Scott Alexander says he received very positive feedback from his earlier blogging before launching his own blog.

“no it was less than that, it's more like five years on LiveJournal before ever starting a real blog. I blogged on, I posted on LessWrong for like a year or two before getting my own blog. I got...”

“very positive feedback from all of that and then eventually I took the plunge to start my own blog but it's ridiculous like what other career do you need seven years of positive feedback before you like apply for your first position”