Why publish at all? Who cares if something blows up and goes viral? Why should I spend any time publishing anything?
Personally, I’d rather spend time doing something that enriches my life and/or the lives of people I care about.
Personally, I’d rather spend time doing something that enriches my life and/or the lives of people I care about.
My most valuable example actually came from a tiny web app I created. I got a email telling me that someone had lost 212 lbs and my app was part of their success. I was sure the number was a typo so I responded and confirmed. When I reached out 6 years later they said:
“I weigh 163.8 this morning down from a high of 387. It has changed my life and the weight has stayed off (but I'm never off the program).”
I think your words, no matter how simple, would be powerful to others.
For me a large part of publishing is getting to hear the thoughts of the clever people in my readership.
If I'm obviously wrong, anyone can point that out to me, but if I'm only subtly wrong, it takes popularity to have the right person read the article and correct me.
I doubt the risks out weigh the minute possibility of a benefit.
You don’t need a public presence in code or writing to be a valuable person.