I'm getting in the habit of blogging about the issues I'm encountering so there will be some crossover with questions I ask/answer on stack exchange.
The question is, should I refer to these blog posts when asking/commenting on/answering a question? Is this seen a (shameless) self promotion?
I don't want to come across as trying to promote a blog, but a blog post might add more details on the problem or solution.
Great question! Thank you for bringing it up.
Links to blog posts (or other material) are great if they supplement your answer, but answers posted to this site should always be informative and complete, even if the link wasn't there.
If you see an answer that doesn't "work" without the link, either complete it (wiki-style editing) or flag it as "not an answer." Folks here will work hard to curate this collection of knowledge, so when someone finally finds this site through search, the last thing you want is someone sending them elsewhere to find that information. Links sending users elsewhere are not considered an answer in the context of this site.
I think you're fine here. If you're primary motivation is to help build this community and add to its content, that's what this site is about. If you just happened to write about a subject elsewhere, drawing on your prior experience is all the more helpful. "Excessive self-promotion" is really meant for that individual who trawls through posts looking for every opportunity to link to their stuff. Just keep answers complete and relevant.
For you reference, here is an excerpt notifying someone of excessive self-promotion:
Hello, I'm writing in reference to your account on Sitecore Stack Exchange.
We noticed that a substantial proportion of your posts seem to exist only to promote your product or website. Per the help center:
Be careful, because the community frowns on overt self-promotion and tends to vote it down and flag it as spam. Post good, relevant answers, and if some (but not all) happen to be about your product or website, so be it. But if a huge percentage of your posts include a mention of your product or website, you're probably here for the wrong reasons.
… etc.
If you have had an issue, found a solution and then blogged about, then you can also self answer your own question. It's perfectly valid and actively encouraged by StackOverflow/Exchange.
Be sure the question you are asking is a question, and not just a statement. It should be posed as a question that others would also be able to answer, your solution after all may not be the only one or the best solution and other people need enough information to be able to answer it.
As blogs might be closed, just pasting a link won't cut it and the answer gets lost. I believe that the general rules on SO and some other stackexchange sites are to writeup the answer and add the link of the blogpost as well. I would recommend to do that over here as well.
