> Remember when maintaining a blog was THE way to build your developer brand?
I don't think that the popularity of blogging overlapped meaningfully with the era in which the term 'developer brand' was a thing.
By and large, people blogged because they liked it, back when it was popular; the reasons that it became less popular are fairly complex. But I don't think many people were blogging to build a 'brand', back at the peak. I'm sure some were, but it wasn't a major motivation.
I don't think that the popularity of blogging overlapped meaningfully with the era in which the term 'developer brand' was a thing.
By and large, people blogged because they liked it, back when it was popular; the reasons that it became less popular are fairly complex. But I don't think many people were blogging to build a 'brand', back at the peak. I'm sure some were, but it wasn't a major motivation.