I looked at my dashboard today, and the message from Medium was loud and clear.
As you know, what they say
The data never lies
So,
When I write a technical deep-dive: It earns $2.00–$3.00 (at least)
When I write a personal journal or a thought dump: It earns $0.01. Maybe $0.03 if I’m lucky.
Now, If I were maximizing for profit, the strategy would be obvious:
Kill the journal. Stop talking about my day. Stop talking about the struggle.
Just churn out tutorials, “How-to” guides, and System Design breakdowns.
Be the “Niche Expert”
But, when I asked myself this question today:
Should I stop writing the real stuff just because it doesn’t pay?
And the answer is No.
Let me explain.
This is not my primary source of income (The most important reason)
And the internet is obsessed with niches. We are told to productize ourselves. You can’t just be a person.
You have to be “The Python Guy” or “The Cloud Architect” or “The Storyteller”
But, well, I am not just a repository of technical knowledge. I am a developer who gets tired. I am a person who needs to play badminton to keep my sanity. I am someone who struggles with distractions and burnout while trying to master something.
If I cut out those parts of my writing, I’m just generating documentation, not stories :)
My Rough Notebook Philosophy
No need of a polished portfolio designed to impress recruiters or game the algorithm. It is my Rough Notebook.
- Sometimes it will be messy code snippets.
- Sometimes it will be a rant about a 10-hour workday.
- Sometimes it will be a victory lap for solving a Hard problem.
- Sometimes it will be about how a common man helped me and made me believe the world isn’t so unkind.
I don’t care about the niche. Whatever is in my mind, I will write it here.
If the algorithm punishes me for that, fine.
Writing is about connection, not numbers.
When I write a technical article, I might help you fix a bug. That has value.
But when I write about my struggle, I might help you feel less alone in your own grind. That has meaning.
If even one person reads my messy, un-optimized journal entry and thinks, “Thank god, I thought I was the only one struggling with this”
then that is a success.
I’ll take that connection over the $2.00 any day.
So, welcome to my rough notebook.
It’s going to be unpolished, it’s going to be random, and it’s going to be real :)