Following along with last month’s documentation homework this month I want you to write a blog post. But Ken, what does writing a blog post have to do with being a DBA? Does it really fit the theme of this series? Well, honestly you’d be surprised. If you ask any technical blogger they will tell you that in fact blogging has been a huge boon to their career and skills. It acts as a repository to your knowledge, helps you make sure you understand what you are writing far better, etc.
Just take me word for it. Write a blog post. Pick something you worked on in the last couple of weeks. I don’t care what it was. Heck, if you want, write a blog post about how to construct a SELECT statement, or how to document, or whatever. What I do not want you to write about is your current job/employer, or in fact any previous employers. Bad idea.
Excuses
- I don’t know what to write about. No problem. Contact me on twitter or by email and I’ll help you come up with something.
- No one will ever read it. So? This assignment isn’t about who can get the most hits on their blog. It’s about writing one for yourself. Make sure it’s understandable by others, and really explains your subject, but again, that’s for you. Oh, and again, if you want contact me on twitter or email and I’ll be happy to retweet a link. Also put yourself in the comments below.
- What if I get something wrong? Valid concern. I get stuff wrong all the time, or don’t know everything about a subject, etc. Don’t worry about it too much though. Someone will correct you and that’s ok! You’ll have learned something right? Which is kind of the point of this. No one is likely to be mean and if they are point me at them :D.
- But it’s a basic subject, no one needs to know this. Wrong. It’s a basic subject. Lots of people need to know it. There are far more people just now learning SQL than there are experts. And again, this is about you, not about anyone else. At least for now.
- Someone else has already written about this. Yep. Chances of you coming up with something completely new is pretty slim. That’s fine. Put your own spin on it, or don’t. Again, this post is just for you. As long as you aren’t plagiarizing no one has every said That blog post is just like this other one, how dare you!
- I don’t have a blog to post it on. Create one? Or don’t. Write it, stick it in a folder on your computer somewhere and save it for when/if you have a blog.
Good luck and happy blogging!