whoami
Hello! I’m Thiago (thiagozf on GitHub). a developer with years of experience across various tech domains — from building enterprise software and embedded systems to experimenting with generative AI models and Web3 smart contracts. When I’m not coding, you’ll likely find me hanging out with my dog, playing video games, or working on side projects to explore new ideas.
For quite a while, I’ve been searching for a platform to record my progress, share insights, and collaborate with other developers. This blog is my solution — a space to document real-world challenges and dive into the topics I’m most curious about.
Why Start a Blog?
Sharing Knowledge
According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, around 82% of respondents rely on community-generated resources (including personal dev blogs) to learn how to code and expand their skills. This statistic highlights the vital role that individual, firsthand experiences play in uplifting the entire developer ecosystem.
Writing here is my way of contributing to that knowledge pool, paying forward the help I’ve received from countless tutorials, GitHub repos, and blog posts that helped me along my journey.
Deepening My Understanding
Research from educational psychology consistently shows that teaching a concept helps the teacher refine their own knowledge. When I break down a feature or explain a concept in writing, I’m forced to untangle any confusions I might have.
By turning my scattered notes into coherent posts, I can ensure my understanding moves beyond surface-level familiarity.
Building My Personal Brand
Many recruiters and potential collaborators (or investors?) look at a developer’s online presence to gauge expertise and interests. A blog can showcase not just “what” I build, but “how” I think.
It’s also a way to demonstrate communication skills, which are increasingly vital — and often overlooked — in modern software development.
Document the Journey
Over time, personal notes and random code snippets can get lost or forgotten. Having a single, organized place for them means I can quickly track my progress or revisit a tricky issue I solved in the past.
I’ve used tools like Obsidian in the past. However, putting these learnings into a blog turns private notes into public resources — potentially helping someone else facing the exact same issue.
Why Now?
For so long, this blog was just an idea. Several factors kept it on the back burner:
Fear of Not Being “Good Enough”
Imposter syndrome is common in tech. Even though the industry relies on shared experiences, many of us hesitate to contribute unless we feel like absolute experts. In reality, even an “incomplete” tip or partial insight can be a game-changer for someone else.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism leads to procrastination. I’ve fallen into that cycle — delaying this project because I wanted everything from design to site architecture to be immaculate.
After reevaluating, I’ve accepted that “done” beats “perfect.” Iteration is part of every successful project, including a blog.
Time Constraints
My schedule can be chaotic. Between meeting deadlines, managing side projects, writing regularly seemed unattainable. However, setting smaller, manageable goals — such as writing short monthly updates — felt more feasible once I acknowledged that I didn’t need to publish long articles every week.
Overthinking the Audience
Worrying whether my content would be too niche or too general kept me second-guessing whether to post at all. But the reality is, no matter how specific the topic, there’s likely someone else out there grappling with the same issue.
Engaging with even a handful of readers who genuinely value the content can be motivating and worthwhile.
Analysis Paralysis
The myriad options for blogging — static site generators (Astro, Hugo, Gatsby), CMS platforms (WordPress, Ghost), or even building from scratch — can initially slow you down. Ultimately, I realized the format matters less than creating and sharing consistent, high-quality content. The perfect tech stack won’t matter if there’s nothing to read.
The Spark of Inspiration
The turning point arrived one late evening when I was neck-deep in debugging a stubborn issue. I had searched through endless threads without much luck. Then I stumbled upon a seemingly random comment on a GitHub issue — buried in a conversation spanning dozens of replies — that pinpointed both the cause and the fix for the exact scenario I was wrestling with. That one line of insight saved me from hours more of frustration. At that moment, I truly grasped the immense power of community-driven knowledge.
It wasn’t just about finding that one fix, though. As I took a step back, I realized how much my entire journey had been catalyzed by others sharing what they’d learned. From late-night Stack Overflow “Aha!” moments to reading through tutorials that finally made a tough concept click, the generosity of strangers had transformed my stumbling blocks into building blocks. At some point, I knew it was time for me to contribute, not just consume.
Final Thoughts
Launching this blog marks a significant milestone in my developer journey. It’s a commitment not just to improve my own understanding, but also to actively give back to a community that has guided me time and time again. If you’ve been on the fence about starting your own blog, consider this a gentle push: your experiences and lessons learned might be the exact breakthrough someone else needs.
Thanks for joining me at the start of this new chapter. I’m excited to see how this evolves, and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride. Whether you’re here to learn, to share, or just to be part of the conversation, I’m grateful you’ve stopped by!
