- 08 Oct, 2025 *
At times, I think back to how this blog originally was meant to be a place to document tech stuff like a portfolio. Even now, there’s a weak link between work and this blog: As I finish my data protection certificate and talk about whatever moves me in that topic on here, I also volunteer whenever I can by translating court decisions for GDPRhub.
It’s something I’m not shy about at work and reference in applications for data protection roles, and my GDPRhub profile links this blog as well. I have wondered sometimes if it’s worth it to bend the knee to norms around work and professionalism and not put my data protection posts where my Hello Kitty Island Adventure guide is, and where literal copies of my notebook are. Not that that includes anything I wouldn’t share at…
- 08 Oct, 2025 *
At times, I think back to how this blog originally was meant to be a place to document tech stuff like a portfolio. Even now, there’s a weak link between work and this blog: As I finish my data protection certificate and talk about whatever moves me in that topic on here, I also volunteer whenever I can by translating court decisions for GDPRhub.
It’s something I’m not shy about at work and reference in applications for data protection roles, and my GDPRhub profile links this blog as well. I have wondered sometimes if it’s worth it to bend the knee to norms around work and professionalism and not put my data protection posts where my Hello Kitty Island Adventure guide is, and where literal copies of my notebook are. Not that that includes anything I wouldn’t share at work - I only publish what I feel comfortable saying at work - but still, there is this recurring pressure to draw a clear line, not be too personal, and to clean up the act.
There’s also the pressure of choosing the right medium. I’m sure companies love to see enthusiastic LinkedIn posting, and it seems like people only gain a professional reputation in a topic sphere online if they perform for an audience and grow it purposefully. What I mean is: Short form videos on TikTok cramming important and complex topics into a few takes, posting dramatic calls to action on a microblogging platform such as X or Mastodon, or posting YouTube videos with scary thumbnails.
It kind of conveys: “I am always up to date, I put out content as fast as I can, I will cover everything like my own little news show, it’s my main focus on this account, and I care because look how deeply concerned I look on the thumbnail as it says in bold red letters “IT’S ALMOST TOO LATE””. Just a blog post every now and then doesn’t convey that.
I think a few years ago, that obnoxious approach might have gotten a different reaction. Over the top, dishonest, seeming ‘narcissistic’, unprofessional and scammy. But now that everyone is so in love with online content for marketing and hiring social media managers, suddenly it’s not - now it just shows your creative spirit, persistence, your ability to adapt to the times, make the format work for you and that you know how to play the algorithm.
I just have no interest in all that.
First, I don’t want to hide my personality online because I bring that exact same personality to work with me, too. Aside from minor code-switching, this is who you get. I don’t have a work-self.
Second, I still don’t wanna go back to any of the usual social media platforms.
Third, I don’t want to feel like I have to write a post about every recent happening in my field of interest to artificially perform devotion for an invisible audience.
I prefer to write about the things that fire me up and that I am passionate about, and it usually involves some kind of problem, something I’m arguing against, some things I feel are missing from the conversation. I have not written about EU ChatControl, despite it basically being the biggest data protection nightmare right now, because what is there to say? It would be mind-numbingly boring to write about because there is no interesting conflict for me, just false hopes, false promises, and no understanding of tech while trying to pass something that would be incompatible with existing law. It’s not even fun disproving any of the arguments because they are all stupid and I can’t even seriously entertain them for one second and we’ve been at this every other year now. There is nothing to explore there. My brain refuses to even invest the energy.
But if I was on other platforms, I’d probably have to, reasoning: Because others in the space do it too, or the audience I cultivated on that platform expects me to, or I wanna impress the expert in the field that follows me. Or simply because it’s a big thing, and capitalizing on something impactful is seen not as the disaster it is, but a way to farm engagement and followers.
People doing all this can go: “See, I am an expert and well known person in that field, I grew 100k followers, post every second day, and other known person in the field follows me too, and shares my posts!”. That works for any topic, not just the intersection of tech and law, and I’m sure it gives some people a lot of street cred in their field even when they lack qualifications. It’s not impossible to build yourself up without these things, but it sure is a hack, a shortcut, a loud and flashy thing.
I know who I am, and how much effort and passion I put into emails and real life conversations and work projects that involve data protection - it just becomes an issue when we live in a world that wants you to put things online to prove that they happen. If you were not there to record it and produce a digital track record, did it really happen? It’s not uncommon to get treated like a common idiot who just did an AI search for something by someone who did just that, just because you don’t perform your credentials right.
I just want to write about things in a way that is unbound by algorithmic rules, peer pressure, follower retention and timing.
No fear-inducing thumbnails, no virtually useless calls to action to drive engagement, no ragebaiting, no cookie-cutter same content strategy, no single-topic accounts to split my interests up. No dragging out the information because I need to make it long enough to reach the monetization threshold. No posting for posting’s sake, no feeling like I have to give some sort of stance or statement to everything, whether just to be one of the accounts people click on when they search a term on socials, or because having a lot of followers convinced me that everyone is just waiting for my position (when they are not). No preaching about how horrible this or that company is while not only being on it, but also making money off of, and for it.
That’s why I’m here, on a quaint blog that I don’t promote anywhere and holds a lot of topics. It’s not a space for a personal brand, but it’s genuine. All this makes me feel a tiny twinge of guilt at times, but deep down, I know this is better.
Reply via email Published 08 Oct, 2025