Why I am blogging in 2024... still the year of blog posts

Read time: 2 mins

Outline:

• Blogging and what it achieves
  • clarity of thought
  • serves as a reference of interesting thoughts
  • passing forward knowledge

I have never tried blogging formally, despite enjoying writing and appreciating the benefits. This is a key principle I wish to address moving into 2024. I have realised, like many others, that you know what you should be doing but it gets added to that long list of to dos. This year - 2024 - I am committing to writing an extended piece on a topic of interest when it arises. Here I outline why I am taking up blogging in 2024 and the key benefits and approach I am taking to use it as a flywheel to drive other areas of my life, from encouraging clear thinking to using it as a way of reflecting and sharing knowledge.

Firstly, blogging serves as a forcing function for clear thinking. Writing with precision and brevity in mind is a skill that will continue to have a high ROI, with current AI outputs being both verbose and inauthentic, the classic nose-to-the-grindstone approach to original writing still has a lot of mileage. Nobody can compete with you being you. Unique perspectives, unconventional filters and interests all make your own wordings and nuanced thought a huge opportunity. Cutting through the noise could not be simpler - don't use AI generated content when everyone else is.

Second, blogging in long form offers an opportunity to revisit and reflect on past experiences or thoughts. Often we know what we should be doing at any given time and have made a balanced decision to do so in the past, however it is sometimes hard to recollect the rationale behind that decision. Documenting this in the form of a blog post is a great way of storing a compressed rationale behind decisions you make in life so you can align the present understanding with the past you.

Third, passing forward the blessing of knowledge - what makes the internet so incredible. I owe a lot to thousands of talented people who share millions of technical articles per year. I feel a great sense of optimism when I can be part of this mass knowledge sharing, it is why I consistently contribute to the wikimedia foundation. What an incredible resource and time to be alive.