When you start something and you’re not entirely sure where you’re headed…
So this is the obligatory first post. Obviously it’s here to make the front page look less sad and lonely. It’s also a good opportunity to help me document how I plan to structure my posts - a stake in the ground so I can look back and see where I’ve started and what I’ve become.
I have recently started down a research path, but I was really not prepared for the intensity of academic studies. They were quite foreign to me and initially a very daunting experience: “How do I ‘do research’?” and “What do I research?”, these were two massive questions that kept me up at night.
Things started to click. Now, here I am, and maybe I can help, maybe I can make a contribution.
What am I trying to achieve?
This blog project will seek to take the security and technical stuff that I’m working on and make them accessible to a wider audience.
I frequently encounter “Hmmm” moments that stop and make me think: “have I missed something?” ; “is there something more here?” ; or “wow, this is important!”. These are the moments I hope will serve as my motivation for writing.
Writing for a wider audience is going to be tough. While I get excited about most security topics, they probably aren’t all that interesting to other people.
I hope I can convey my enthusiasm for the topics covered without over-sensationalising or dumbing down content to a point where it lacks substance. This may also mean I need to write more than once on the same topic.
I’m concerned about small business and end users. These groups are frequently pushed and pulled in all directions by marketing, scare-mongering, misinformation and no-information. They also frequently lack the resources and technical capacity to manage their own security and technology.
I hope to translate some of my work in to discussions among other technical folks, so that maybe we can work to improve end-user security.
I’d also like to give back to the tech communities. I frequently find resources that help me: how-to documents; tutorials; or explanations of strange Linux file systems. Unfortunately, sometimes these resources don’t exist and I find myself creating my own path to a solution. I’m determined to document these, perhaps someone else can benefit from tracks I’ve already created?
Frequency, Communication and Interaction
I’d like to promise myself a weekly blog post, but I’ve heard that story before. So, I’ll make no promises at all!
I’m only writing when there’s a topic that piques my interest. I’d prefer to have half a dozen posts that make a difference or spur discussion, instead of a year of weekly posts that faff on about my cat.
If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. If there’s something you think I should look at, research or analyse I’m probably keen! Tweet me (or whatever the kids do these days), and we’ll talk!
There’s also a high probability of error and confusion. Please, reach out and let me know if I’ve screwed something up, misinterpreted, or poorly explained something.
Finally, possibly no one will ever read this and I’m ok with that. This process will help me gather my thoughts. While I’m hopeful that I can contribute to the industry, I don’t have the time or resources to market myself. It would still be nice to know I’m reaching someone; if you do find any value in my work, let me know!
If you read this ‘self post’ to the end, I’d be speechless. I’m also at my 3.5K limit. So, on to the real work!
Nikolai.
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READY.
READY.