The Shape of What You Meant

Interesting piece. The author frames something I’ve come to believe that discovery shouldn’t be about polished pitches, it should be about authenticity, and honestly sharing your experience.

While the article focuses on finding collaborators, I think the same principle applies to finding subscribers or early users, and I’m living that right now.

When I recently started growing my blog, I fell into the trap of loud self-promotion: showcasing myself, posting everywhere, and pushing content into people’s feeds. It felt aimless.

Eventually, I stopped guessing what people might want and returned to what I actually care about, documenting the bumps and breakthroughs of my journey, hoping others on a similar path might resonate.

For some strange reason, I ignored the same philosophy I follow when building software: always start with the problem, not the solution.

Since, I’ve applied that mindset to my writing too.

Instead of chasing growth hacks, I focus on what I’m actually learning, the wins, the failures, and the questions I’m tussling with.

People who care tend to find their way in. No pitching is required. In software, I listen to real user pain points. With my blog, I am the user, writing through my own wins and failures, hoping others facing similar challenges find value in the process.

What I’ve learned is that it’s not about clever headlines or viral tricks. It’s about sharing honest, useful insights that speak to real problems.

Start small. Solve something meaningful. Let that earn attention naturally.

This idea of being understood, not promoted is something I’m exploring further in an upcoming blog post. (Not trying to plug, just context, wrapped in self-promotion guilt)

Curious to hear from others about a similar approach.

thanks for reading.

"This is the system we pretend works: discovery as noise, identity as content, and visibility as a full-time job."