January 19, 2011 at 9:04 am
I've seen lots of comments from people on here and elsewhere about the benefits of blogging, both in terms of focusing and improving your knowledge on certain subjects, and improving your writing skills.
It seems like some people more than others manage to come up with a regular stream of ideas to write about, and without simply rehashing things already written elsewhere.
What I was wondering is how or where do people come up with their ideas. Do you simply write about things you come across in your day to day work, or deliberately seek out ideas elsewhere?
I've quite enjoyed my first attempts at blog writing, but I find it hard at times to think of things to write about, not just in terms of subjects, but also having the confidence in my own knowledge to think I could contribute something worthwhile to a chosen topic.
January 19, 2011 at 9:11 am
Two sources of ideas from me are:
1. Day to day work and solutions/problems that I encounter there.
2. Community involvement. Helping in the forums or on twitter as well as with the local User Group. Ideas and questions pop up from everywhere and it is then a matter of time to research and write about it.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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January 19, 2011 at 10:31 am
Keith Langmead (1/19/2011)
I've seen lots of comments from people on here and elsewhere about the benefits of blogging, both in terms of focusing and improving your knowledge on certain subjects, and improving your writing skills.It seems like some people more than others manage to come up with a regular stream of ideas to write about, and without simply rehashing things already written elsewhere.
I had the same problem trying to determine what I wanted to write some articles here on SSC on, Keith. I feel your pain. The end result: You're not going to be able to avoid the re-hash.
What you CAN do, however, is add value to that re-hash... and give out any necessary credit if you lean heavily on any one work. Value could be rewording it in a way to reach a less experienced userbase. It could be further research done on a subject that exposes weaknesses in assumptions we use every day (working on one of these right now, actually, regarding index selectivity).
There are giants who have walked these paths before us. They're well trod and pounded relatively flat. It's our job to pave them, now, and put the flowers along the sides.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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January 19, 2011 at 11:58 am
Keith Langmead (1/19/2011)
What I was wondering is how or where do people come up with their ideas. Do you simply write about things you come across in your day to day work, or deliberately seek out ideas elsewhere?
Stuff asked here often. Stuff that I start on in one blog post then realise it'll take more than one. Stuff in my speciality area that I get asked about and realise will take more than a couple of lines to answer. Comments from speakers or other bloggers
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
January 20, 2011 at 7:15 am
It's pretty much whatever comes in front of you from day to day that you are either fascinated with, excited by or knowledgeable about. Preferably all three. You can't worry about the rehash, because chances are extremely high that someone, somewhere, has already written about whatever you're writing about. My most recent post was about why do log files fill up. Believe me, other people have posted about it. But it's still one of the most frequent questions we see on the forums. You could write about it tomorrow and help three or four people that haven't seen the 7,432 other posts by other bloggers on the exact same topic.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
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January 20, 2011 at 7:25 am
Grant Fritchey (1/20/2011)
My most recent post was about why do log files fill up. Believe me, other people have posted about it.
A topic I'm in the middle of writing an article on. From a completely different starting point to what Grant used.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
January 20, 2011 at 7:38 am
GilaMonster (1/20/2011)
Grant Fritchey (1/20/2011)
My most recent post was about why do log files fill up. Believe me, other people have posted about it.A topic I'm in the middle of writing an article on. From a completely different starting point to what Grant used.
See!
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
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