Your friend may have missed the mark, but he's going in the right direction.
You're a smart person who can write and explain things well. We all see that here. You should put those talents to use for the betterment of people like you (like most of us here). I try to do this in different ways as well. (I mean, we all should.)
So do it. Maybe not engadget or medium, but there must be some places where your writing would be well-received.
I write publicly, and it's linked to various professional places where the people would be interested in the subject matter - so it's out there.