[jacobian]

I think part of the dynamic here is that when people give advice it often comes from one of two very different modes:

1. There's a piece of advice I want to give, and I'm going to give that advice to some degree regardless of the question or situation. Maybe I'll wait for a question where my advice fits, or maybe I won't, but it's a play _I_ want to suggest, so I'm going to suggest it. For example, "use Django" is advice I might give to anyone who asks anything about web apps because I know Django and it's easy advice to give.

2. I really listen to what someone's asking, and give them specific advice for their situation, without letting it be colored by my own experience or the moves that have worked for _me_ in the past.

The second is a lot less common! It's really hard to pay that level of attention, and force yourself to question your own assumptions. But it's also a lot more useful, since it's specific and tailored.

Critically, in a blogging context, only the first mode is really possible. There isn't someone asking for the advice, it's just me writing a blog post for some imagined asker. This is why most unsolicited advice isn't that useful, which absolutely includes whatever blog post you're reading. Including one of mine.

[User23]

Giving unsolicited advice is disrespectful and will do your relationship with the person in question no favors. Contrariwise, soliciting advice from someone else is respectful, and will often improve their disposition towards you. The simple rule that I endeavor to follow is to never give unsolicited advice, but to give solicited advice if I can be helpful.

A blog post isn't unsolicited advice because nobody reads it without choosing to visit your blog. Incidentally that indicates the reader has at least some respect for your thoughts. It probably won't be as helpful as personalized solicited advice, but it's still potentially valuable.

Another rule I follow for advice-giving is asking myself, am I suggesting a way that is really better or just how I would do it? If it's the latter case then I'll often demur, or at least say it's really just my opinion and there are probably other, possibly better, ways to do whatever it is.

[foobarian]

I don't mind 1 if I know what it is. It's an existence proof of sorts. "I took this path to get somewhere and the fact I got there" tells you something about the level of obstacle on the way.

[emodendroket]

For #2, I think that a secret to being perceived as a great advice-giver is that, in their heart of hearts, most askers already know what they want to do, but need your help discovering it. It's more effective to simply restate the question in a novel way than it is to just tell them what to do.