low-traffic blogging: learning, not metrics
Guess what? It’s not about reaching as many people as possible with your content. If you can do that, great, remember me when you’re famous. But chances are that by far the biggest beneficiary of you trying to help past you is future you. If others benefit, that’s icing.
The learning-by-teaching effect has been demonstrated in many studies. Students who spend time teaching what they've learned go on to show better understanding and knowledge retention than students who simply spend the same time re-studying. What remains unresolved, however, is exactly why teaching helps the teacher better understand and retain what they've learned.
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, curriculum design seeks to progress students from foundational knowledge (LOTS) to higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).
HOTS require learners to go beyond rote memorization and simple application. These skills involve critical and creative judgment, demanding the restructuring of knowledge.
Conclusion
- Writing for and teaching others is a practice of higher-order thinking and learning.
- I often work on niche problems. Often the breakthrough comes from low-traffic blogs (SEO is enshitification), and I hope to pay that back.
- Specialized writing/art has the advantage of skipping the 101 and sometimes even the 201. Not everything needs to be written to maximize social media engagement.