The short answer
Publish the decision, the change and the evidence. Skip the running commentary. One useful update a week is enough if it helps somebody understand what the product can do now and why it changed.
Building in public should make the product easier to trust. It should not become a second product you have to feed.
Share outcomes, not attendance
“Worked on onboarding today” records that you were present. It gives a reader nothing to inspect.
“Removed the workspace step because four of five testers thought they had already created one” connects a problem, a decision and a result. Someone evaluating the product learns how you work. Another founder can learn from the decision.
The difference is not polish. It is a useful fact.
Keep a private work log first
At the end of a session, write three rough lines:
- What changed?
- Why did it change?
- What can somebody do now that they could not do before?
Most entries should stay private. At the end of the week, choose the one with the clearest consequence for a user. That becomes the public note.
This is easier than deciding what to post from a blank page. It also keeps the work log honest because it is useful even when nothing is published.
A weekly update template
The problem
Name the moment that was failing. Use the user’s words when you have permission and the wording matters.
The change
Describe what is different in the product now. Link to the page, release or commit somebody can inspect.
The evidence
Say where the decision came from: a repeated support question, a failed task, a performance trace or a constraint you discovered. Do not inflate one comment into a trend.
The open question
Ask for one next piece of evidence. “Can you import a 20-page PDF?” is answerable. “Any thoughts?” is homework.
What should stay private
Keep customer identities, private messages, security details and numbers you do not have permission to share out of the post. The same applies to a cofounder’s rough thinking. Public work still needs boundaries.
You also do not owe the internet your mood, revenue or roadmap. Share those only when they help the audience you want to serve and the claim is accurate.
Measure whether the habit helps
After a month, look for product consequences:
- Did a user reply with an example?
- Did somebody try the changed path?
- Did a post answer a question you would otherwise repeat?
- Did the archive make the product easier to evaluate?
Likes can be pleasant. They are not the reason to keep the habit.
Built In Public keeps a weekly archive of qualifying public work and links it back to the product. The goal is a useful record, not a demand to perform every day.