The Joel on Software Discussion Group

Hi,
I recently was rejected for a job, because I don't have a blog. Er, at least I think that was why I was rejected.  The job involved producing blog-making software at a startup, so the company had a right to be concerned about my "lack of internet presence." Through the grape vine I have learned that the company hired someone who has a massive vanity blog. So massive, you wonder where he finds time to squeeze in software development.

This got me thinking. Will I be turned down for other types of development jobs because I don't maintain a blog? On the other hand, would it be possible to skillfully craft an amazingly interesting and provocative blog so that I don't even have to be a good developer anymore? 

The thought of having to keep a blog to appear relevant as a developer worries me. I am a private person, and one can find many embarrassing posts I made as a teenager if you dig deep enough into USENET archives. I'm not sure if I want my grandchildren to poke around on google in 40 years, and learn that I wasted much of my youth arguing about XML text file formats with other bloggers.

However, then I thought, maybe it would be possible to become such a good blogger, that I could make a living just blogging, and not dealing with writing software at all. Do any of the A-list bloggers actually develop software? When do they find the time? And if they don't write software, how do they pay rent?

Thoughts? Discuss.

> On the other hand, would it be possible to skillfully craft an amazingly interesting and provocative blog so that I don't even have to be a good developer anymore? 

You are assuming the person they hired is mediocre. There are people who simply made better do with their time. They CAN produce a decent blog and code well. You'd surprised. However my comments won't help you get a job... unless you've been gunning for blog-related development jobs, do you really want to invest the time to show people you can blog? I think the principles of blogging can be found in wikis (volunteer for wikipedia or everything2) and web forums (if you spend time here, it should count, ask your interviewers to do a search on JOS if you chat here much).

The biggest competitive advantage of having a blog - as far a a job search is related - is the evidence that you can write well, being that it is, well, writing, heh.

I think having a blog makes you "known" as opposed to not having one. The prospective employer knows something more about you than just what's in your resume. Good writing skills might or might be a requirement for certain positions. But the opinions expressed in your blog will tell more about you to the employer.

Anon is right, having a blog makes you "the devil I know" above someone without a blog.

The flip side is paranoid companies could be afraid of what you might say about them. Microsoft was brave to hire Philo after CAMEL, for example.

Best reason to have a blog - Coffee, tea or suspension without pay. Airline flight attendant sacked for posting photos of herself in uniform.

http://cathyseipp.journalspace.com/?entryid=414

Don't knock the Google Groups archive, it helped the producers of a TV show, John Safran vs. God, find me for a spot they were filming (it was later cut from the show, but is still on the DVD.)

I'm sure the logic is somwhere along the lines of - if you had a blog you would be more likely to be sensitive to the needs/wants/desires of bloggers.  You may be a great coder, but you are less valuable if you cannot, from experience, provide constructive feedback.  How much less valuable you may be is up for debate.  Other things being equal, though, I'd choose the vanity blogger over the non-blogger.

"Microsoft was brave to hire Philo after CAMEL, for example."

Did anyone know about CAMEL apart from about four people here?

If the job was to code blog software, I'm sure they preferred  a blogger because it would be someone with a good experience of what's good/ not good in blog software. Don't worry; I wouldn't generalize and say that beeing a blogger is needed for every job!

It's kinda like preferring a musician to write music editing software, or a photographer to work on photoshop.. a little domain knowledge can be a big help.

I suspect you not getting the job wasn't because you didn't have a blog, it was just that the other guy did have one.

Well, my blog helped me get hired at Technorati, but I have since found that working on blog related software makes me less likely to blog...

It's a mixed bag. Many employers [who do not sell blogging software] are still very wary of bloggers so a blog could be a liability at another job.

Anyone who interviews you for a job will type your name into Google. If the first link that comes up is a plain web page with information about your professional life (resume, etc.), that will usually go over well with employers.

The first page that comes up for me is Carly Simon's sister, does this mean I can claim her royalties?

"Anyone who interviews you for a job will type your name into Google."

What is your basis for this assertion?

http://cathyseipp.journalspace.com/?entryid=414


I don't know, but if my company had a tall leggy blond prancing around in uniform, it might help morale quite a bit.

I have a list of cars that I've owned over the years on my personal website -- I just did an ego search, and that page is now listed on a "Ask Jeeves" page with a bunch of car rental listings (Hertz, Avis, Eurocar, etc).

Love it.

Does anybody have a link to Philo's CAMEL page?  I've just read the earlier posts relating to it and it sounds like an interesting read.