This month’s T-SQL Tuesday from Jeff asks bloggers to blog about the relevance of blogging in 2026. But there’s an AIlephant in the room here.
Jeff alludes to blogging from two perspectives in his invitation:
- The reader, who consumes the content for their benefit – as Jeff did, making “a massive difference for [his] career path”
- The writer, who shares their experiences for the good of the community, whilst elevating their value in the process – where Jeff saw “a significant impact in [his] skills and employment”
Personally, the latter was a large influence in my journey. I saw front-end devs who could build apps or sites and have a portfolio of work. But what has a DBA or engineer to show for themselves? I wanted a technical portfolio, and the blog is my vehicle for that.
I don’t see the writer perspective as changing much, but the reader has shifted 🐘
Those readers are increasingly LLMs, or at least someone consuming the content via one. Folks out there aren’t researching like they used to when answers can be served up from a simple prompt. Those looking for a quick solution might get their answer, but without understanding why the approach was chosen.
This does create an issue with attribution, particularly for folks who want to increase credibility or visibility within the community. When models are good enough, they reduce the need for organic discovery.
The value in blogs – for those who seek it – comes from experiences, learned gotchas, and insights into why you’d choose one option over another, or where a particular feature shines or falls short. LLMs get that second hand from your posts, and can present it without showing where other writers have different perspectives.
Experience is key. It’s what’s demonstrated by the writer, and learned by the reader.
There’s something special about having a catalogue of blogs to check out, or scanning an aggregator like CuratedSQL – and stumbling on something which piques your interest and diving down a new hole.
I don’t think you can replace that feeling – or the time which flies whilst you’re in the hole 🕳️
In short: yes I feel that blogs are still relevant (I may be biased), even with the prevalence of AI.
I don’t see LLMs as having fundamentally shifted the relevance, but they’ve certainly reduced visibility. They’re a distribution channel which can readily answer factual questions, but when asked why, their insights can only go as far as the experiences we share.
