Why blog if nobody reads it?

Blogging for self: memory, thinking, enjoyment

• Many posters say they blog primarily for themselves: as a time capsule, public diary, or “web log” of what they were doing and thinking.
• Technical blogs often function as personal documentation. People frequently Google something and land on their own post, or use posts as long-form gists.
• Writing is described as “thinking”: it forces clarification, reveals gaps in understanding, and improves communication skills. Some only truly understand topics once they’ve written a post about them.
• Several mention the intrinsic pleasure and therapeutic value of writing, independent of readership.

Audience, discovery, and traffic

• Some dispute “if you write it, they won’t come”, noting that over years certain posts unexpectedly gain significant search traffic or go viral (including via HN).
• Others emphasize that most content gets little attention; blogging is like other creator markets where the top fraction captures most views.
• Social referrals are said to have collapsed; for some, almost all traffic now comes from HN or search. Algorithms on platforms like Substack can still bootstrap niche newsletters.
• A recurring theme: it’s better to value a small, high-quality audience than chase large numbers.

Credibility, careers, and self-marketing

• Blogging is framed as a low-cost way to demonstrate expertise and seriousness; posts can be sent to interviewers, clients, or colleagues and have helped some land jobs or consulting work.
• Older pre-LLM posts and public Git histories are seen as harder to fake than AI-generated portfolios. There’s discussion of timestamping and archive.org as partial guards against backdating.
• Others warn that writing “to build a brand” can shift focus from teaching the reader to marketing the author, reducing educational quality.

Public vs private writing

• Debate: if blogs are mostly for the author, why publish instead of keeping local notes?
• Arguments for publishing even with few readers: easier cross-device access; linkability; the mere possibility of an audience improves rigor and honesty; occasionally someone is helped or a good conversation starts.
• Some say they would stop if no one ever read; others explicitly write “as if no one will” and treat readers as a bonus.

AI and blogs

• Multiple people notice LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.) citing their blogs.
• Some welcome this as amplifying knowledge; others dislike that their work helps enrich large AI companies and may be misattributed or distilled into low-quality summaries.

Indie web, tooling, and discovery

• HN commenters strongly favor simple, JS-light blogs with proper semantics and RSS; one thread helps a blogger fix button-links and add a feed.
• There’s concern that search makes personal sites hard to find; suggestions include niche search engines, webrings, and custom directories.
• Several avoid detailed analytics to reduce anxiety and keep focus on writing itself.