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As I stay indoors today to get rest, it was a busy week. Let me recount some of the activities: I served as a facilitator at the EELISA Student-led Bootcamp held at İstanbul Technical University. I prepared a glossary for the participants: Term Definition (Simple + Precise) Synthetic Media Media (text, image, audio, video) generated … Read more
Key Insights for Whatever Happened To GoPro? by Merlin AI Market Position Decline – GoPro’s stock price plummeted from $86 at its IPO in 2014 to approximately $1.30, reflecting a 33% bankruptcy probability. – Once the leading brand for action cameras, GoPro now faces stiff competition from smaller companies and smartphones. – Financial losses have … Read more
I responded to a few inquiries about Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign, which were published in Hürriyet Daily. Here are some answers translated: So, what differences did the communication strategies that led Mamdani to victory create in voter behavior? Prof. Dr. Erkan Saka explains: “Thanks to the effective use of digital campaigns and social media, … Read more
A few days ago, I was invited to serve as a panelist at a RESAID project (“Creating Societal Cognitive Resilience Against Information Disorders – RESAID”) event. This EU-funded project has substantive online course content and has developed a few online games related to disinformation issues. The panel was reported by AA as well. Here are … Read more
New international student enrollment in the U.S. dropped by 17 percent this fall compared to last year, according to multiple sources including Inside Higher Ed, the Institute of International Education (IIE), and Higher Ed Dive. This decline is attributed to recent changes in U.S. immigration and visa policies under the Trump administration, which have made … Read more
A heart-wrenching one, if you dare to read. “This posthumous translation of Rosales, a Cuban-American writer who committed suicide in 1993, delivers a raw, powerful story set in a Miami home for the mentally ill… It’s a frightening, nihilistic cousin of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest .”― Publishers Weekly Never before available in English, … Read more
Key Insights for From Bankruptcy To Billions: The Rebirth Of Nokia by Merlin AI Nokia’s Rise and Fall in the Mobile Market In 2008, Nokia’s revenue peaked at over $76 billion, dominating the mobile industry. The launch of the iPhone in 2007 marked a significant shift, introducing a sleek design and touchscreen technology that rendered … Read more
… and it moves in cycles. I thought this summer would be a peaceful one. I felt even happier when summer started —most of my summers didn’t go well, thanks to some family issues. But it did not end well; once again, I had a bad summer. At least, the end of it. I would … Read more
Episode 3: The Q1 Journal Fetish Episode 1- The Performance of Transparency Episode 2 – The Theater of Scholarly Collegiality A colleague proudly announced his latest publication, adding Q1 even before the title. I see self-promotional Instagram posts that mention the Q number, mostly Q1. This moment crystallized something I’ve observed throughout my career in Turkish … Read more
I want to resume my active Beşiktaş fandom, but it is so hard to focus on the game itself amid these scandals. Türkiye is currently facing a major football betting scandal, with over 1,000 professional players under investigation and suspended by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for alleged involvement in illegal sports betting activities. The … Read more
Here is an overview by Perplexity. Overview: The İmamoğlu Indictment On November 11, 2025, Turkish authorities announced a sweeping indictment against Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed Mayor of Istanbul and a leading opposition figure. The nearly 4,000-page indictment accuses İmamoğlu and 401 others of forming and leading a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, tender rigging, … Read more
This becomes a routine: Staying and resting at home on Saturdays and socializing on Sundays. The last three days of the week were so hectic; now it is hard to do anything today besides reading, blogging, etc. However, a state of satisfaction is here as we have one of the most productive STS conferences thanks … Read more
Key Insights for Where People Go When They Want to Hack You by Merlin AI Understanding the Zero Day Market The zero day market revolves around the sale of undisclosed vulnerabilities in software, which can be exploited before the developers are aware and can issue patches. These vulnerabilities are often termed “zero days” because they … Read more
I saw an Intercept news (YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations) and remembered a few previous cases that Human Rights Organizations complain about: There have been numerous documented cases in which social media platforms, especially YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, have deleted content that served as critical evidence of human … Read more
As I always state, I am lucky to be one of the convenors of STS Turkiye, a platform for social scientists focused on Science and Technology Studies. While the political agenda is always hectic and chaotic, we work to coordinate STS-related studies that are distracted by it. Call for Papers The STS Turkey 2025 Conference … Read more