Ask HN: Why should I write tutorials/how-tos for others?
If I think a certain software pattern I use in nearly every project of mine is unique and frankly worth a lot of money (read: less time spent engineering and more time available for additional value-adding elsewhere), why should I write a tutorial on that pattern for others to consume/learn from?
(
8 comments
| 7 points
| on HN
)
b) If everybody held onto their knowledge because it was valuable, I'd venture to say that you'd only have a fraction of the knowledge you have now - since there wouldn't be any resources for you to consume yourself
c) It disseminates your work, more people know what you're working on, and that means that when you make a claim regarding the value of your work, people will take you seriously. How am I supposed to judge the value of your work if you don't have a readily available body of work for me to cross-reference against.
d) If your pattern truly creates value, then others will start to use it in software you don't contribute to; which will mean more rapid progress that you can again benefit from.
Human knowledge acquisition is not meant to be solitary, so if you don't want to share; thats up to you. But you need to realise that sharing is always a game of give and take.
I particularly like your third point - I obviously can't share the proprietary work I've done, but this is something I could share and would demonstrate (hopefully) some of my competencies.
You might want to write a book that includes the subject in the future. If you get good feedback on the article and lots of eyeballs on it, this validates this idea.
- It is not a zero sum game