other thing we do not know for many years，Even things we will never understand。
My last question is tangled too many things I want to write in an article。I found that if I first sat down to write an article，It looks very article published values out，At least that was。Maybe that's the level I was on a writing career。If I can not finish first，I feel like I've got nothing in terms of specific things。I wish that I could grow and exceed this level。Since the beginning of writing a book (or any real thing that) you need to stay focused on the requirements of capacity across the date of。I can only feel that way when writing code，Writing will not work。Maybe one day I can do in the future。
Anyway，The next few articles I will try to fill those old crater has not been completed，See if you can line。I think I just put a little of their standard is slightly lower，Then throw away those things opinionated。After all, this is not a communication between the Association for Computing Machinery，Right。
I'd love to read your blog
In general，I asked you to write blog because I know you really can tell a lot of interesting things，Even if you feel that is not interesting。Your life is meaningful，Your views on science and technology，Amazon，And for the life of the views are very helpful to me，The same is true for others。I bet you have a lot of things I will not，You may even do not know。Nima，I found I still misunderstood concept for total winter cold summer heat in the twenties。I thought I knew what to superset than we are now all know it is a thing of invisible dots。Do me a favor，Let me find you among all living things，Then for my enlightenment。
Other than that，I'm not ready to see what your article，And so I'm ready，I'll be there in your blog,。
(Posted on January 23, 2005)
Original article written by LogStudio：R0uter's Blog » You should write blog - Steve Yegge
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