2020: Writing to Cope
Originally Posted: December 31st, 2020
Reflecting on an Insane Year of Writing
While navigating this dumpster fire of a year, I accomplished a few things. Writing became a bigger focus, and I wrote some things I'm proud of. I got my first paid work as a freelance writer. I changed jobs. I'm not sure what my plans for the year were on January 1st 2020, but I didn't think I would end up here.
2020.
Writing was a welcome distraction from the state of the world, and it helped give me something concrete to focus on. It has been a series of ups and downs, but there were a few high points along the way. Let's roll back the clock and start at the beginning.
Writing Highlights
The year started off with me posting two things on January 1st, my Ubiquiti access point guide and my tips for a home network. Those ended up being a good indication where the year would go. For this website, 2020 was the year of Wi-Fi and Ubiquiti. Those topics are what I get the most feedback about, and what I focused on the most. I also managed to sneak in a few posts about Apple along the way.
In the early days of the pandemic, I dealt with my anxiety by finding things to research and write about. I don't know how I wrote so much in those few months from March to early June, but I'm glad I turned my nervous energy into something productive. The peak of this burst of activity was Wi-Fi 101 — How Wi-Fi Works, from Electricity to Information. It was the most time and effort I put into something, and also my best received. A few days later I posted my Ubiquiti FAQ, which got a big reaction in the Ubiquiti subreddit. Those two posts were a lot of work, but it felt good to get such a positive response.
Those intense sessions of research, writing, and editing took a lot out of me, though. I haven't been able to accomplish that level of consistent focus since then. From June on, writing has come in fits and spurts. Some posts came easy or turned out well, and some took a long time or were abandoned. At times I struggled with writing anything at all, because I either wasn't in the mood, or wasn't happy with the words that were coming out. Along the way I've written a few duds, and made plenty of mistakes. I've also learned a lot, and hopefully improved my skills a little.
Like most writers, I am very critical of my own work. Every time I read something I wrote I'll find something I don't like, or something I want to change. I will quibble over every word if given enough time. I spend a lot of time editing and moving things around, to the point where I can drive myself insane over a minor detail or word choice. Sometimes this is helpful, and sometimes it's counter-productive. When I'm lucky, my haphazard approach produces good results.
Here are my personal favorites from 2020.
My Top 5 Posts From 2020
UniFi Dream Machine Review: Benefits and Limitations
The UniFi Dream Machine.
This is the first thing I wrote that was good, and also got some attention. At the time I still wasn't sure what to write about. The response I got to this review started my focus on Ubiquiti, which lead to a lot of the good things I have written since. Looking back, this review is a little amateurish. I know I would be able to do better now. As a time capsule though, I love it. It was the best I was capable of at the time. It was a good lesson in what to say, and how to say it. It helped build my confidence, and pushed me to improve.
iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard Review
This one took a lot of work. I focused on the presentation as much as the words, and I'm really proud of how it came out. It was a huge change to the iPad, and I'm glad I was able to put my thoughts into words.
I still love how the pictures and GIFs came out for this. It was my best post this year from a visual perspective, for sure. This was also my first experiment with footnotes, which I wanted to have from day one. My implementation is wonky and relies on some hacky custom CSS, but it works!
Wi-Fi 101 — How Wi-Fi Works, from Electricity to Information
This is the best thing I have done. It started from an obsession to find a good explanation of how Wi-Fi works, and not being able to find one. It took a lot of work and days of editing, but it got the best reaction of anything I've ever written. It became the 2nd most upvoted post in r/networking this year. The whole thing is still mind-boggling.
Wi-Fi 101.
Rather than enjoy it and move on, I needlessly claimed that it would be a series, and pressured myself to make more posts just like it. That turned out to be a mistake, and It took me months to make a proper follow-up. Even with that little tinge of regret, I'm incredibly proud of it. It helped me land a freelance writing job, which was a great experience. This post is when I proved to myself that I am capable of writing something great. I don't know if I'll ever be able to top it.
Heroine of Computing: Joanna Hoffman
After the high of How Wi-Fi Works and my Ubiquiti FAQ, I was burnt out. I wrote a few things in July, but I lacked the drive that had pushed me from the start of the pandemic. As part of the rekindling of my desire to write I read Revolution in the Valley, which told the story of the original Macintosh team at Apple. I became fascinated by Joanna Hoffman and her role in early Apple history. That led me to write this short biography of her, and why I think she's awesome. I still want to write more things like this. Not just to celebrate women in technology, but to celebrate people who don't get as much credit as they should.
Wi-Fi 101 — Origins and History
After promising to churn out more research and information-heavy posts like How Wi-Fi Works, I struggled. That promise weighed on me. I finished How Wi-Fi Works in June, and made a not-that-great follow up Wi-Fi FAQ in July. From then on, I struggled to get back into it, and work more on the series. When I finally finished Origins and History in October, it was a weight off my shoulders. Origins and History got a similar positive reaction, as did the next part, Wi-Fi 6E In-Depth.
Together, those two helped me relax and enjoy the process of writing again. I still have ideas for more parts of this series, but after those posts I didn't feel the pressure to live up to what came before. Researching and writing those were fun, and they helped me realize that I need to enjoy the process of writing if I want to keep doing this.
2020 By The Numbers
I don't write in order to get page views. I have learned that I’m better off focusing on the work, and the words. I try to write things that are valuable to people, that answer questions they have, or help in some way. I find most of the tactics people use to drive website traffic to be disingenuous and gross. I hate reading overly SEO-optimized writing, and I hope to never contribute to that.
That being said, 2020 was the year where I learned how Google Search works, and how to be found through it. Checking analytics and seeing how people found my website became a fun hobby. I love statistics, but I still can’t wrap my head around these numbers.
Unique Visitors: 324,202
Visits: 348,321
Page Views: 558,191
Contact Form Submissions: 130
Countries and Territories with at least one Visitor: 217
Google Search Impressions: 6,280,000
Google Search Clicks: 310,700
Google Discover Impressions: 1,096,000
Google Discover Clicks: 87,400
Lately: Less Writing, More Working
Lately I've taken time off from writing and working on this website. Some of that was due to burnout, and some was being too busy with other things. I changed jobs in November, and it's been tough to find the time or energy to focus on writing since then. So what have I been up to?
Part of our installation on the Cathedral of Learning.
Back in November I joined Meta Mesh, which is a non-profit wireless Internet service provider. We're a small team, but I work with some amazing people, and we have great partners in higher education and our local community. Our current project is called Every1online, and our goal is to provide cost-free Internet for families that are under-served by traditional ISPs. Recently we installed a bunch of equipment on the top of the University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning, which was an amazing experience.
My role is project management, network design, device configuration, and related tasks. It's taken a lot of work and there's a lot of work ahead of us, but it's been great. It feels good to be able to apply my knowledge to a real problem, and to help real people. To a certain extent, that has been my goal with this website, too.
I'm planning on writing about Ubiquiti, WISP networking, Meta Mesh, and our work in 2021. I'd also like to write more about the ISP side of Ubiquiti, and cover the UISP, AirMAX, and EdgeMAX lines more. I still have a few ideas for Wi-Fi 101 posts, and I'm sure I'll find other things to write about.
Looking Back and Looking Forward
When I started this website with a poorly-written review of a 2018 MacBook Air, and filler posts like my first Desk Update, I didn't have any grand ambitions. I didn't think this website would ever turn into anything more than a curiosity. I had the vague desire to write about technology for a long time, but I never followed through. After impulsively buying a domain and setting up this website, I figured I had to. I tricked myself into working on a dream I had given up on. It’s hard to believe that was only 17 months ago.
I'm proof that you should follow what you're interested in. If you put enough time, effort and passion into something, good things usually follow. They have for me. The power of writing and careful chosen words never ceases to amaze me. People from all over the world have read my words, and that feels really… strange.
A year ago I made a list of goals for this website in 2020. I've accomplished most of them, and exceeded my expectations in a lot of areas. I'm not at the level where I can do this full time, but this year has taught me that it is possible. I don't know where the future will take me and this silly little website, but it feels good to have readers that care and find value in what I do. I'm incredibly thankful for that. It's been a bright spot in an otherwise dark time.
So here's to 2020, and brighter days ahead.
