Hi! Welcome to the new MattRefghi.com. To understand the significance behind this re-launch, I need to go back a bit into the past to explain how I got to this point.
Back in 2008, I discovered Jeff Atwood’s blog titled Coding Horror, a blog focused largely about software development. I was working as a web developer at the time, so naturally the topic was quite pertinent and interesting to me, as I was living the subject matter day to day. After following Jeff’s blog and being inspired by the quality of what he offered, in January 2009, I decided that I too would launch a blog. It started with technical posts, but since then, the content has diversified and I’ve since published approximately 250 posts – a mix between written and video content.
Now, the missing piece in the story is that back in 2009-2011, I also created my own PHP web platform in my free time as I learned more and more about web development. I named it Hyperion, and since then, I never stopped working on it. As a result, that platform eventually grew to the point where I began to host it through my corporation and license access to clients. Then came 2021, where I increased my development efforts to a new level, releasing 2 large update packages in a year – altogether bringing forth a bunch of improvements, changes, and new features.
This increase in development is best explained by the fact that I was having fun. And I liked that whatever I did on the side would often also benefit my clients – they too would receive the same updates and improvements. I was also able to pursue features or updates that I personally felt passionate about, which further boosted my productivity. So as 2021 was coming to an end, I had a thought… what if my blog ran on my own software? What if I used Hyperion as a blogging platform?
The first server-side scripting language I learned was ASP, back in my early college days working alongside my buddy Joe. And I remember quite vividly, to this day, how it completely changed my view of the web. Once I “clicked” and understood how those languages worked – I felt like a whole world of possibility opened up to me. I realized I could do almost anything I wanted, I just needed the imagination and the time to design it.
So that’s exactly what I did. What you’re seeing isn’t any old re-launch of my blog, it’s the first time that my content, written in English, is going to be exclusively available on my platform, written in PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, etc. It would be unfair if I failed to mention that I was at least partially inspired to do this by seeing Ye’s Stem Player project.
While I can’t say I was facing any kind of oppression, I did see the immense potential when it came to dogfooding – by turning myself into a regular client of my own platform, I would have even more opportunity to spot areas for improvement, and to come up with interesting new features. And if I wanted to add something to the platform, I could do so fairly easily – because I knew exactly how it was built. And again, my clients would benefit from anything I fixed.
And so that’s the story. At the moment, MattRefghi.com is live, but I’m not fully finished transitioning from the old blog – much like Early Access games, and again, much like Ye, who continues to update his albums after they’ve been released, I decided to release it a bit early as I continued to migrate content and add features. It is nonetheless one of the most exciting chapters in my online presence, and I can’t wait for what’s next.
Note: While I mention Ye twice in this article, I do not condone any form of hate speech. I firmly believe that deep down, Ye has good intentions and simply continues to miscommunicate his ideas… expect an article from me at some point where I explore this.
Update 2025-02-11: I’ve historically demonstrated significant patience in the face of Ye’s mental health issues. There’s a lot to be said for separating the artist from the art – I’ve been very clear when I disagreed with his words and actions. That said, on this day, Ye decided to sell hateful t-shirts on his website. As a result, I have reached my limit – and I will not, and cannot, support someone who takes his hateful ideas that far. I’m deeply disappointed, and can only wish this individual the best in mental health treatment and care.