Recently, I've been writing about how I use Social Media. In Part 1, I talked about how I use Twitter. In Part 2, I talked about how I use Facebook and potential I see in Facebook for all of us as developers. Last week, I made a slight digression to talk about how Connected TV and Social Media could work together to make TV as engaging as online content. That's why this week is Part 3 rather than Part 4, even though last week's post was related.

Today, I'd like to talk about blogging. Obviously, I find blogging to be highly beneficial, and I believe that if you're not blogging, you should be, and here's why.

A Blog is a Resource for Yourself and Others

It's no coincidence that my blog on here is branded as "The Developer Diary" and my personal blog is "Amy's Flex Diary." I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what's actually going on, whether it's in the bowels of the Flex Framework or in the world of Social Media. I don't want to have to try to remember everything I've ever figured out, because that would leave me less time and attention to try to figure out new things. So if I write something down right after I've figured it out, then I can always go back and "refresh my memory," rather than trying to go back and reconstruct the entire train of thought.

Amy's Flex Diary began so that I could record the things that were confusing to me as a newbie and what the solutions to the typical newbie problems were. One reason I chose to do this was that Adobe chose not to continue development on the development environment I'd used the most, Macromedia Authorware. I could see a tremendous potential in Flex to do nearly as much as what Authorware could do, and I fully expected that the eLearning community would be transitioning there in droves. So I thought that it would be a good idea to share my thoughts with colleagues trying to make the same transition. As I became more advanced, I started creating more code examples and blogging about more advanced topics.

A Blog Helps Organize/Refine Your Thoughts

When I just "think" something, that's sometimes as far as I take it. I might make an assumption about what's true and operate under that assumption until something comes along to either refine it or prove it false. But when I decide to write a blog post, I know it has to stand up to commenters, many of whom will know more about the topic than I do. Because of this, I usually devote quite a bit of time to researching each post.

When I'm doing this research, I'm usually looking for information that supports my conclusion or gives reasons for a phenomenon I've noticed. At the same time, I'm also looking for any kind of hole in my premise that could make me look like a total idiot. This pretty much makes for "instant refinement" of whatever idea I was rolling around in the old hind-brain. I've heard it said that to really learn something, you should teach others, and I think this is true in spades on a blog, where commenters can and will deliver a set-down if you haven't really thought about what you're saying. Or even if you have, a lot of times.

I also find that the very act of publicly taking a position on something makes me more apt to notice new information that might alter or support that position. Also, when I write something down I feel like I internalize it much more than if I just "know" it. For instance, I feel like I make much more effective use of both Facebook and Twitter since writing about how I use them.

Tweet Your Current Blog Posts

Speaking of Twitter and Facebook, if I have current blog posts, I can contribute something to the discussion other than scavenged links (helpful as those are) and chit-chat about the current temperature of my feet (which, if you must know, ranges between nearly tepid and icy). And, after all, if I spent several hours researching and writing a post, I don't want to have it sitting there in the ether hoping someone will notice it. I want people to read it.

Since I blog weekly for InsideRIA and I try to blog at least monthly on my personal blog, I don't have to be one of those people who writes one blog post and then retweets it with different introductory text that makes it sound like a different post every few days for two weeks. Since at least part of my motivation for blogging is to raise my profile in the developer community, I do want to stay "top of mind" with my followers, but I don't want to annoy the snot out of everyone in the process.

Raise Your Profile by Blogging

I don't think anyone doing RIA development has a truly secure job. I'm contracting at the moment, but I'm also looking for a full-time job. I know that the fact that I blog has gotten me at least one interview recently at a major company. It turns out I wasn't the best fit for that job, but my blogging at least got me through the door so I could have the conversation.

Even if you feel secure where you are now, the company you work for could fail, your boss might be replaced by someone you hate, or you might hit the ceiling of what the company will let you do as a technician. Having a blog where potential employers can see exactly what you're made of when that time comes can give you an edge.

If you like to go to conferences, you probably already know that the tickets alone can be pricey, never mind the expenses to get there and stay at the conference hotel. If you're a speaker, most conferences will comp the ticket price, and an increasing number are picking up a share of the expenses. Conference organizers like to know that you're not a random person with a sketchy idea you're planning to throw together at the last minute. If you've blogged about your presentation idea, they can evaluate what you're likely to say when you arrive at the podium. Better yet, if they already know you through your blog and know you have a large readership, they're probably going to be looking for ways to say "yes" to your presentation.

When you get to the conference, it's nice to have "hey, I know you" moments with people you've never met, but who have benefitted from your blog. Some people even get free beers out of these things, but for some reason I never have. Maybe people think that because I live in the South I'm a (sweet) tea-totaler. I don't actually like sweet tea.

A Blog Provides You With a Body of Work

One suggestion I've read for writing a cover letter when you're applying for a job is to go through point by point and show where your qualifications match up with what the job description is. If you're writing regularly, you'll soon have a substantial stack of blog posts. Instead of saying "yeah, I did that once on this project that's proprietary and I can't show you it," instead you can point to the blog post whose concepts were inspired by the proprietary project. You can match up each bullet point of their requirement with a post where you demonstrate your actual experience relative to it, you're ahead of the game, and help recruiters, hiring managers, or potential clients to take a deep dive into your experience relative to what they're looking for. They can have a better idea of whether your experience just "touches on" a needed skill, or if you're a complete guru.

If you use online forums and mailing lists, you probably find yourself answering questions regularly. If you already have a blog post that answers the question, you can point to that post for an answer that probably has more detail than you'd have time to write just for that question, and might even have source code the person you're trying to help can look at. Conversely, I've found myself inspired by some questions to put together some to answer it. Writing a blog post to accompany the code makes the code available for others, while at the same time providing context for the problem it's trying to solve.

Why Do You Blog?

I've laid out some of the reasons why I blog, but I'm quite certain that many people reading this blog as well. Why do you blog, and what positive (or negative) effects have you seen due to your blogging?

Read Part 4: LinkedIn

Read more from Amy Blankenship.