An AIoT Evangelist | Startup Founder | Keynote Speaker | Thought Leader | Author | Social Media Influencer
There is a weight that comes with being the final decision-maker.
Not the glamorous kind people imagine.
The quiet kind.
Decisions that affect people’s time.
Their income.
Their confidence.
You learn that delay is sometimes a decision. So is saying no. So is choosing not to chase something shiny.
The doodle character stands still here. Hands by the side. No drama. Just responsibility.
This weight never disappears.
You simply learn how to carry it better.
Today (1 January 2026), I’m thrilled to share something that’s been quietly taking shape over the past year. My latest eBook titled “Favoriot – The Journey of an IoT Startup” is now officially released and available for free download. You can get your copy right here: https://payhip.com/b/GbOyo
Writing this book was not a sprint. It was more like those slow early mornings when you sit with a cup of coffee before the world wakes up and try to make sense of what you’ve learned, what you’ve unlearned, and what still puzzles you.
“What if I just write this down now before I forget how it felt?” I asked myself more times than I can count.
That question became this book.
I didn’t set out to write an eBook that checks all the “how to succeed” boxes. I wrote something more honest. More personal. More reflective of real work and real life.
This is a piece of writing that came from:
Some parts feel calm and clear. Some parts feel messy and uncertain. In all of them, you’ll find reflections that resonate with the kinds of questions we all silently carry with us.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I doing this right?” or “What truly matters here?” then this book was written with you in mind.
This eBook isn’t a step-by-step guide or a list of formulas that promise success. You won’t find shortcuts here. What you will find are reflections rooted in real experience:
These are not theories. They came from living through questions that didn’t have neat answers.
“Oh… so this is what that moment was really teaching me,” I found myself saying as I shaped these chapters.
You might wonder why this eBook is free. There are reasons.
Most books you see are behind paywalls. You sign up. You subscribe. You unlock. All of that has its place.
But I wanted this one to be different.
I wanted it to be reachable by anyone who might benefit from it — no barriers. No barriers, no hoops, no strings attached.
Just download it, read it at your pace, and keep what matters to you.
This is a book for people who:
If you’re looking for hype or fast answers, this may not be a perfect match.
If you’re looking for thoughtful reflections that support your own thinking, then this book might feel like a companion for that journey.
Here’s the link again:
Download it, read it, and then take a moment to reflect on one question:
Which part stayed with me the longest after I closed it?
If you feel like sharing what that was, I’d really like to hear it. Drop a comment. Send a message. Pass the link to someone else who might need it.
Because sometimes the meaning of a book only shows up after you’ve walked a few steps beyond the last page.
Thank you for being here. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Let’s continue the conversation.
Advice is often clean. Reality is not.
Advice does not account for context.
Or timing.
Or people.
Or fatigue.
I have learned to listen for patterns, not prescriptions.
What worked for someone else may collapse under a different set of constraints. And that does not mean anyone is wrong.
The doodle character keeps walking through uneven ground. Same pace. Same posture.
Good judgment is not borrowed.
It is built.
This year felt like a ride that neither my coffee nor my journal could have prepared me for. When I looked at the blog stats for 2025, I couldn’t help but smile and go “Wait… we actually did that?” The numbers tell a story of momentum, curiosity, and growing engagement from readers all over the world.
Let’s take a step back together and walk through what happened with the blog this year, what content resonated most with you, and where we’re heading next.
Over the whole year from January to December 26, 2025, the blog registered about 14,000 views, a massive increase compared to last year. The number of visitors hit around 9,400, and social engagement soared. We saw 4,300 likes and 163 comments across posts, both reflecting the highest interaction we’ve ever seen.
The month charts tell the same story of rising interest. February kicked off strong, March sustained momentum, and December wrapped up with one of the highest monthly view counts, a clear sign that this year’s topics connected with many of you.
These milestones are something I literally paused and said to myself, “This isn’t small potatoes… this is real.”
Geographically, the audience is truly global. The top countries by views were:
That spread tells me two things: your interests are diverse, and the need for thoughtful tech and life content spans borders and cultures.
That made me think: “One idea sparked by one person can travel around the globe faster than I can make coffee.”
Here are the posts that stood out this year, ranked by views and engagement, each with a link so you can revisit or share them easily.
1. Stories
👉 This is a composite link on the blog showing curated standout posts.
https://mazlanabbas.com/tag/stories
2. ChatGPT, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, Claude & DeepSeek: Which One Should You Choose?
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/2025/01/30/chatgpt-copilot-gemini-grok-perplexity-claude-deepseek-which-one-should-you-choose/ (Dr. Mazlan Abbas)
This article became a go-to breakdown for people curious about how all these popular AI platforms compare.
3. How Influencers Fake Their Way to the Top: The Dark Side of Social Media Fame
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/2025/02/09/how-influencers-fake-their-way-to-the-top-the-dark-side-of-social-media-fame/ (Dr. Mazlan Abbas)
This one struck a chord far beyond tech circles, showing how online behavior impacts identity and trust.
4. Why I’m Leaving Medium: A Writer’s Journey to Rediscovering Joy
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/?s=Why+I%E2%80%99m+Leaving+Medium
A personal reflection on why creative freedom matters more than platform popularity.
5. About
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/about
A quieter favorite: many of you wanted to know who I am before jumping into ideas.
6. How AI Democratization by Alibaba is Changing the World—And Why It Matters to You
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/2025/01/31/how-ai-democratization-by-alibaba-is-changing-the-world-and-why-it-matters-to-you/ (Dr. Mazlan Abbas)
This explores how AI access is shifting and why it matters in real life, especially outside big tech hubs.
7. My Dream Home: Where Innovation Meets Nature
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/?s=My+Dream+Home
A more personal piece that blended tech, design and what “home” means.
8. Understanding the Difference Between AI Agents and Agentic AI
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/?s=Understanding+the+Difference+Between+AI+Agents+and+Agentic+AI
A deep dive that many readers used to clarify a tricky topic in AI.
9. Why I’ve Been Quiet Here: My Journey with Medium
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/?s=Why+I%27ve+Been+Quiet+Here
An honest update that resonated with folks navigating their own creative blocks.
10. Leading LLMs of August 2025: Who’s Winning the AI Race?
👉 https://mazlanabbas.com/2025/08/25/leading-llms-of-august-2025-whos-winning-the-ai-race/ (Dr. Mazlan Abbas)
A timely survey of where AI large language models stood mid-year, and why the future was already wide open.
When I look at these stats and see your comments, your likes, and the way you shared ideas with others, it reminds me that blogging isn’t just about articles… it’s about connection.
When I first started writing here, I thought to myself “Who’s really going to read this?” And then you showed up from the US, India, China, Malaysia, and all over — and that response was humbling.
Each comment wasn’t just a number. Each share wasn’t just a count. They were reminders that ideas matter when they’re read by real people thinking in real worlds.
And that’s what made 2025 unique.
Going into 2026, I want to keep telling stories — about tech, about how we live with technology, and about how our personal and professional worlds interact. I want to explore more questions like:
I invite you to be part of that conversation.
Drop a comment below and tell me which article you connected with most this year and what you want to explore next.
Let’s write 2026 together.
Dr. Mazlan Abbas 