Is it essential to have personal websites?
chris11: I would suggest that. I was applying for a job at my college doing programming work for a website and database. One of the questions  was whether or not I had a personal website, which I didn't. I did not end up with that job.A website will make you more professional. Let's say I come across your blog. If I read more than a few entries, it would probably be that I was interested in your writing. Since your writing sounds technical, your blog might make me interested in having you work for me (assuming that I was in a position where I was managing people). Well, if your blog was on a website, I would be able to find out a lot more about you. And things like a resume and a project portfolio might convince me that I wanted to contact you.So basically my point is that a website related to your work and career will help you market yourself and build relationships with other people. Not everyone will be looking for programmers, but it at least gets your name out to more people.