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Setting expectations

(last updated )

Blogging about tech is challenging. I would like to take a moment to set expectations.

  1. Everything changes
    If I write about a software tool today, the information will likely be outdated in 6 months. This is of course why engineers like documentation to live as close to code as possible, so the two can change as one. Blogs often spit in the face of that principle.
    Please expect some information here to slowly degrade in relevance and accuracy. I will intentionally omit the publication date on certain posts (including this one) to indicate that the information is meant to be current.
  2. Nothing is new
    Whatever I have to say about software has likely been said before. I hope I eat these words someday by designing something spectacular, but —I hope you see— my purpose in saying this is to lower the bar for myself when writing posts.
    Maybe I can deliver value by composing ideas together in interesting or more accessible ways, but at the end of the day I'm just another meme machine. With that said, I'll do my best to cite sources. If you think something I publish deserves a citation, please let me know.
  3. Survivorship bias
    There may be a survivorship bias to my posts, where I post less about topics in which I'm deeply entrenched and more about topics in which I'm only dabbling. If I express excitement or wonder about topic X, I hope you will not assume I have lost interest in topic Y.
  4. Unknown unknowns
    I don't know what I don't know. I might say something inaccurate. I appreciate it greatly when my readers take the time to correct and educate me in writing, so I can fully grok the concept and respond appropriately.

So in summary,

  • Consider publication dates when reading;
  • Expect some amount of content to be mundane;
  • Try not to make assumptions about the author; and
  • Give lots of feedback.

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