Ask HN: Is starting a personal blog still worth it in the age of AI?

If you have to ask, then the answer is most likely no.

The most interesting blogs I read are the people that don't really care and are just creating things they find interesting.

As a bit of personal advice from a former blogger who had a million+ visitors per year, it's not about anything except your readers and the community you build. AI might have facts on everything, but AI content will not build a community and enrich the people's lives who engage with the site.

When everything else is a computer, be a human.

> What made it worth it for you?

Learning to hit publish even when you're full of doubt is the cure for self-doubt. Stop letting doubt rule your life and do the things you want to do!

> Any practical format that lowers the bar (length, cadence, themes)?

My recommendation, short posts at least once a week revolving around a single topic

> If you were starting today, what would you do differently?

I would not have built my own blog from scratch, I would just use one of the many fine options out there. Be realistic, you likely will not get many readers, at least not for a while. The value of blogging is what you learn about writing and the topic you write about it.

It's worth being very clear about the reasons for it. You say you're not trying to build a media business, and want to build a "public notebook", but you imply you're looking for career/networking opportunities. You're also not clear if the "learning" is for you as the author, or for the reader.

If you want to have your content discovered online, I'd say you might be in for some trouble, although I don't think AI is the cause, only an accelerator on that. Blogs for readers learning are probably in decline, you're unlikely to get any outreach based on your posts for networking.

However if, like me, the writing process is the point – you're trying to clarify your thoughts, learn something new yourself, or have a document you can share with colleagues when they ask you to explain your opinions, I think blogging is valuable. While you won't get direct outreach, you can share it on your CV or send it to recruiters and you might get noticed when applying for jobs.

If anything, it's maybe even more worth doing this in the age of LLMs since "nobody is going to read this" is probably no longer true!

LLMs are likely more attentive readers than most human beings and in a way a blog might achieve even greater reach by virtue of being read by an LLM and incorporated into its "understanding of the world." (Or whatever is the right metaphor.)

AI doesn't change anything. If it was worth doing it is still worth doing.

I have a personal technical blog. I decided a long time ago I don’t care if anyone reads it. My purpose for writing is an educational exercise for myself. Publishing on the web is kind of just a forcing function for quality.

You have to realize ai is way more trash than you actually give it credit for.

Also with the shoveling of it down the people's throats, more people want authentic human experiences.

I've been writing on my blog for 9 years. Still feel the same blockers you do on every new post.

For me, the main motivation is that I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and hopefully my posts give someone ekse a similar enjoyment

I had a few attempts to lower the bar (tags for low effort, short and shitpost so far), but it feels like a crutch and hasn't worked long term for me.

AI will scrape your blog and your personal philosophy will eventually become a part of collective Human Intelligence. That's a pretty good reason to blog imo.

Human always have thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Writing them down is already a cool thing. If AI has those too, then it should start its own blog :)

"If you're thinking without writing, you only think you're thinking." - Leslie Lamport

Writing a blog entry to simply clarify your own thinking makes it worth it.