Publish What You Learn

The advice to "publish what you learn" feels scary when you're starting out. Who am I to teach others when I am still figuring things out myself? This perspective from Move the Web Forward reframes that question entirely.

Publish what you learn and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Publish to your personal blog and keep your posts updated. Be sure to speak with your own voice! Remember that it is okay to not be an absolute authority on a subject to author a post! Always ask questions and prompt conversations. There is seldom a wrong question or a wrong answer.

The key insight here is that teaching doesn't require mastery ... it requires clarity about what you've learned so far. When you document your learning journey, you're not claiming to be the ultimate authority. You're sharing what worked for you, what confused you and what questions you still have.

This approach is incredibly valuable because beginners often explain things better than experts. You remember what it felt like to not understand the concept. You know which parts were confusing and which examples clicked. You can bridge that gap more effectively than someone who learned the topic years ago.

Teaching is a great learning tool as well. So, even if you are getting started in an area, you're helping yourself by writing about it as well. You can always consider asking a mentor or friend for a technical review.

The learning-by-teaching effect is real. When you have to explain something clearly, you discover the gaps in your own understanding. When you anticipate questions, you explore edge cases you might have missed. When you simplify complex ideas, you understand them more deeply.

I've found this to be true in my own experience. The act of organising thoughts, finding examples and explaining concepts forces a level of comprehension that passive consumption never achieves.

And, the permission to not be an expert is liberating. You don't have to wait until you know everything to share something useful. In fact, waiting often means never sharing at all, because there's always more to learn.

The web gets better when more people share their learning journeys, not just their final destinations.