Why I blog

I started writing this blog post on the above topic earlier in the year and had almost finished it, but I was never happy with the result. Now my original reasons don't apply anymore so I thought I'd post about what's changed in a few short months.

The original reasons I started my blog were as follows:

1) putting down my thoughts in writing helps me solidify them.
2) to get feedback from others in the community.
3) to let me review my previous thoughts and see how I have changed over time.
4) to improve my writing skills.

Overall it's been a positive experience and I don't really have to self promote it anymore, but one thing has been bothering me and that's the amount of feedback I've received from the community.

If you go back through my archive you'll see a number of comments but compared with the site traffic it's a small drop in the ocean. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly appreciate everyone who has taken time to comment but I'm craving more discussion so that I can learn.

Moving on to the present. Though my original intents for blogging are still valid, these no longer apply to the blog itself. Since July, Google+ (G+) has been my substitute for my blog. When I post there, I am closing the feedback loop considerably and am getting more feedback than I have here. I'd love to be proven wrong about this but I feel my time is best spent posting on G+.

Now onto my current reason to blog. Basically I'm still using it as a place for my thoughts, but the content I'm creating is replicated from G+. I'm not doing it for every post, only the ones I want to highlight to others. This highlighting is one thing that G+ doesn't do well.

I'm interested in what others are doing with their blogs. Do you still blog? What are your reasons for doing so?

I don't build software I create it

This title might seem like pretensious nonsense to some or that I'm splitting hairs, but bear with me and you can tell me whether it is/I am in comments below.

I'm a great believer that the words we use form the way we think about things. With that in mind, I want to state that I don't build software, I create it, I write it, I design it.

I use these words to describe an activity that is extremely creative. We don't lay down bricks and mortar to a predefined pattern or build a car which has already been designed and tested, we take ideas from our clients and turn them into reality.

I don't see creating software as construction, it has more in common with product design, and research and development.

To me when looking at a well designed, highly maintenable application I see the beauty, creativity and art behind it.

Developers themselves are generally creative people. How many do you know that play music, write books, do photography, etc?

For a long time software has been stuck in a construction metaphor. I think it's time to move on.