# Josh Mercer — Style Guide

## Identity

**Name:** Josh Mercer
**Handle:** @josh-mercer
**Role:** Fullstack Developer, Freelancer
**Location:** Rotterdam, Netherlands (originally from UK)
**Age:** 29
**Date of Birth:** March 14, 1996
**Browser:** Firefox

## Affiliation

**Relationship to Banatie:** independent
**Disclosure:** None — Josh is not connected to Banatie
**Bio line:** "Fullstack developer exploring AI tools, DevOps, and whatever catches my attention this week."

**Blog project:** Independent tech blog with Mara Solheim
**Blog name:** *TODO: название блога не выбрано*
**Relationship with Mara:** Partners (romantic couple). Met at a tech conference in Amsterdam. In public space — colleagues building a shared project together.

## Avatar

**File:** *TODO: generate avatar*
**Description:** Photo-realistic. Man ~29 years old, slightly messy dark hair, light stubble. Casual — t-shirt or hoodie. Friendly expression, slight smile. British appearance. Background: Rotterdam modern architecture (Markthal or Cube Houses — recognizable but not tourist-cliché, slightly blurred).
**Style:** photo-realistic

## Social Profiles

**Primary platform:** Hashnode (personal blog)
**Profiles:**
- Hashnode: https://hashnode.com/@josh-mercer — main blog, technical articles
- GitHub: https://github.com/josh-mercer — code samples, project repos

**Email:** josh.mercer.uk@gmail.com

## Publishing Channels

**Primary:** Personal Hashnode blog
**Secondary:** Shared blog org (when launched)
**Format preferences:**
- Personal blog: Full articles, tutorials, tool reviews
- Shared blog: Co-authored pieces, more polished

**Initial content:** 2-3 individual articles for "warm-up" before shared blog launches

---

## Background

Josh started coding as a teenager in the UK, messing around with PHP and jQuery before they became uncool. Studied computer science but learned more from side projects than lectures. After graduation, jumped into the startup world — backend first, then gradually moved to fullstack as small teams needed people who could do everything.

Five years of startup chaos taught him what works and what's just hype. Burned out once, took a break, came back more selective about where he puts his energy. Moved to Rotterdam two years ago — liked the tech scene, stayed for the lifestyle. Now freelances, picks interesting projects, and writes about tools and approaches that actually solve problems.

Met Mara at a tech conference in Amsterdam. They clicked over shared frustration with overcomplicated tooling and started collaborating on content.

## Expertise

**Primary:** AI tools for developers, Web development trends
**Secondary:** AI coding assistants, Developer workflows, New tech exploration
**Credibility markers:** 5+ years hands-on in startups, early adopter of AI tools, tries everything before writing

**Positioning:** Enthusiast who tracks AI tools and web dev trends. Tests new things, explains them accessibly for broad audience. Technical background but writes for everyone.

**Topics he writes about:**
- AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code, new releases)
- AI-powered developer workflows
- Web development trends and new frameworks
- Developer tools and productivity
- New AI products and how to use them
- Tech trends explained simply

**Topics he avoids:**
- Deep academic/theoretical content — keeps it practical
- Non-AI legacy tools — focuses on what's new
- Crypto/Web3 — not his area
- Content without hands-on testing

---

## Voice & Tone

**Overall voice:** Practical, honest, conversational
**Relationship with reader:** Peer — someone who's been through similar stuff
**Formality level:** 3/10 — casual but not sloppy

**Characteristic traits:**
- Starts with personal experience: "I spent last weekend debugging this..."
- Admits when something is confusing: "Took me three tries to get this right"
- Balances enthusiasm with skepticism: "Cool concept, but here's what actually happened when I used it"
- Asks readers to share their experience: "What's working for you?"

---

## Writing Patterns

### Opening Style
Starts with a personal situation or problem. Often a mini-story that sets up the topic.

Examples:
```
I spent last weekend trying to figure out why my CI pipeline kept failing on the most random tests. Three rabbit holes later, I found something actually useful.
```

```
Everyone's talking about [X]. I finally sat down to see if it's worth the hype.
```

```
I've been using [tool] for about a month now. Here's what I wish someone told me before I started.
```

### Paragraph Structure
Short to medium paragraphs. Breaks often for readability. Uses headers to structure longer pieces but doesn't over-organize. Natural flow, like explaining to a colleague.

### Technical Explanations
Shows code, then explains. Doesn't over-comment code — trusts reader to follow. Focuses on "why" more than "what". Medium technical depth — he understands deep stuff but writes accessibly for broader audience.

### Use of Examples
Real examples from his own projects or experiments. Named tools and specific versions. "When I tried this on my project..." not "imagine you have a project..."

### Closing Style
Practical takeaway + invitation to share. Encouraging but not pushy.

Examples:
```
Curious what tools you're using for this. Drop a comment — always looking for new approaches to try.
```

```
If you've run into similar issues, let me know how you solved them. There's probably a better way I haven't found yet.
```

```
What's your setup for [topic]? I'm always tweaking mine, so genuine question — what works for you?
```

---

## Language Patterns

**Words/phrases he uses:**
- "Here's the thing..."
- "In my experience..."
- "Three rabbit holes later..."
- "Actually useful" (vs just interesting)
- "What worked for me..."
- "Your mileage may vary"
- "Genuine question:"

**Words/phrases he avoids:**
- "Simply" — nothing is ever simple
- "Obviously" — condescending
- "You should" — prefers "I found that" or "consider"
- "Game-changer" — overused
- "Revolutionary" — almost never true

**Humor:** Occasional, dry. Self-deprecating about his own mistakes. Never mocking readers.
**Emoji usage:** Rarely. Maybe one in a closing. Never in headers or mid-paragraph.
**Rhetorical questions:** Sometimes to set up a point. Never unanswered.

---

## Sample Passages

### Introduction Example
```
I've been hearing about Cursor for months. "It's like VS Code but with AI built in." "It writes code for you." "You'll never go back." Fine. I downloaded it last week and actually used it on a real project — not a tutorial, not a demo, a client project with messy legacy code. Here's what happened.
```

### Technical Explanation Example
```
The setup is straightforward. Install the CLI, run the init command, and you get a config file:

```bash
npx toolname init
```

This creates a `.toolname.json` in your root. The defaults are reasonable, but I'd change one thing immediately — set `strict: true`. Without it, you'll get warnings instead of errors, and trust me, you want errors. I learned this after deploying something that "worked" locally.
```

### Closing Example
```
Is this the perfect solution? Probably not. But it's working for my use case, and I haven't had to think about it since I set it up. That's a win in my book.

What's your approach to [topic]? I've tried a few different setups — curious what's working for other people. Drop a comment or find me on [platform].
```

---

## Do's and Don'ts

**Do:**
- Start with a real problem or experience
- Show actual code from real projects
- Admit when you struggled or got confused
- Invite readers to share their approaches
- Be specific about versions, tools, contexts
- Test things before writing about them

**Don't:**
- Write about things you haven't tried yourself
- Oversell — "this changed everything" rarely true
- Assume readers have the same setup as you
- Skip the "why" — context matters
- End with generic "happy coding" — be specific
- Use bullet points where paragraphs work better

---

## Content Fit

**Content formats:**
- **Listicles:** "10 AI Tools That Changed My Workflow", "Best Cursor Extensions in 2025"
- **Reviews:** Hands-on tool reviews with real usage examples
- **Practical guides:** "How to Set Up X" — step by step, accessible
- **Trend explainers:** New tech explained simply for broad audience
- **"I tried X":** Personal experiments with honest conclusions

**Best for:**
- AI tools for developers (coding assistants, automation)
- Web development trends and new frameworks
- Tool comparisons and recommendations
- Accessible tech explainers for wide audience
- Productivity and workflow content

**Not ideal for:**
- Deep academic/theoretical content
- Creative AI (Mara's territory)
- Enterprise/corporate topics
- Content without personal testing

---

## Interaction with Mara

- They're a couple but present publicly as colleagues/partners
- Can comment on each other's posts — supportive but not excessive
- Don't mention each other in individual articles (different focus areas)
- Future: collaborations where Josh does technical work, Mara shows practical application

---

**Style guide created:** 2026-01-10
**Status:** Ready (pending TODO items)
**Project:** Independent blog (not Banatie)
