I don't write very often but when I do, it's either for my knowledge base or my blog. In this blog post, I want to discuss the two main platforms I use to publish content, predominantly tech-related. While I don't expect a huge readership, writing is a crucial tool for learning and knowledge sharing. Let's dive in!
 

Writing

Before delving into the specifics of what and where I write, let me tell you why I write.
 

 

To Persist

No wasting space in my precious brain's memory when it can be stored in a computer

• There are some concepts I don't frequently use in my day to day life but it's a nice to have in case I ever need it
• These types of concepts can be noted down and almost forgotten until they're needed back again. When they're needed again, revisiting these notes is much more efficient than relearning the concepts from scratch
• For instance, consider my guide on Google API Integration. While I don't need to integrate the API daily, this guide is invaluable when the need arises.
   

To Understand

• In my opinion, when you learn something new you need to explain the topic to someone or write it down to make sure that you have understood it properly. Many a times we start writing down notes and certain questions start to pop up in our head. You can get those answers and make sure to note it down
• Research indicates that writing improves memory retention. Especially if its written by hand as opposed to typing but who am I kidding, I need everything available digitally so I'll pass on writing by hand. Nonetheless, I believe writing digitally is better than no writing at all.

 

Knowledge Base on Git

I maintain a GitHub repository called notes. Though it's not meant to be published anywhere, I'd like to think that someone coming across the notes can benefit out of it. I like having notes on git because:

• They are available anywhere and easier to manage
• You can use tools like Obsidian (shoutout to @BhanviShukla for introducing me to it) to have an even greater set of features alongside the version control
• It can be a brain dump with literally anything you want. Public, private, you decide.
• Markdown!
   
  It's worth mentioning that these notes do not use any AI tools for paraphrasing or to make the content read better. I believe in keeping them raw and true to what you have learnt and understood. They're more for me/you to understand than anyone else.

 

Blog Posts

My blog posts are generally more structured and written about a broader topic unlike the notes which are very specific. You could argue that I could put them all in place, either the blog or the notes but I just like the separation. My blog posts are also version controlled and stored in a separate repository.

Blog posts are good for sharing with rest of the world. Maybe even generate some revenue if you like writing. Or if you have a new finding, an opinion, a recommendation or anything that you wanna share really. As you might have noticed, I am not very active with the blog posts. I'm trying to write more myself - practice what you preach they say!

 

Conclusion

Learn new things and write about them. Well, you can write about anything you want really. Personally, I find writing helps with remembering and understanding topics better. I encourage everyone reading this to start writing about whatever interests them.