I read a lot. I love books, both technical books and novels, and over the years I've found that it is by far the best way for me to learn new things. Partially due to my obsession with learning from books, it took me longer than normal to discover that blogs are another great resource for learning, but in a different way. Blogs are good for getting insight into the culture of a field, for keeping up with the most recent developments of a topic, and for participating in a discussion with the community.
Blogs are not better than books. They are a different medium for the dissemination of knowledge, and certainly will not be replacing books. In fact, they compliment books quite nicely. The medium they seem to be replacing is periodicals.
In my relatively short exploration of blogs, I've found a few dozen that I read regularly, most of which seem to have gone dormant or are updated only infrequently. Almost all of them focus on technical or scholarly topics. If I only wanted to be entertained, I would read a novel or watch a movie. I read blogs to learn and expand my viewpoint. These six blogs have qualities that make them truly exceptional. Since it would be meaningless to rank them because of how different they are, here are the six best blogs for a software developer in the order I discovered them:
Joel on Software - This is a great blog to get started reading software blogs. Joel Spolsky is an incredibly good writer. His ideas on software design and development, project management, and leadership are delivered with vibrant examples and clear reasoning. Plus, you get to experience the growth and development of his software company, Fog Creek Software, almost first hand. It's a fascinating look into how a real software company can start from almost nothing and grow organically through hard work and determination. I'll warn you, by the end you'll likely be convinced to start using his company's software products, or start your own company.
Coding Horror - Whereas Joel clearly entered blogging with strong opinions and an excellent, fully developed writing style, Jeff Atwood seems to have started blogging with the intention of exploring and developing his ideas and improving his writing. His first posts were stilted and awkward, but with years of practice he became a great writer who could clearly express his thoughts with sharp reasoning and emotional force. It was inspiring to read along and witness his evolution as a writer and a software developer. During the course of the blog, an idea for a software company occurred to him and he decided to run with it. He partnered with Joel Spolsky and together they created Stackoverflow and the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites. He went on to other pursuits as well. The entire progression of his career is an excellent read and quite enlightening.
Paul Graham's Essays - Like Joel Spolsky, Paul Graham started blogging as an excellent writer. However, his focus is quite different. Instead of slowly growing a small company into a sustainable business, Paul writes convincingly for the flip side of the coin - the fast-growing startup. He relates his own experience running ViaWeb and selling it to Yahoo!, and shares an ongoing stream of great insights for running a successful startup. A few years into his blog, in the summer of 2005, he puts these ideas to the test by starting a startup school called Y Combinator. The school starts small, but after gaining a lot of inertia, it now turns out dozens of startups per year. Reading about the whole theory and process behind it helps you understand this part of the business world better, and it's a great contrast to the slow and steady way of starting a company.
Stevey's Blog Rants - Steve Yegge's articles are spread across multiple places. The bulk of them are at his Blogger site, but he also has some posts on his Google+ site (+Steve Yegge), and a bunch of articles that he wrote while working at Amazon are stored at Stevey's Drunken Blog Rants. He now works at Google, and he writes a lot about programming language design, working at large software companies, and staying current as a software developer. His posts are filled with wisdom, wit, and sarcasm, and they are long. He packs them so full of information, and he is so entertaining that I don't mind that a bit. He's worth a read if only to get a clear view of the programming language landscape delivered with a healthy dose of cutting satire.
The Conscience of a Liberal - This is not a technical blog, but it will flex your logic and reasoning skills. Paul Krugman's blog is a wickedly smart critique of modern economics and politics, and he doesn't pull any punches. If there's some policy he doesn't agree with, and there are many, he'll explain every deficiency and delinquency as clearly as you could possibly imagine. It doesn't matter if the ideas are coming from the left or the right, if the logic and reasoning are wrong, Krugman will neatly tear them apart. He always backs up his criticisms with solid data and a tremendous command of the English language, easily making him the best writer in this list. Reading him will teach you how to deliver an argument. He also shows a sharp wit combined with an expansive cultural knowledge that is always entertaining. The true mark of wisdom is shown when someone can explain complex topics simply enough that anyone can understand them, and Krugman delivers this in spades. This blog and his weekly columns are an extremely worthwhile read.
Bruce Bartlett - Economix Blog - Bruce Bartlett is a conservative economist who has served in the Reagan and Bush I administrations as well as the staffs of multiple Republican congressmen. His writings are a study in how to let the data do the talking, and he often advocates solutions that you wouldn't expect of a conservative. His reasoning is always straightforward and nonsense-free, and he has an amazing store of political and economic historical knowledge that gives his writing excellent context. He steadfastly lets the facts determine the most rational policy recommendations without letting his own subjectivity intrude. Reading his posts will give you a firm appreciation for careful analysis and measured conclusions.
Even though two of these blogs are about economics instead of software, they all have much to teach you about how to analyze incomplete data, reason about problems, and express your ideas in good writing. These are invaluable skills for every software developer. Each of these blogs contains a wealth of knowledge written in their own unique, engaging style. They are a pleasure to read and learn from, and following their progression over the years has been a real treat. All of them have challenged my assumptions and changed my way of thinking for the better. Check them out and give them a chance. They won't disappoint.
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