My 12 most interesting DEV posts so far

When Web 2.0. and social media started in the early millennial years, FlickR had an insights view that combined views, likes, and stats into a "most interesting" ranking. There is no "most interesting" metric in the DEV dashboard, but my top ranking posts based on views and reactions have a lot in common.

These are my most interesting posts on DEV.to so far and some aspects and thoughts about what I might have done right.

1. Pure CSS parallax perspective beyond landscape images

Published: Jul 3, 2023 Edited: Aug 9, 2023
36585 views, 147 likes/reactions, 11 comments

The one about not-so-simple parallax animation effects in pure CSS is my most successful post so far, leading both my most views and my most reactions top ranking lists. Why? I guess this post got popular because it´s an extensive, in-depth tech post sharing my assumptions, experiments, and outcomes, with several practical code pen demos and code snippets.

2. CSS :has(.parent-selectors) 👪

Published: Dec 21, 2021 Edited: Mar 27, 2023
Series: What's next in CSS?
20844 views, 113 reactions, 14 comments

The runner up by the number of reactions, third by total views, "CSS :has(.parent-selectors) 👪" is part of series about CSS. Again, it´s a specific and technical post, adding value by showing practical code examples and my personal approach trying to make a new feature make sense. It has a nerdy pseudo-code title that´s still readable, and the title contains an emoji. But maybe more importantly, it was one of the first posts about a new update that many developers seemed excited about.

3. Responsive background images with image-set, the srcset for background-image

Published: Jan 24, 2022 Edited: Oct 15, 2024
Series: What's next in CSS?
33686 views, 37 reactions, 4 comments

Another part of the same series, this posts about CSS image-set has the second most views and comes third by the number of reactions. It's a feature that I discovered and used in project where I was leading a small team of frontend developers. After the sprint review, we refactored the code in favor of <picture> and <source> set elements that gave us more control and better results. Still, the topic seemed to resonate with others.

The following posts rank less consistently across different kinds of stats, so here is where I start to use intuition and emotion to curate and order the rest of my top list.

4. Emotion-driven development

Published: Nov 3, 2023 Edited: Nov 3, 2023
18076 views, 67 reactions, 12 comments

This post was featured in a monthly link list in the Shopware community and it's my top 8 DEV post by number of comments. Mocking my frustration about smaller and not so small annoyances at work, getting lost in bugfixing and configuration details instead of improving UX and doing test-driven development, the term "emotion-driven development" crossed my mind. Rereading my post, I think that "emotion-aware development" would be a better title. Not driven by emotions, but aware of our own and our coworkers' and customers' emotions can prevent passive-aggressive communication and make us all more professional and succesful.

There is no tech to show in the post, no code snippets, but a lot of lists with emojis, and probably some valuable non-technical takeaways.

5. IDEA themes for emotion-driven development

Published: Feb 21, 2024 Edited: Dec 16, 2024
13520 views, 41 reactions, 4 comments

Showdev! After JetBrains had made it much easier to customize IDEA editors like Webstorm, PhpStorm, or IntelliJ IDEA without getting complex Kotlin boilerplate code right, I released several new IDEA themes. Unlike my initial, and still most popular, Cute Pink Light Theme, an adaption of the existing VSCode theme of the same name, the new themes are 100% my own creative work.

I also showcased other existing themes, comparing similarities and differences between several themes to show why I didn't just use one of the existing themes.

6. StackOverflow alternatives for web developers

Published: Sep 27, 2023 Edited: Sep 27, 2023
11849 views, 52 reactions, 15 comments

One of several "alternatives to..." posts, StackOverflow alternatives for web developers emphasizes that popular useful tools and platforms can cause addiction and become a single point of failure in our workflow when we rely too much on using them. I have been collecting alternatives to Google – as a search engine and as a provider of useful software like Google Maps, Docs, or the Chrome browser.

GitHub and npm are other services that developers tend to rely on too much, as we saw when a developer broke the internet by unpublishing his package of 11 lines of code required by nearly every contemporary JavaScript project.

7. Web Design and Tech Predictions for 2025

Published: Jan 1 Edited: Jan 4
11808 views, 108 reactions, 10 comments

Surprisingly successful, at least on my personal not-even-micro-influencer scale metrics, the predicting post began as another compromise between adopting more of the clickbait strategies that I used to mock and criticize, and adding real value despite the fact that I´m an "industry insider" insofar as I have a lot of professional experience and occasionally follow relevant news.

Initially posted on Substack (with the same title, Web Design and Tech Predictions for 2025) for a less tech-savvy audience, DEV coincidentally launched the 2025 New Year Writing Challenge, so I decided to repost and submit, making it one of my most popular posts in this community.

8. Should web designers learn JavaScript or CSS?

Published: Nov 7, 2024 Edited: Nov 7, 2024
8969 views, 69 reactions, 11 comments

A slightly ambiguous title that could mean: Which of the two languages, JavaScript or CSS, should designers learn? Or it could mean: Should web designers learn any of the two languages, JavaScript or CSS? Both are valid questions. This is one of the posts where I tried to bridge the gap between technological development and web design.

9. 25 Google Alternatives every DEV must know

Published: Feb 20 Edited: Jun 4
3222 views, 53 reactions, 20 comments

As a follow-up to my an older post about Google Alternatives, published in 2022 and updated it ever since, that I felt didn't get enough likes and views yet. The new clickbaity title seemed to resonate well and soon got more views than its predecessor, which still has more reactions and comments, including several useful suggestions.

10. Google Alternatives?

Published: Jan 26, 2022 Edited: Feb 20
3146 views, 80 reactions, 32 comments

11. Stop rewarding quantity!

Published: Jan 17, 2022 Edited: Jun 11
Series: Constructive Criticism

Written in 2022, this rant got less than 1000 views, but 55 reactions and 20 comments. I'm still disappointed that it didn't get much more attention.

12. Why "AI" is the new "sustainable"

Published: Sep 30, 2024 Edited: Sep 30, 2024

Another rant about the AI hype, cross-posted on DEV.to, Open-Mind-Culture and several social media channels, Why "AI" is the new "sustainable" has reached more readers than the first one from 2022.

..... and my Least Interesting

Among the "least interesting" posts, or those that got unnoticed by many, is my older post about AI when the hype started in 2022:

13. Artificial "Intelligence" and Controversial Ideas about Future Technology

Posted on Nov 21, 2022 • Edited on Oct 19, 2023
882 views, 24 reactions, 2 comments

14. Tumbleweed Content

Of course.

15. Fediverse and IndieWeb Alternatives

Why doesn´t anybody seem to care? Or maybe many of those who care are the same ones that use ad blockers and are less inclined to click on "like" buttons, because they don´t care much about the quantitative attention economy that´s so prevailing these days.

Conclusion

Let´s not overrate stats and quantity! Few people have mass success without a bunch of supporters and massive marketing budget behind them. And AI is making the mass market worse.

Of course, metrics offer value, but take it with a grain of salt. Scientists know about the pitfalls of empirical research and the many effects that can distort statistics and lead to false conclusions. Page views, visitors, likes, and interactions don´t only reflect the effect of what I do, they´re also greatly influenced by random effects and the actions of others, with or without a content strategy or marketing budget.

If we want to stand out as individuals, we should find our niche and play the long game, reaching out to those valuable quality connections instead of staring at numbers.