Am I Writing for Myself or for the Algorithm?

These days my head feels crowded. Too many questions about what to post and what to avoid. Whether I should chase all these monetization programs or just write because I want to write. Medium earnings, X revenue, Meta bonuses. There is always some new scheme promising growth if you only say the right things.

And without realizing, we start saying the “right things”. Not our things.

At least that is what happens to me. I begin with something genuine. A thought I want to share. A feeling that needs space. Then the likes come, the shares come, and suddenly that small hit of dopamine starts guiding the next post. I start repeating the topics that perform well, even if they are not the ones I deeply care about. Slowly the work drifts away from the original intent.

One day I look back and see I have walked far from where I started. Instead of sharing my inner world, I am running a part time factory that manufactures content for the audience. And honestly, I know many people who go through the same cycle. We experiment, we chase one format after another, and hope something sticks.

But I feel I have reached my limit. I already have enough platforms to manage. A Ghost blog for my technical work. Another blog for my personal life and thoughts. X and Threads for quick updates and memes. A sleepy Quora account on the side. When I list it out like this, it looks less like creative freedom and more like a second job. Another set of expectations to meet after office hours.

Even on Medium, I found myself slipping into the same trap.

So here is the real question, both to myself and to you.

Should I chase a niche that performs well and guarantees views?

Or should I show up as myself, write what feels true in that moment, and allow people to read the unfiltered version instead of the curated one?

Because if writing stops feeling like me, what is the point of any of this?