Hello world

Why start this blog?

When the idea was first brought to me, I was a young developer working for a consulting company. We were asked to write blog posts about technical topics. At the time I read blogs by Scott Hanselmann, Phil Haack and Scott Guthrie (aka the red shirt guy). Now some of you that are familiar with the .NET environment might know these names, they’re big league. The kind of keynote speakers that would attract people to a conference.

Compared to those guys, what did I have to bring to the table? Who would take time out of their day to read about what I did? Moreover, while these guys are discussing design decisions in ASP.NET, the only vaguely interesting thing I had to write about was a bug I solved by crafting a well-composed Google search. Surely any self-respecting developer could do the same?

Years passed and I got to know a certain Brain Baker, he even interviewed me for the company I now am still working for. What started out as a professional relationship quickly evolved into a friendship. One that kept flourishing even after he left the company. One of his tenets was to write. On several occasions he would urge me to start a blog, or start journaling. I still felt the same reluctancy as before, who would want to read what I had to say? But I did start journaling.

Although I didn’t keep it up. I’ve filled about 3 or 4 notebooks before giving it up. I still journal on occasion, but it has become less train of thought and more regular note-taking. I’m moving house soon, and had to pack up old stuff, including my notebooks. Before packing it up, I flicked through the pages, and I liked that. A lot. Revisiting old ideas, seeing what I was thinking at the time, how I’ve grown since. It’s a static collection of dreams, ideas, thoughts, drawings and memories that brought a smile to my face.

That triggered me to rethink the idea of creating a blog. Of writing publicly. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that people started to trust my judgement. Some even look up to me. I’m not the snot-nosed kid anymore that I was. I’ve developed an instinct, an intuition for programming that only develops by years of repetition and learning from past mistakes.

Things haven’t only changed on a professional level, but on a personal level too. I used to have few friends, again by a certain conviction that I didn’t really have anything interesting to say, having such niche interests. But now I’m happy to be surrounded by good friends who care as much for me, as I do for them. It might seem commonplace, but to be entrusted with someone else’s troubles and to be able to provide advice is something very precious. It gives a sense of self-worth.

So that’s why I’m writing now, publicly. Because I do believe I have something interesting to say. It might not always pique your interest, but it might pique someone’s interest. It gives me a place to capture and collect my thoughts, so I might revisit them in the future.