A New Journey Begins

Two weeks ago, I shared my thoughts in the newsletter post "Why This Newsletter?", where I spoke about stepping out of the shadows and embracing imperfection. Today, I want to extend these thoughts and reflect on why I created this website.

Ironically, the first time someone suggested that I should write a blog was around 12 years ago, when I was still a teenager. If you're as old as I am, you'd recall how popular WordPress blogs used to be. Back then, I laughed it off as a lame idea. I disliked the idea for many reasons, and it was just too out of character for me. But my main thoughts were that everyone else was doing it, and that I didn't see value in writing random articles about random topics. It didn't help that I was introverted.

But I've changed, as we all do. While I still don't believe I would make a good food blogger or any other popular blog category, I realized the value of owning a blog in ways my younger self never could. We gain value in various monetary and non-monetary forms by owning a blog. Even if we're not generating any financial revenue, we benefit by practicing and extending key writing, marketing, and brainstorming skills. While also building valuable personal habits and social capital. I can never really know whether the girl who suggested I write a blog realized the value of her actions, but I believe the skills acquired paid off.

Now, I grew up in a poor household, so my focus was always on monetary gains. I could never have realized the intangible aspects back then, especially as I never liked participating in popularity contests. By now, you're thinking sarcastically, so you finally want to start a blog? Congrats, I guess? Not quite. This website is not a blog. I didn't even want to call it a blog, but why reinvent the wheel? So why did I create this website?

This website is my first digital asset. If you don't own any digital assets, you should seriously reconsider. The idea is not the blog, nor the narcissistic name flashing. It is the implementation of a few realizations and the fulfillment of specific requirements they entail.

A key realization was that the years I spent ensuring I remained invisible were a grievous mistake. Privacy concerns and social media addiction concerns pushed me to erase my social media profiles around 10 years ago. Without a warning, I deleted all my accounts and everyone I knew with them. It paid off as my focus and performance were enhanced. However, years later, I realized that I must start using LinkedIn because it is expected of job market candidates to have a profile, and little by little, I created social media accounts. But my social capital never recovered; I barely remember any 200-300 people I was connected to, and I doubt they remember me either. Being invisible has its perks, but comes with a hefty cost that increases non-linearly over the years.

Without adequate social capital, you remain limited. Despite your best efforts, your intellect, your skills, or your achievements. Regardless of your intrinsic value, your perceived value will be extremely low. This is true for businesses and individuals alike. Think about great products and services with low brand awareness compared to shitty products with high brand awareness. Who makes more money? Now think about how the internet and social media amplified this effect. Regardless of who you are and your abilities, if you're invisible, you're worthless.

We all know that companies struggle with brand awareness, as it is an endless competition for people's attention. But what about individuals? Should anyone worry about their personal brand? Yes, especially in this era. Today, the world is more competitive than ever before, it's also more saturated. It's increasingly difficult to stand out or be visible. This is true for corporations and individuals alike. Just ponder on it. Companies and individuals both seek to generate enough revenue to meet their expenses and, hopefully, save or invest any excess. In a capitalist society, it determines your level of success. Both make a product or offer a service and seek buyers in the open market. They can take any shape or form, and their earnings largely depend on their skills and reputation.

Interestingly, most people narrow their focus to skills. We all tend to prioritize developing skills and obtaining certifications that verify that we indeed possess the skills we claim to have. But we overlook the importance of branding. While companies build and maintain their reputation via branding and marketing efforts. We rely on certificates that are limited by the reputation of their issuers. We rely on our limited ability to exhibit our skills in our resumes. So why can't we operate more like corporations? Actually, we can. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that there is nothing stopping me from operating as a corporation. As weird as it sounds just think about it. It's all about having purposeful strategies with clear objectives.

The objective is to actively improve professional reputation through brand awareness. It sounds simple enough; after all, thousands of companies do that. So why don't more people do that? Because they haven't really thought about it. I didn't for years. Even when I made this realization, my initial thought was, well, how the fuck do I do that? This led me down an endless rabbit hole. It's all about building and maintaining a personal brand. It's not a matter of preference anymore. But rather, it is a requirement. To achieve anything meaningful, you must actively work on your personal brand to become visible and reputable.

This website is one of many ways I seek to build and maintain a personal brand. It took plenty of time and work to get to this point. I spent hours reading about marketing, branding, and public relations to establish a starting point and rationalize the cost vs. payoff. I spent many hours experimenting with the color palettes and logo design, as I didn't want to hire anyone for it. I spent even more hours building different versions of the website, reading about the appropriate tech stacks, and fighting my perfectionist urges. I wouldn't say I have a perfect strategy or a perfect website. Nor am I saying you can't succeed without a personal website. I am just saying that you must be active. This is my way of being active. Find your own way to work on your personal brand.

I am writing this article weeks before I move from Beirut to Montreal to pursue my PhD at Concordia University. So my focus must shift from web development and personal branding to studying and researching. I won't abandon this website, but my check-ins, much like the newsletter, will be infrequent. I fulfilled the objective of establishing a foundation upon which my future self can build. Occasionally, I will add content to ease into the new habit of writing and expressing my thoughts. I am unsure what the future holds, but I know this marks a significant milestone. It is the end of a phase in my life, and the beginning of another.

Through this website, I seek to communicate with the world freely, using filtered and unfiltered thoughts. The only guidelines I will follow are my own. I will transcend conventional norms, which are often limiting, and allow anyone interested in knowing me to do so with relative ease. This website will be fluid and adaptable, just as I am. So, expect it to change over time. Feel free to explore my website and its content or reach out for whatever reason you have in mind.