About this website
About content creation
I always felt some kind of weirdness and was not very encouraged about content creation and advertising myself. This was not only about digital existence but also about self-promotion in real life. It seemed like something not very useful to me because I felt like I was not doing the right thing, even if the self-promotion I was creating for myself was truthful. I considered it not a very helpful tool for others, especially for people whom I considered less successful than I was. I thought that if I bragged about myself, it would make them feel bad.
And when it came to advertising the things that I do outside my work-related life, for example, Instagram posts that I could share, the weird feeling came again. But then, I realized that the feeling I assumed people might feel about my posts was actually the reaction I had when I saw someone happy, successful, and doing the right thing—as if they had always done the right things and taken the correct steps. I understood that I envied them in a non-constructive manner. That is why sharing felt wrong to me: I thought it might create envy in others.
But again, when I did not share, the complete relief was never there for me. Not sharing at all was not the correct way to resolve that dilemma. The resolution came later, with the understanding that I had to correct or redirect my approach to other people’s posts about the successful or difficult times in their lives. Because the feelings I sometimes had about posts about bad times were not always comfortable for me. Am I supposed to be sad—very sad—about posts that do not actually have a real, physical, or psychological impact on me? Should I fake it? The bad feeling? Or should I be worried that I might not feel that bad about the things mentioned and accept that it is okay? The discussion about these two types of posts and how I feel about them is still something I have to think about more.
Anyway, after the conference, there were multiple mentions and pieces of constructive feedback about online presence. The importance of having a personal/academic website came up. The idea that I should have a website of my own, beyond the profiles I have on several social media platforms, was always there, especially during my master’s studies. And now that it is easier to build one, I decided that one thing I should complete is the creation of my own website.
My father has kept this domain name since 2000. He has been waiting for his daughter to be able to use that website someday. Although I have explained all the things about how I feel about content creation and online presence, and whether I approve of it or not, now that I am able to create one, for the first time in more than 20 years, maybe the only valid problem I should accept is my lack of experience and knowledge in developing an actual website. I could not create one even though I graduated from computer engineering and worked for some time as a software engineer. The tasks were not related, but still, I would like to thank this era of AI, which makes it so possible, easy, and fast to build one.
Hopefully, I will be able to organize the rest of the website as planned. These are the subsections I am planning for my website:
- Great Influences on My Life
- Milestones in My Life
- TR/ENG: Turkish and English versions
- Website Statistics
- Interactive Demos
- TODO / In Progress / Done: an interactive public board for my life goals and academic plans
- Blog Posts
- Cats: the food brand I use, automatic food dispenser, daily water changes
- Personal
- Hobbies: ones I have tried, ones to try, etc.
- Book Reviews
- Paper Reviews
- Courses I have assisted with
There is a lot of content because the main content that should be listed—the papers I have published—is not yet complete. Hopefully, it will be added.
Also, in the blog posts and in all the other content that I am planning here, I would like to create content that is actually transparent and honest, even to myself. I now see this opportunity as a way for me, as a student at my university, to share what I really experience. With the value and power of open source and transparency in mind, I actually think this action will make my experiences a resource for other people who may be wondering about this kind of experience in my life, since they see my name on the university assistants page and some people send me follow requests on LinkedIn.
That may make my life interesting, or even make me a reference point for some people. Maybe I am one of their role models or reference points. So that, as well, can be another area where my website, if I share true experiences, can be an informative and helpful resource for them.
These are the days when university preference selections are taking place in Turkey, and I am on the promotion committee. I saw that students and their parents were trying to find the correct resources and examples for themselves during this period. If I can successfully post helpful content around these days, it could be helpful for them as well.
Because I feel kind of closed off from society and only explain things when I meet someone face to face, the website could be another action that democratizes the sharing of my experience and knowledge with everyone, not only in Turkey but also around the world. This is the motivation.