Leadership and Content Strategy
Friend Link for Non-Members. New writer applications to this pub are via our registration portal.
Before starting my master's and doctoral studies in 1994, I completed my postgraduate degree with honors in Information Management. I sought advice from my supervisor, a distinguished professor at the University of Melbourne, on how to make a real impact in information dissemination.
His advice was to create an information-sharing network that would bridge academia and industry. At that time, I was working as a senior technology and science consultant in a global information technology organization with 385,000 staff members.
Following his advice, in 1995, I founded Illumination Connect as part of a business organization with 150 employees comprising scientists, technologists, and engineers.
Funded by the government, I served as the lead architect for our primary Y2K (Year 2000) project for five years. After working tirelessly, including a sleepless 48-hour stretch, I felt immense joy and fulfillment as a technology leader on January 2, 2000, knowing our efforts had paid off and brought me closer to my higher self.
It started as a proprietary consulting company. Initially, I invited around 1,000 direct contacts from my network. Today, in 2024, the network has grown to 650,000 subscribers. As the CEO and content curator for 30 years, I have dedicated myself to illuminating society. My efforts earned me recognition as a Distinguished Enterprise Architect by the Open Group in 2008.
Over the last ten years, my content contributions have been globally recognized by several platforms like Thinkers 360 top 10 Thought Leaders in several topics like mental health, design thinking, and emerging technologies. Mental health means the most to me, as so many people suffer from psychological and emotional issues.
Having worked with many writing and blogging platforms since the early days of the Internet, including my contributing membership in AARNet, my mentors advised me to leverage modern writing platforms. Our board of directors tasked market researchers and data scientists with identifying the best platform for our network. They found Substack to be the most promising.
Who could have imagined that a small platform like Substack, established in 2017, would support over 20 million subscribers globally?
I asked market leaders why such a small company, with no physical assets, could surpass a reputable platform like Medium, established in 2012, by 20 times in just seven years.
The answer was clear: Substack listens to its customers, shows humility, fights against censorship, and genuinely supports creators.
Based on this feedback and an independent assessment of my performance on various writing platforms, I decided to dedicate 80% of my writing and information dissemination efforts to Substack.
However, I also value the Medium community and sought to create a bridge between Substack and Medium, two complementary platforms for writers. Both platforms have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, I love the community spirit on Medium. Our preferences might be different. My goal is to leverage the power of both platforms to create a synergistic effort.
Until some issues are resolved, I plan not to offer my premium content exclusively to Medium as my previously loved 2,500+ well-researched stories stopped getting organic views for unknown reasons, which might be a glitch caused by my account being targeted by scammers for the last 12 months countless times. However, Medium community still holds a special place in my heart and will continue my giveback. I really want this platform to shine.
Despite the platform's challenges, I am committed to continuing my support for its writers and readers as a four-time Friend of Medium.
Now, briefly, let me explain why I created a new publication on Medium.
Introduction to a New and Unique Publication
Leveraging my five years of community-building and leadership experience on Medium, I created a unique publication to amplify writers' voices and empower them through both Substack and Medium. I'm thrilled that 155 volunteer editors have joined this venture to bring more opportunities to writers.
My goal is to help every writer have a newsletter through Substack, build their mailing lists collaboratively, and create fallback positions if something happens to Medium or Substack.
We never know what the future holds for these platforms. As my wise Aussie friend Tim Denning says, if these platforms close one day for any reason, we will keep smiling and continue our work as writers. I hope these great platforms continue to thrive, but I am committed to guiding writers toward a better tomorrow and preventing disappointments and regrets based on past experiences in the early days of the Internet.
As a prolific writer myself, I admire and will support every ethical writer regardless of their ages, nationalities, backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, and viewpoints. My ultimate goal is to create a collaboration that illuminates society with curated, meaningful, and high-quality content.
What can you submit to this new publication?
As long as you follow Medium rules and our guidelines, like no harmful content, you can write about anything. For example, you can submit anything about your creativity, your services, your writing style, audience building, and details of your newsletters.
Unlike our other publications, you don't have to adhere to boost guidelines as this type of content will not be boosted by Medium. However, we will amplify your content in our external networks, creating visibility for your profile and content. You can also submit all your substack-related videos and podcasts to our Videos/Podcasts publication on Medium.
Our approach is practical and multifaceted.
We will feature and promote your Substack content on Medium, exposing it to a broader and more engaged audience. This curated approach ensures that high-quality content receives the attention it deserves.
By sharing your work within our extensive network, we will help you build a loyal readership on both Substack and Medium. I designed this cross-pollination and cross-promotion strategy to maximize your reach and influence.
Our team of experienced editors will provide personalized feedback and editorial support to help you refine your writing and develop compelling and tailored narratives that resonate with readers.
You can join a vibrant community of like-minded creators where you can collaborate, share ideas, and learn from each other. We believe that collective wisdom and mutual support are key to individual success.
We are deeply committed to the success of our writers. You can access exclusive workshops, videos, webinars, presentations, and resources on content creation, marketing strategies, and audience engagement, all tailored to help you grow as a writer and marketer.
We will use the following newsletters by our educators and curators to support Substack creators.
Content Strategy, Development, & Marketing Insights | Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Technology, Gaming, Movies, and Social Media | Aiden MC | Substack
We will actively recommend Substack newsletters from our members in our posts to enhance their reach and rapidly build their audiences through synergistic collaboration.
How to Start Substack Instantly & Own Your Content/Audience Effectively
How to Create a Mailing List and Send Newsletters to Grow Your Audience
Thank you for being part of this journey. Let's create a brighter future together. Please feel free to contact me through my website, my Slack workspace, for writers, Substack, or my Patreon.
Many thanks to 58 ILLUMINATION-Curators, 155 ILLUMINATION editors, and our media coordinator Aiden (Owner of Illumination Gaming), for their tireless support. I am grateful for their exceptional contributions to build and maintain this diverse and inclusive community.
I recently curated 100+ exceptional stories, but they failed to find readers on Medium.com. I believe you will find valuable lessons from these exceptional and eclectic stories by accomplished writers on the platform.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
I wrote numerous stories about writing and content strategy to guide new writers. Some of the old ones, especially with recent changes on this platform, might be obsolete now, but there are many principle-based content that might guide and inspire you if you are an aspiring writer. You may find some relevant ones from the attached list. I will distill all these stories in my Content Strategy, Development, & Marketing Insights soon.
To inform my new readers, I wrote numerous articles that might inform and inspire you. Some of my topics include brain, mental health, cognitive function, significant health conditions, longevity, nutrition/food, valuable nutrients, ketogenic lifestyle, self-healing, weight management, writing/reading, including 100+ Insightful Life Lessons from My Circles for the Last 50+ Years.
I publish my health and wellness stories on EUPHORIA and share distilled versions on SUBSTACK. My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
If you are a writer, you are welcome to join my publications by sending a request via this link. I support 30K writers who contribute to my publications on this platform. I also have another profile to write and curate tech stories. Friend Links to My Sample Boosted Stories for Non-Members of Medium.
Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers