I started Afkary as a way to share things things that are outside the scope of YouTube videos. The name itself is a transliteration of an Arabic word – “افكاري”, meaning “my thoughts”.
I originally started this site in 2022, but after moving to Japan this place inevitably fell out of my conscious mind as I struggled to balance my worklife, personal projects, and the quest to find a more active social life. Unfortunately when my guard was down (and seemingly the guard of my ever-useless webhoster), this site was hijacked in an opportunist attack to turn it into some kind of scammy gambling website. Thankfully the attackers weren’t able to have their way with it, but it did result in Afkary and most of my other sites having their directories scrambled, necessitating starting from scratch.
But why revive this site? Most people would probably say that the trend of having a blog separate to other social media was something that died out a decade ago. However, in an age of social media centralisation where you are held captive by the whims of a handful of large corporations, I felt that it would be useful to have a space that I can call my own and have more oversight over. Centralised web platforms are a mess. It increasingly seems to be the case that these large companies have lost touch with their userbases, with the situation everywhere continuing to become more volatile both online, and on the streets.
Some might ask what value there is in starting a blog when you can arguably do the exact same thing on Twitter. Well, because Twitter is a terrible site. From a User Experience perspective, it has lagged behind its competitors and continues to offer a clunky experience that has added little value in recent years, and under its new owner seems to be going backwards in this regard. From a more general user perspective, however, is where the real issues sit. While there remains some usefulness in being able to promote bite-sized pieces of information and have it spread, I mainly keep my Twitter accounts around because I find them to be useful networking tools. Aside from this, I don’t engage in any larger conversations on Twitter. Doing so exposes you to people that exhibit one of two emotions – sanctimonious lecturing, or impotent rage. For a site that claims to be a public square where discussion can be had, there is little to no discussion of the civil or meaningful kind. I myself have little interest in arguing with such people. I am also not a fan of shorter forms of content, however more engaging they might be. This is also why I have chosen not to go into short-form video content through the likes of TikTok or YouTube shorts (aside from the experiments I upload between big videos).
I enjoy the process of making longer YouTube videos as it allows me to create a standalone piece of work that can educate and entertain. Something that also has value in being re-watched. It is also a process that I manage myself and requires little outside reliance. I think that managing my own blog might turn out much the same, with the bonus that I will be able to cover things in more detail than I might be able to do in a video, as well as cover topics that are outside the scope of my channel. Surfing the internet today is subject to the tides of change that have been responsible for the rise and fall of various popular platforms. My channel only has the privilege to exist on the platform it does for as long as those who reign over it deem it worthy of server space. Afkary on the other hand, will exist for as long as I wish it to… providing it doesn’t get hijacked again.
And so, here it is. I hope that the few that still read longer-form content on the internet will enjoy what I elect to publish here. I do not have a strict schedule to adhere to, but I am aiming to publish something every so often – be it an opinion piece, or a deep dive into a subject that I find interesting and wish to talk about. The site will develop over time, and as I think of things to add to it, it will grow. Ahlan, again, and welcome to Afkary.
