Have you researched a cyber security topic, which others must know about?
Do you have something to share that could help victims?
You may be in the right place, as this blog offers a forum for healthy debate and opinions on any issue related to defensive cyber security.
Content Quality Requirements and Uniqueness
What we’re looking for is unique, original, well-researched content written in English that examines a cyber security topic for which you demonstrate expertise in. Your command of English must be at a level which makes your post understandable to the recipient. If you have exceptional content but need help with the language, we do have professional editing capability at our disposal. In contrast, please save the promotional material related to your company’s products or services for the corporate website. Furthermore, this blog on cyber security is your opportunity to bring up even controversial topics, which you would not normally write about on the company blog.
The idea for this forum after all is:
to open up a subject for widespread discussion and debate.
When writing content, think of the reader. What would a cyber security expert such as yourself like to read about?
The post type can be anything, as long as it is related to defensive cyber security.
We Welcome these Topics
- Technical write-ups that dig into a phenomenon, such as a vulnerability, public exposure or suspected compromise.
- Opinion pieces, which advocate a change in the status quo or provide constructive criticism on a topic.
- Leadership, organizational structure or information security management related blog posts.
- Entertaining war stories on vulnerability coordination, blue teaming or incident response.
Please be professional, as naming and shaming is not constructive.
Content Length and Formatting Requirements
Aim for brevity. Lengthy discourse on a topic may interest the rare initiate, but what we think is reasonable is something between 1000 and 2000 words. Structure your content so that it is easy to read also on a mobile device, which in practice means short paragraphs and well-thought out and frequent subheadings. Most readers want to skim the content first with the help of the subheadings, so this is why it is important. Use pictures, tables, charts and lists to invigorate your content. We’re not asking for an infographic, but throw one in if you are so inclined. Make pictures, tables, charts and lists readable on a mobile device as well. Avoid overly wide format, i.e. a screenshot will most likely be readable on a mobile when it has been taken on a mobile.
What and How to Submit
We appreciate posts formatted in Markdown, but this is not a must have. You can write your content even in a plaintext email body, or a word document, as long as your blog post has:
- A title, which is clearly marked and less than 65 characters.
- A blurb, which will become the meta description of your blog post’s SERP, which is less than 155 characters.
- A catchy introduction, which entices the reader to read the rest of the content.
- Well-formatted content divided in clear sections, which are marked with subheadings (normally H2 and H3, sometimes even H4).
- A well thought out conclusion, which summarizes the key points you wanted to make with your blog post.
You will get bonus points if you have read some of the posts on this blog and link to them organically from your text.
Editing Process
Please submit your blog post via email to
i-want-to-write-for-public-exposure (at) inform dot social.
We will acknowledge your submission as soon as possible and get back to you
on how to proceed – or not to proceed.
Promotion and Linking
We do allow you to link organically back to your company, organization or project directly, but the content behind the link must be relevant to the topic and you should only use one promotional link per post. Avoid links with spammy anchor texts, such as read more, our great product, buy our service, thought leader, best in class – you understand what we mean. Otherwise, we encourage you to reference your content with relevant material, which clearly demonstrates your expertise in the subject matter at hand. You can even create a references section if you like, should your post relate to an actual research thesis for example.
Short Author Bio
Please tell the reader where you are coming from, i.e. what makes you expert in the subject you have just written about. Save your work history for Linkedin, as the bio should not be more than 150 words. You can mention the current organization you are working for, but do not need to. Optionally, you can complement your bio with a profile picture. It should be in JPEG format and preferably with the dimensions of 500x500 pixels. If you don’t supply one, we will use a default John Doe one instead. In addition, you can include links to your social profiles in your bio as you see fit, e.g. LinkedIn or Twitter. We do understand that not all people want to write in their own name, or are even known in the industry by their real name, which is why using a handle or nom de plume is entirely acceptable.
Ethics and Commenting on Other People’s Work
In addition to writing for this blog, we encourage you to engage with the rest of the authors and commenters in the spirit of healthy debate and expressing one’s opinion. All the comments will be moderated through Disqus , so save the ad hominems, straw man arguments, promotional spam or trolling for some other forum.