Online Privacy/Security Advocate Muhammad Hamza Shahid on Growth

The 2020 #Noonies are here, and they are both much greener and much bigger than last year! Among the 2,000+ deserving humans nominated across 5 categories for over 200 award titles, we discovered Muhammad Hamza Shahid from United States, who has been nominated as one of our Contributors of the Year in PRIVACY, based on the reading time generated by his Hacker Noon top story: Why Governments Use Mass Surveillance⁠—And What To Do About It.

🚀 This Year's Noonies were made possible by: Sustany Capital, .TECH Domains, Grant for the Web, Skillsoft, Flipside Crypto, Udacity, and Beyondskills!

There are over $10K+ & 3K+ Yrs Domain Registration Up for Grabs. VOTE TODAY! 🚀

1. Muhammad Hamza Shahid: Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am an Online Privacy/Security Advocate at BestVPN.co, and contributing author at sites like Hackernoon, SAP, Medium, ValueWalk, NewsWire, and Buzzfeed who loves sharing his expert knowledge regarding the latest trends in user privacy, cyber laws, and digital affairs.

2. Tell us about the things you make / write / manage / build.

I also take keen interest in writing detailed VPN reviews, testing different services and privacy tools in in the marketplace. On the sideline, I spent years as a digital marketer with extensive knowledge about content marketing, social media marketing, and SEO.

I have nurtured acquaintances with various companies as an independent writer, consultant and trainer, collecting bylines in web and print publications, and establishing a status for excellence in digital marketing campaigns, corporate training, other media projects.

3. What are you most excited about right now?

I am excited about a lot of things currently.

I've managed to further my career in the cybersecurity and user privacy industry. Now, people actually come and seek my assistance on the basis of security and privacy.

Overall, it's a good feeling to be recognized.

I am also very happy that Hacker Noon has nominated me for the "Contributor of the Year - Privacy".

Wow, I never thought such a day would come!

4. What are you worried about right now?

My worries are mostly linked to the overall situation around the world. Due to COVID-19 and being in quarantine for months now, you can say that my patience is reaching its end. Although I actively try putting more effort into my work, and have learned tons of new things literally, I just miss the freedom. I wish all this concludes soon, and we can go back to living our lives, and roaming about freely.

5. What's the most useful advice you've ever given somebody?

I say this to everyone I meet, be it professionally or personally; "Every day is an opportunity to learn and grow." Never stop your process of exploring new ideas and executing them. Ask questions, where you need more clarifications. Just don't limit yourself ever. And trust me, when you look back at your entire day, every night, you'll notice there's something new you learned.

6. How has the pandemic changed your life and/or career?

I am working remotely for months. I have adjusted to it. Created my own peaceful environment where I work, without any stresses. At the same time, I have learned how to manage a team from afar, relying on tools like Zoom, Skype, Assembla, etc. I guess the pandemic has changed my life and career in the sense of how "work" should be.

7. If we gave you $10 million to invest in one thing right now, where would you put it?

I would invest it in Eco Friendly Solutions that rely on Renewable Energy.

8. What's an opinion you have that most people don't agree with?

What's right and what's wrong; is actually very subjective. It's a very lengthy debate, but one that really forces people to think beyond their preconceived notions.

9. What or Who are you keeping an eye on in 2020?

For my personal curiosity, I love following everything that SpaceX does. Professionally, I am currently keeping a strict eye on several privacy influencers, like Peter Turner (Senior VP for Consumer Security at Avast SecureLine), Matthias Pfau (CEO of Tutanota), and Mark Stevens (SVP of Global Services for Digital Guardian)!

10. Which apps can't you live without?

WhatsApp, Reddit, Skype, Facebook, Twitter

11. What are you currently learning?

DevOps Security, Digital Marketing

VOTE for Muhammad Hamza Shahid as Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year in PRIVACY before voting closes on 12 October, 2020! 🚀

With gratitude to Hacker Noon's 2020 Noonies Partners: Sustany Capital, .TECH Domains, Grant for the Web, Skillsoft, Flipside Crypto, Udacity, and Beyondskills!