Author here: I'd like to think it's a little bit of both, but mostly "here's a silly hack." I tried to separate the marketing from the content as cleanly and honestly as possible.
I'll give you a peek inside my head, and you can decide if you trust me to be telling the truth.
I did this silly hack because I wanted to hold a copy of my book. I knew it was crazy when I was doing it, and that there were simpler/better ways of accomplishing the same goal. But I was surprised that (1) it worked at all, and (2) it came out as well as it did – though you can certainly find people in the comments here who can identify the flaws.
I did not do this silly hack because I wanted to use it to write a marketing post. That would be an extraordinarily convoluted way of going about things, even for me.
Anyhow, I like writing, and I like sharing my writing, so I put together this post about something I did that I found interesting. I don't expect everyone to enjoy it, but it seems like some people found it entertaining and/or learned a little bit about CSS.
And yes, I included two links to my book. Given that the existence of the book is central to my motivation to pursue the project, it would be silly not to at least mention it. So I did, one link at the top where I think it's relevant context, and an actual "pitch" at the bottom, separated from the other content/called out explicitly so anyone allergic to marketing could bail. I'm not being snarky; I personally dislike marketing and hate most of the ways it's done.
And even still, I do feel conflicted. I grew up in the 90s, and I miss that old, pre-commerce internet populated by hobbyists. Maybe I should have left the pitch out.
Yeah. I've been on the net long enough to develop a sixth sense for when a post or article is just a lead in to a book. Either the OP did a good job hiding that intention if it was there or if no such intention was there, all the better.
My evaluation was based on my own subjective feeling so it could be wrong but I still don't feel any different even after reading the counters to my initial post.
I'll give you a peek inside my head, and you can decide if you trust me to be telling the truth.
I did this silly hack because I wanted to hold a copy of my book. I knew it was crazy when I was doing it, and that there were simpler/better ways of accomplishing the same goal. But I was surprised that (1) it worked at all, and (2) it came out as well as it did – though you can certainly find people in the comments here who can identify the flaws.
I did not do this silly hack because I wanted to use it to write a marketing post. That would be an extraordinarily convoluted way of going about things, even for me.
Anyhow, I like writing, and I like sharing my writing, so I put together this post about something I did that I found interesting. I don't expect everyone to enjoy it, but it seems like some people found it entertaining and/or learned a little bit about CSS.
And yes, I included two links to my book. Given that the existence of the book is central to my motivation to pursue the project, it would be silly not to at least mention it. So I did, one link at the top where I think it's relevant context, and an actual "pitch" at the bottom, separated from the other content/called out explicitly so anyone allergic to marketing could bail. I'm not being snarky; I personally dislike marketing and hate most of the ways it's done.
And even still, I do feel conflicted. I grew up in the 90s, and I miss that old, pre-commerce internet populated by hobbyists. Maybe I should have left the pitch out.