Why should anyone read this blog?

I have been questioning the merit of several computer science related blogs that I read. Well, actually just the two that I read on a regular basis: Coding Horror and Joel on Software. I mean, do I really need to read yet another blog post about how awesome source control is (Check in Early, Check in Often)? Is it really worth trying to glean some tidbits of wisdom from the writings of a single person whose only qualification is that they can make a blog?

Well, I'm being hasty here, Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood each have impressive resumes, and I am hoping that their joint project Stack Overflow lives up to expectations. And I can't say that my time reading their blogs have been a waste of time as many of them have introduced me to something new. I often find that their posts send me of on tangential searches and I often learn quite a bit about something that I would have never looked up otherwise.

So that's why I read their blogs, and I suppose I shouldn't question their merit given the authors experience and expertise in their respective fields. But there are a ton of computer science blogs out there, many of which are nothing more than a neophyte or two rambling on about whatever happens to cross their mind that is related to computer science but broad or simple enough to cover in four to six paragraphs. Like this one.

So why do we write it? Well, I should be careful with the "we" as I can not speak for Matt. My reason for writing are selfish: I want to become a better writer and I enjoy talking about computer science (or writing about it when I run out of people willing to listen to me). But I don't know all that much and often times my understanding of a topic is tenuous at best, so I doubt that one can learn from my writings.

It's probably sounding like the conclusion of this post is that no one should actually read this blog, as readers seem to have little to gain, but I have so much to gain from them (I told you I'm selfish). I need user feedback to find out what I need to improve about my writing, and it also helps my inflated sense of self-importance.

So please keep reading my posts, and together we can make me a better writer.

*I should reiterate that the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. I do not presume to speak for Matt or future collaborators.