Yup, I feel the same, man. I was really taken aback when I saw my analytics. What started out as a small project for me became something that I'm actually putting out into the world for a lot of people to see. It's a strange feeling how a hobby turned into something you'd be accountable for.
As great of a feature analytics are, it only made me realize that what I say will influence the thoughts of the readers. My words will have a lot of weight to a relatively large audience. That's absolutely INTIMIDATING. It's scary even.
Admit it or not, seeing the large numbers makes us feel more obligated to be more professional about our writing. The margin for error is much smaller now. Everything was casual writing until you realize how powerful your words can be.
In the grander scale of things, I think this is why I really love the DEV community. It's a relatively small community (but is gaining popularity really fast) that allows me to be a bit more casual in my writing. I'm pretty comfortable that I can write about the things I've learned before (to confirm my knowledge on that topic) without worrying too much about the people reading my words.
It's nonetheless scary to see those numbers, but I find solace in the fact that this is the DEV community. Behind all of the big numbers are people; the people of the DEV community. This strange feeling of "home" enables me to still write casually despite the larger audience.
Yup, I feel the same, man. I was really taken aback when I saw my analytics. What started out as a small project for me became something that I'm actually putting out into the world for a lot of people to see. It's a strange feeling how a hobby turned into something you'd be accountable for.
As great of a feature analytics are, it only made me realize that what I say will influence the thoughts of the readers. My words will have a lot of weight to a relatively large audience. That's absolutely INTIMIDATING. It's scary even.
Admit it or not, seeing the large numbers makes us feel more obligated to be more professional about our writing. The margin for error is much smaller now. Everything was casual writing until you realize how powerful your words can be.
Well put! You're right - it's hard to take anything casually when that many eyes are on it.
In the grander scale of things, I think this is why I really love the DEV community. It's a relatively small community (but is gaining popularity really fast) that allows me to be a bit more casual in my writing. I'm pretty comfortable that I can write about the things I've learned before (to confirm my knowledge on that topic) without worrying too much about the people reading my words.
It's nonetheless scary to see those numbers, but I find solace in the fact that this is the DEV community. Behind all of the big numbers are people; the people of the DEV community. This strange feeling of "home" enables me to still write casually despite the larger audience.
True as well - this place is just so damn nice
Anyway, thanks for the read. I feel relieved to know that I wasn't the only one who thought that way when first seeing their analytics.