10 years of writing a blog nobody reads

Value of Writing with Few or No Readers

• Many see personal blogging as inherently worthwhile: it clarifies thinking, preserves memories, and provides satisfaction regardless of audience size.
• Several treat their blogs as public diaries or project logs, primarily useful to their future selves or close contacts.
• Occasional discoveries that someone did find and use an obscure post are described as uniquely rewarding, even if rare.

Audience, Discovery, and the Modern Web

• Some disable comments to reduce friction; accidental discovery via search or colleagues is enough.
• Others recommend indie blog directories and RSS-focused sites as low-key ways to attract “the right few” readers.
• There’s frustration that search engines increasingly bury personal blogs, undermining the early “democratizing” promise of the web.
• A contrasting view stresses that getting readers is like performing in a town square: you must deliberately seek, understand, and adapt to an audience—many bloggers don’t.

Writing vs. AI and Legacy

• Several expect LLMs to be main “readers,” turning personal posts into training data and a kind of digital afterlife.
• Some find this comforting (“numerical immortality”), others worry it devalues human-authored writing or makes people lazier about writing “the old way.”

Skill-Building, Style, and Education

• Writing is framed as a trainable skill akin to charisma or musicianship; practice and audience feedback improve engagement.
• A long subthread debates whether there is real “better/worse” in art or only shifting taste; consensus lands roughly on “not objective, but also not random.”
• Many describe blogs as crucial for improving language skills (including in second languages) and general communication at work.
• Strong emphasis on concision: cutting filler, targeting a clear audience, and sometimes enforcing word limits to sharpen ideas. Others defend longer, more nuanced or “florid” styles as valid and enjoyable.

Psychology of Publishing and Engagement

• Several admit they avoid blogging or sharing code out of fear of judgment and online pile-ons; others encourage “write for yourself first” to overcome this.
• Analytics and virality are seen as dangerous motivators that can distort voice and priorities; some advocate never checking stats.
• Broader fatigue with online argument is noted: people increasingly draft comments, then delete them, seeing little benefit in public debate.