2024 Reflections & 2025 Plans

Another year is almost over, so it is time to summarize all that happened and discuss what is coming. First, let me wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year before I dive into self-reflections relevant only to a few readers.

Achievements

In 2024, I published 24 articles, including 7 editions of the BArszawa blog, where I acted as a writer and an editor. That's two times more than in 2023.

The audience grew correspondingly. More than 700 unique visitors to the Blog itself (300 visitors in 2023), + 100 readers on Medium, and + 1000 followers on LinkedIn. That might not sound astonishing, but I am grateful to every audience member for their attention.

I have many readers from the U.S. and India, even though Poland and Belarus are still my core audiences. I started getting some feedback, especially on Medium. That surprised me as I didn't know how to react first.

The most notable moment for me was when Karl Wiegers left a comment under my article. I quoted his book regarding the requirements structure and compared it with different approaches. He kindly explained why he decided to go that way and thanked me for the article.

To understand my level of excitement, you need some context...

I haven't taken a business analysis course or earned a computer science degree. My only available study was that book, the "Software Requirements". Ten years ago, I worked in 24/7 IT customer support and only dreamed about becoming a business analyst. Good offline BA courses, for starters, cost a lot, and I couldn't afford them. At that time, there were no quality online BA courses for beginners.

I had a 90-minute commute to and from work, and the book was always with me. I read it on the subway, at home, and occasionally at work.

That is why Karl's comment meant so much to me and caused such an emotional reaction, so I am sharing it with you right now. It took me an entire day to construct a response.

Content Platform strategy

While reviewing my year stats, I found an interesting case: my top 3 best-performing posts on Medium are among the least engaged articles on LinkedIn.

The same works in a different direction: my top 3 best-performing LinkedIn posts are the least popular on Medium.

I assume that Medium values more focused and advanced content than LinkedIn. There might be bias because I stopped investing in LinkedIn engagement at some point in the year, which influenced some recent posts to work out poorly. However, I still think my assumption is correct, considering everyone sees what LinkedIn has become.

Since my last update on content strategy, I am no longer considering LinkedIn as the primary social platform. I will keep posting links to my new publications, and that is it.

I don't like the direction of that social platform. I was tired of constantly posting and engaging with other content to keep my social index high so others could see my posts in their feed, which now looks like Instagram.

I dropped off Instagram, but I can't just leave LinkedIn because of the effort I already put into building my audience there. So I will be present there, but just for publication announcements.

Instead, I will focus on Medium, which has brought good results in 2024. Thanks to Igor Arkhipov and the Analyst's Corner for the opportunity to reach to a new audience.

The posts published beyond the well-known publications are not performing well, so I am not experimenting much there. I will keep publishing my new articles on my blog and then in the Analyst's Corner.

I decided not to proceed with the idea of creating my own email newsletter. I haven't come up with a plan for how that could work.

Medium provides email subscription features, but very few people use them to receive my posts. Thus, I assume a standalone newsletter with the same content will unlikely gain considerable traction.

Content Plan for 2025

One more article for "Requirements & API" will conclude the series and the two-year period of publishing API-related content. I covered general topics but don't want to transform them into the API blog, as enough people cover that on a decent level.

Instead, there will be content about UX and design systems from the product management perspective. I am dealing with something new in my work time, so I have some thoughts and discoveries to share with you.

Another big topic is Composable solutions. I did the research but haven't written an article about it yet. So, one or two takes will explain that concept and give my perspective.

There will be several general posts about product management, such as stakeholder power dynamics in enterprises, product documentation, onboarding, etc.

Consistency is the Key

Even though I made 24 posts during a year, that doesn't mean 2 posts in a month cadence. I was more productive in the first half of the year, then barely returned after the summer break with no chance to restore previous productivity. It is difficult to avoid burning out trying to manage professional and personal life.

Also, I revived my old hobby of playing guitar in a band and writing music. I have a few more years before the midlife crisis strikes, but who knows when it will strike? I want to dedicate more time to that at the expense of my other activities, including that blog.

So there will be 12 posts, each in a month, no less, no more. That might sound like less content, but I am committed to providing something interesting and appealing.

Stepping into the second decade of my professional career in IT, I spent some time thinking about what I like the most. And the answer is: performing for the audience. Writing, like music or public speaking, is how to make it.

It is better to focus on what you like than pretend you follow the masses and enjoy what you don't like.

Happy 2025! Stay tuned, and see you there!