Curated Collection and Daily Updates

Look What Aiden Found Today — Episode #48

Favorite stories I read plus community-nominated pieces tailored for avid readers of ILLUMINATION Publications on Medium

Today, I reached out to Dr Mehmet Yildiz again because the ILLUMINATION queue was problematic. He then started chuckling a bit, and in no time, in a Slack message to the editorial team, I learned that scammers targeted Mike’s beautiful curated collections again after 5th time spamming all the readers pretending to be him.

But this time, they used sophisticated methods that Mike revealed in a masterpiece. I think those scammers have no clue that Mike is a seasoned professional and will not allow them to win. That dubious writing club might kick the bucket soon.

But wait, there is more! Mike’s story was so intriguing and exciting. It was just like a movie script. So, I decided to develop a mental movie and share the trailer in a story. We, writers and readers, never have dull moments on Medium.

During our conversations, I gained a deeper understanding of Dr Yildiz’s challenges, and I hope those who sometimes take our volunteer service for granted read this story. Running these Medium publications is no walk in the park. I believe that it’s not all roses and rainbows in the editorial team.

As I curated these gems, I encountered numerous “aha” moments — some inducing fits of laughter, others coaxing tears, all painting my journey with vivid emotions. I’m excited to pass on these emotional roller coasters to you, hoping they’ll add a sprinkle of joy or even a smidgen of uncontrollable giggles to your day. Enjoy the ride.

I couldn’t write a story for the last few days, but reading and curating made me happy. I plan to write a piece this weekend. As you might have noticed, I reverted back to the previous style, as some readers believe subtitles and images make the stories more appealing. So, I traded off the size for reader preference. But if I read more stories, I plan to divide them into releases to keep the size reasonable. Today’s collection is a bit smaller, around 50.

I helped ILLUMINATION-Curators to create a new collection for our Reading Club. It is full of engaging stories.

ILLUMINATION editors created an important bulletin for increasing spam, scam, and bot accounts, contaminating the platform and causing grief to writers and readers. Please be careful as I was cloned and felt bad about it.

I read an interesting story from Dr Yildiz related to Mike’s story and his findings from the spammy topics pages. Rather than sharing his remarkable story on Medium, Dr Yildiz chose to publish it on NewsBreak because he got tired of spam affecting the performance of our stories. He explained the reasons in a post.

Those who missed my Vocal saga can read it from this link. But I highly recommend the story of Dr Yildiz as it is concerning for new writers like me trying to make Medium our home.

Our newsletter for Illumination informing our progress and plans was released on both Medium and on Substack earlier. I link both so you can share with your relevant audience. Sharing is a wonderful community trait.

ILLUMINATION-Curators compiled and published the collection of boosted stories from ILLUMINATION-Curated. I believe you will find amazing stories from that collection. It is a labor of love between writers, editors, nominators, and Medium curators to delight our readers.

Finally, yesterday, I wrote a short gaming story. If you are into Tetris, you may like this amazing news. A New World Record in NES Tetris Game: It Was Just Beaten By A 13-Year-Old

I also helped add many new writers. You may start exploring their content. ILLUMINATION editors guided them earlier to start writing for us. Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #30

December 2023 was an excellent month for me. In addition, a story near and dear to my heart got a boost. Many thanks for the comments on this story: Gaming, Fun, and Humor: The Lifelines That Rescued Me From Social Media’s Grip on My Life.

I recently self-curated my monthly stories for my loyal readers and as a sample for fellow writers. I look forward the same success this month so I keep working hard.

Here’s an interview with popular writer Tim Denning. You may enjoy what Tim said in this interesting interview. He is a source of inspiration for fellow writers and thousands of readers.

Last year, I wrote a story about Tim as part of an AI project. I believe you will love what AI thinks about Tim.

If you are an avid reader like me or Mike and can afford to consider upgrading your subscription by taking the plunge like many early adopters whom I introduced you to in this story.

ILLUMINATION editors interviewed Dr Yildiz on how Friends of Medium can share links on out tailored social media platforms. I tried them, and sharing these stories took only 10 minutes. I hope they bring many new readers to Medium. We all need to attract more readers to make this platform more vibrant and sustainable.

You may also check out the recent collection of Mike Broadly, DHSc, an avid reader and a proud FoM contributing to the earnings of our writers.

Our editors and curators also explained how we promote non-boosted stories, which are more than 99%, so I take a significant role in this process to create visibility for such stories.

Please also check our strategic approach for 2024, which is aligned with Medium’s direction articulated by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, our chief editor.

He also mentioned that only 5% of his stories performed well in 2023 and other 95% hardly got any views.

Dr Yildiz also added many new writers during his holidays.

Daily List for Sharing — Volume 48

I volunteered to create a list of this collection. So you can easily share this collection on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Quora. You can find all our sharing platforms from this story link by Dr Yildiz.

Let’s all engage in this list and at least tweet it so that more readers can find these stories. It is the purpose of these curated lists. We appreciate your wonderful support for these writers who pour their hearts and souls into these stories to delight you. Here are the nominated stories from avid readers today.

Chosen Stories from ILLUMINATION Writers Today

As we mentioned before, “these stories are a combination of what I enjoyed and those which nominated by volunteering editors (also writers and readers) on this platform, so the stories in this collection reflect their collective tastes. As a publication, ILLUMINATION keeps a neutral position for all published stories, and it is impossible to feature over one million published stories. But we will do our best to amplify as many great stories as possible almost daily from now on based on the availability of our volunteers.”

Here are our wonderful and nominated stories today! I believe you will find something that will satisfy your reading needs.

Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #31 ILLUMINATION

Queer Organisms: Nature’s Lesson for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality Dr Mehmet Yildiz

You Want Liberty? Which One? Wayne Stelk, PhD

7 Realistic Strategies to Rewire Your Brain Tim Denning

Is it ‘Swath’, Rhymes with Moth, or ‘Swath’, Rhymes with Bath? Christyl Rivers, Phd.

We Have a Democratic Republic Veritas Civis

Grandma’s Christmas Box Rebecca Romanelli

When You Can’t Feel Loved Emotion Live

Installment 7. If Men Have All the Power How Come Women Make the Rules? Jack Kammer, MSW, MBA

Earthmouth 3: part 1 of 3 Shawn Ingram

Green Man/10: The End of… Frank Ontario | empathy, logic, love.

My Life With The Horny Toads Arthur Keith

How To Crush Your Health Goals In 2024 Benny Lim

I Have a Toxic Relationship With Notifications Adele Arbi

Does Crafting A Plan Still Work To Land Your Dream Job? Tser Dennis

Keeping it Real on TikTok Amy L. Bernstein

How To Build Your Stamina so You Can Start Building Your Dream Life. Angelica Mendez

What was said in Davos? Annalisa Vibio

Publication Format Experiment. Dr John Frederick Rose

How to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year Seda Anbarcı

The One Big Lesson from My Holiday Writing Break David B. Grinberg 🇺🇸

6 Poor Coping Mechanisms Which Made My Trauma Worse Leon Macfayden

The Basement Arynn

The Moon And The Stars Illuminate Our Nights Asma Khalid

The Quest writingelk

The Delicate Balance: When Legislative Force Overrides Medical Expertise in Abortion Decisions Blues & Blues Rock

Chinese Writer Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Writing Gay Erotica Brian Loo Soon Hua

9 Writing No-Nos That Make Readers Click Away Chloé

Shadows in a Mind’s Maze CJ Coop

The Ethical Implications of Longevity Cortex Chronicles

Want to Improve Your Performance AND Feel Better? Slow Down David Gerken

Why You Shouldn’t Give Up on Your Marriage Deb Kalmbach

The Story We Tell Ourselves Derek Oxley

How Parenting Styles Shape and Impact Couples Relationships? Divine Tarot

Am I Successful? A Self-Check Dr Mohammad Mursalin

Why I Make It a Priority to Identify and Avoid [Negative] Speculative Self-Talk Dr Mehmet Yildiz

How I made my very first passive income $$$ from medium ? Ekant Mate (AWS APN Ambassador)

You Could Put Your Faith In The Universe to Deliver Your Wildest Dreams Glyn Bawden

The Problems We Faced With Our Parent’s Pre-Paid Funeral Plans Graciela

in opposition to life formulas, i’m focusing on the moment. huan huan chen

I Just Hit 500 Followers Today inthewaves

How You Can Surrender To Win James Boylan

Why Would Anyone Video an Adult Temper Tantrum? Janice Macdonald

Loving Kindness Is Not For The Weak Jasmine Persaud

How an insult turned into life-changing advice. Jay Jones

My Top 5 Skills to Future-Proof My Career Jimmy Wong

Will Trump Be Our First AI-Generated President? John Egelkrout

Enjoy the Good Times John Whye

Have my priorities changed at 32 ? Karthik Seenuvasan

What to Do When It Feels Like the World Is Against You Kashi Writes

Why Some People are So Difficult: An Anatomy of High-Conflict Behavior Katie de Roo

Give Yourself One Digital Detox Day Per Week Konstantin Dikov

Why I Quit Medium (Then Came Back) Kyle Chastain

From Believing in Your Power to Revealing Arrogance: The Unexpected Side of Authority Lawson Wallace

Fictional Truth and Truth Through Fiction Lina Ignatova

The Day A French Bistro Came to The Seinfeld Set Lulu deCarron

My Waiter Chronicles: Tales from the Frontlines of Food Service! ️ Maddmaster

Contacting All Earthbound Occupants of the Third Orbital Starship in the Solaris Fleet Markus Scorelius

11 Timeless Rules for Becoming a Better Reader Mason O'Donnell

Meaning and Meaninglessness Matt Fujimoto

4 Ways to Rewire Your Brain for More Happiness and Positivity Michele Thill

3 Time Tested Things You Need to Actually Achieve Your Goals This Year Mj Jens

These Five Steps Will Help you Succeed in Anything Mr Junaid

10 Reasons Why Writers Stumble and How to Rise Again MRCOLLINSFX

How to de-stress and feel better in uncertainty? Mrudali Birla

Separate But Never Equal Nicheless Netta

What I Read This Week — The Highlights Nicole Dake

Redefining Consistent Achievement through Repetition Patience Hunter

Unleash the Power of Quality Content: Your Secret Weapon Paul Is Positive

Hey Parents, Tech Is Reshaping Your Kid’s Development and It’s Not Looking Good Pavle Marinkovic

How I Almost Ended My Marriage In The First Year Phil Williams

Embracing the Quiet Philip M - I

Tired of tech? Top 5 tips to conquer your digital detox PJ

The Unhurried Path: Embracing the Journey Beyond the Finish Line Ram Vadranam

Just Stay The Course — Consistency vs Motivation. Rasheeda Loves

The Amazon’s Lost Secret Ray Payette

4 Effective Techniques for Feature Engineering | By Richard Warepam Richard Warepam

When Was the Last Time You Skipped Coffee? Rosa No Mundo

Turning Artists into Technologists RozzeBud ♎️

Why the Hell Does the iPad Not Have a Calculator? Sahal Hassan

Paths to Recovery and Guides to Addiction Treatment Sam David Parker🌸

The Morality of God and Man Sam Pitzer

The Magical Ratti Gali Lake Sam writes 🌸

My Girlfriend Hangs Out With Other Guys The Nerd

Thank you for reading these beautiful stories.

Quick Updates for Highlights of Our Pubs

ILLUMINATION-Curators introduced some recently boosted stories. I believe you will find some great stories in that collection. Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION Publications — V2

By upgrading his main profile, Dr Yildiz inspired our readers to become Medium Friends. I hope many readers join this inspiring journey. Celebrating My Reading Anniversary with My Upgraded Subscription to New Medium Friendship

Boost Education:

I’ve launched a new series to help writers hit the literary stratosphere. Dr. Yildiz got the grand opening gig because I’ve got the scoop on his stellar stories. Now that I’m peeking behind the scenes as an editor and boost nominator, I’m trying to put as many writers in the spotlight as possible. Your thoughts on the story would be cosmic — let’s team up and make these tales shine like stars! I will do it for every boosted writer as soon as I get a chance. Here is Episode 2 introducing boosted stories of Matt Williams-Spooner, Ph.D. Lessons Learned from Boosted Stories — Episode #2 and Lessons Learned from Boosted Stories — Episode #1. You can learn more about Matt’s background from this interview. An Interview with Matt Williams-Spooner, Ph.D.

Recently, I added several new writers. I look forward to seeing their stories in these collections soon. You can meet them from the attached post. I also added their profiles at the end of this post so you can follow them easily if you want to. I will add more writers later today. There are many applicants. Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #28 and #27

For new readers and writers, I have also joined the ranks as a Friend of Medium (FoM). From now on, stories I read from other writers will earn them four times the previous ones. Details are in the attached story. I Took the Plunge and Became a Friend of Medium (FoM) Yesterday.

Dr Yildiz also wrote about it to invite our readers to become Medium Friends and support our writers. The more FoMs the merrier. Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers

But scammers spammed his beautiful story and tried to deceive our readers. Here’s his sad and important story: every writer and reader needs to understand and act cautiously. They act too realistically! Scam and Spam Accounts on Medium Are As Bad As Hate Speech and Defamation for Writers

They did the same thing to me. For those who missed the excitement, two days ago, I was happy the scary scam account that emulated my profile and tried to deceive my readers was removed. Those who missed the drama can read it from this link. Breaking News: My Clone Kicked the Bucket, and I’m Gleefully Celebrating It🎉

How to Identify Them? These fraudulent accounts typically lack followers and haven’t authored any stories themselves. They are non-members with no star or heart icons in their profile names. Urgent Notice: Beware of Fake Accounts Impersonating Influential Writers

If you are into gaming, I also wrote about winners of 2023 for popular games. I will introduce some of those games in my forthcoming stories for game lovers. The Winners of The Game Awards 2023 Have Been Announced

Talking of gaming, if you plan to craft stories about these remarkable games, consider submitting them to my publication, ILLUMINATION-Gaming. I’m here to elevate your narratives, ensuring they stand out and increasing their chances of a boost. I wrote about my goals and how I can help our writers in a story titled ILLUMINATION Gaming Is Part of the Boost Program Now.

To inform new writers, our special publication, ILLUMINATION-Curated, now is a boost nominating pub You may learn about How ILLUMINATION Publications Support the BOOST Program.

I’ve bundled up all my lists into one tidy little story. It is a treasure trove of fantastic reads waiting for you. Please consider sharing the love on your socials and dive into these gems! You won’t regret it.

Shareable List Links for Curated Collections on ILLUMINATION

Dr Mehmet Yildiz introduced a writing duo known as Pernoste & Dahl. You will love this introduction as he reveals the mystery behind these interesting writers who writes inspiring and engaing content on Medium.

Meet Pernoste and Dahl: A Writing Duo of a Neuroscientist and an Artist

ILLUMINATION editors introduced a great writer, Somil Gupta. I hope you check his profile and explore his delicious stories. Meet Somil Gupta on Medium

Our team of volunteers is working through the influx of stories, aiming to review and publish each piece while welcoming new writers into our fold. It’s a labor of love that demands time and effort. Please remember that we support 25K+ writers, as mentioned in our Monthly Updates.

If you missed this recent interview featuring Luay Rahil, here is a link for you. His stories can nicely surprise you. An Interview with Luay Rahil, MBA

For those who missed my Vocal saga, here is the link. I hope new writers don’t make the same mistake I made for 18 months. Here’s How I Miserably Failed Vocal Media But Have No Regrets

ILLUMINATION-Curators compiled boosted stories in December, so you might find some fascinating stories from this collection. I also chose to publish this collection on ILLUMINATION-Curated as our readers enjoy curated collections. Here is their treasure trove: Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION-Curated

ILLUMINATION-Curators wrote about that exceptional story. I hope you will get a chance to read it and pay attention to your privacy. An Exceptional Story on Privacy Every Reader May Find Helpful

Our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz, upgraded our publication accounts ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curators, as well as his tech account Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech), making them Friends of Medium. Reading from these accounts will allow writers to earn four times more. While curating stories, we read many stories from these accounts, so it will be great for writers. Details are in his story by Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech): Why I Became a Friend of Medium

Our senior editor Mike Broadly, DHSc joined the curation team and created new collections from his favorite stories that you may adore. He has amazing taste as an avid reader and has already created seven collections in such a short time. I loved his new collection earlier today.

Mike’s Favorite Stories on ILLUMINATION Publications — #17 Mike Broadly, DHSc

Please find his collections with the associated lists and share them on your socials so we can bring more readers to Medium. Here are links to Mike’s collections: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16

Our supportive editor, famous nutritionist, Elin Melaas, created her second collection earlier. Elin also created the Invisible Series. Elin’s Chosen ILLUMINATION Stories — #2

And our lovely editor Surekha Chandrasekhar also created a collection of her delicious pub ILLUMINATION’s Nutrition which is also our virtual kitchen. 20 Curated Stories From Illumination’s Nutrition -2023

ILLUMINATION editors introduced some great writers. You may check out their profiles and explore their fabulous stories.

Meet Seda Anbarcı, Meet Dr Emmanuel Ogamdi, Meet Jozsef Kovacs, Meet Davor Katusic. Meet Thomas Allen Moon, Meet Sneha Nagre, Meet Zondra Dos Anjos, Meet Ani Vals Meet Ammara Hassan. Meet Sridhar Pai Tonse — Leadgen Coach- Tech Startups Chosen Stories from Omni Essence, Editorial Profile of InYah

Our editors enjoy stories and nominate them for these curated collections. You may check editor profiles in this collection.

I love reading writer biographies and curating them. If you write any bio story please let me know so I can add them to my collection. Meet ILLUMINATION Writers from Their Personally Penned Biographies

Dr Mehmet Yildiz reviewed an interesting book of Dr Emmanuel Ogamdi. If you are a book author, you may contact Dr Yildiz as he really does great reviews. He even wrote the foreword of my gaming book. Here is his great review today. “Nobody Will Tell You This”

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I created a Discord server for our writers to collaborate and share their story links, so you are all welcome to join. We already have great fun there. It is not as big as our Slack, but it will be one day, as Discord is a lot of fun.

Introduction to New Writers

Now, let’s welcome the new writers who joined us recently. Please explore their stories and they resonate with you may connect with them. This is a great opportunity for writers and readers to meet.

A Special Welcome to New Writers on New Year’s Day from the Chief Editor

A Special Welcome to New Writers on Christmas Day from the Chief Editor

You may also check previously joined writers in the last two weeks from the attached onboarding packs. You never know who to meet.

Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #28

Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #27

Here is our onboarding pack covering everything you need to know.

New writers, when you need help please don’t hesitate to contact me on Slack workspace or Discord server. I introduce these services below.

I also enjoy introducing writers on YouTube. So if you are interested you may contact me on Slack or Discord.

Here is some info about Slack and Discords

About Me

I write articles in my field covering gaming, film-making, social media, and design. I am also a YouTuber. Thank you for subscribing to my account to get notifications when I post on Medium. I created a new website to share my content for free and promote stories of writers contributing to my publications on Medium. I also have a Substack newsletter. Let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.

I own two publications on Medium. One for video gamers and another for YouTubers and Podcasters. I also support Illumination Integrated Publications as a volunteer editor and participate in collaborative activities in the Slack Workspace.

Writer applications for my publications can be sent via this weblink. Please add your Medium ID. I also enjoy email marketing using Cliqly, which is my affiliate link.