The Most Popular Blogs of Hacker News in 2025 (refactoringenglish.com)

Article summary

The article presents the most popular bloggers on Hacker News in 2025, with Simon Willison ranking first for the third consecutive year. The top bloggers are characterized by their prolific output, ability to find and share interesting content, and engagement with the Hacker News community. The article also notes that some bloggers, such as Jeff Geerling and Sean Goedecke, have successfully transitioned from other platforms like YouTube to blogging. The rankings are based on the number of upvotes received by each blogger's posts on Hacker News.

Main themes

• Hacker News bloggers
• Blogging strategies
• Community engagement
• Content curation
• Self-promotion
• Algorithmic feed vs open web

What commenters say

• Some commenters appreciate the value of bloggers who share interesting links and commentary, making the site feel like a close community.
• Others criticize the practice of self-promotion, feeling that it can come across as insincere or spammy, and that certain users are above the rules against it.
• The community's fondness for certain bloggers can create a self-reinforcing effect, where their posts are more likely to be submitted and upvoted, potentially crowding out other voices.
• Some bloggers feel that having their content shared on Hacker News can be both beneficial and overwhelming, and that not all of their posts are suitable for a broad audience.
• The line between sharing useful content and self-promotion can be blurry, and some commenters argue that the community should be more critical of posts that seem overly promotional.
• The importance of curating content from walled-garden platforms and bringing it to the open web is highlighted as a valuable service provided by some bloggers.
• The rankings and popularity of bloggers on Hacker News can be influenced by various factors, including the amount of effort put into blogging, the quality of content, and the engagement with the community.
• Some commenters note that the site's algorithm and community dynamics can lead to a lack of diversity in the types of posts that reach the front page, with certain topics or authors being overrepresented.