This was a challenge/chain letter that went around near the beginning of this year. I wasn't tagged, but after reading Sophie's post yesterday, I accepted the tag from her.
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
I always wanted an online home I could point people to. By the time I reached college, I’d already seen the peak, fall, and sunset of Orkut. So I was sure it had to be a place under my control — a personal website.
Around the time I left college, I bought this domain and launched the first version of this site. Back then, it was mostly an online résumé with no blog or other functionalities.
As I read more blogs from professionals in my industry, I felt that I also should write similar stuff, like bugs that I encounter or some new concept that I learn. And that is how this blog was born.
What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it? Have you blogged on other platforms before?
The current version is built using Eleventy, a Node.js-based static site generator. I chose it because I wanted a build system that used JavaScript but didn’t want to ship unnecessary JS to readers. Hosting is on Netlify these days.
Before that, Jekyll was responsible for that duty, as it was supported out-of-the-box on GitHub Pages (where this blog used to be hosted). As I started to add more features, I found Jekyll's Ruby ecosystem unfamiliar and harder to work with.
And way back in the starting days, the site was just three files (one each of HTML, CSS, and JS) from a popular Bootstrap template. It was so common that within a week, I saw two other live sites using the exact same template 😅.
How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that's part of your blog?
All of my posts get created inside my IDE (I use WebStorm for this project). Most get written there too, but some I would open in Typora, especially if it is prose-heavy. I once considered adding a writing/admin section to the blog, but it felt like too much overhead for too little benefit.
What I might start doing more frequently is to start a draft/post in Obsidian and then move it to the blog when it is ready. I also want to create scripts that would create the right file given the type of post I want to write and open it directly in Typora, so I don't necessarily need to open my IDE.
When do you feel most inspired to write?
Almost never. I like having written, but the starting inertia is always huge. In rare cases, I would have an idea/topic lodged in my head which demands to be written, and those are some of the easiest posts to write.
Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
As soon as I complete writing (which might take multiple sessions), I move to fixing the grammar and structure, and maybe some light editing. After that it goes straight to be published without any further delays.
What's your favourite post on your blog?
It's like picking a favourite child, but I will play favourites. "🗂 Filenames can't just be anything" was the most satisfying to write. Researching it was a real head-scratcher. I want people to know those details, but also hope they never need to.
Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
Recently I've had plenty of ideas. Some I'll implement this year:
- A simple changelog based on Keep a Changelog
- A complete redesign, as neither my older theme (on post pages) nor my current theme (on other pages) are looking that good
Some that might go into the next year:
- Adding a "now" page with archives
- Improving the "Books" page and adding similar ones for "Movies" and "Games"
- Noting down some of my favorite recipes (will also try integrating cooklang)
Who's next?
Since I am more than half-a-year late to the bandwagon, I have little hope. But I would like to see the answers from Chandru, Afsheen and Juhis if they're interested.