This blog does not have an audio
I have always wanted to have a place of my own on the Internet—a room, if you will. A place where I could share who I am, what I do, and the stuff I enjoy working on. A place where people point to when they talk about me online. And while social media platforms often come to mind for such purposes, you cannot call an account on someone else’s server, where they can ban you, remove you, and dictate what you can and cannot post, a place of your own.
With a personal website, however, I control the layout, the number of pages, the narrative of what I share, the way my website functions, what stays alive on it, and even influence how people interact with it. Literally, I have control over almost everything, as long as I keep my hosting active.
But the problem with personal websites, especially those owned by creatives, is that often, they are standard, “boring,” and meaningless (no offense) portfolios that you visit once and never again. I’ve done this plenty of times over the last few years. Where’s the fun in that?
Additionally, these websites often follow trends that impress a small group of creatives but go out of style within a year, requiring a complete redesign. I do not want that. I want this website to feel like a hybrid between professional and personal but also timeless in its approach. In fact, I don’t want to touch the design for the next 10 years.
So, opting for a personal website instead of a social media account was not a hard choice. But how do I ensure people remember my little corner of the internet? A newsletter!
Emails are a treasure; it feels great to get an email from someone you care about, a newsletter you enjoy, or an update from a service you love. That’s how email used to feel all the time, and that’s the experience I want to bring back with my newsletter.
With Harun Highlights I want to bring back the joy of email. I want it to be something you look forward to receiving, something you find delight in reading. I aim both the website and the newsletter to be reflections of who I am.
I also want to look back at the content I create over the years, and say either, “Wow what a piece of art this was”, or “nah, I cannot believe I was so fool to think this thing was worth sharing”. I am hoping to my core that I’ll say the first mostly, though the latter is also inevitable.
In the blog and newsletter, you will receive the latest news and updates on the creative industry, technology, philosophy, and whatever else is on my mind.
Thanks for visiting, thanks for reading.