How Twitter Changed My Life
As some of you might know I am now an SAP Mentor.
Last weekend, as I was sitting in a summerhouse in a rainy Denmark without internet connection, I had some time to think about the events that lead to this nomination, and somehow I can blame it all on Twitter.
I can’t remember exactly when I signed up for Twitter, but it must have been spring 2007. It wasn’t love at first sight, and I needed two gos at it before I became an addict.
At that time I was standing at a cross-roads in my professional life.
I wasn’t happy with the direction my work as an SAP developer/consultant had taken and my own company (web consultancy firm) ran very well considering it was only something I did in my free-time. The SAP world felt too old, too dry, way too male and not creative enough for me, I had a feeling I wasn’t working with people thinking like me.
Of course, the SDN community was there, but because I was never given permission to go to TechEds etc, the faces on the pictures were never anything but names to me.
Then track came along and suddenly I found a bunch of SDN’ers on Twitter, some of them even nearby. And suddenly it wasn’t so bad to be an SAP consultant after all.
In February Craig Cmehil posted an event on Facebook; an informal SDN/BPX get-together in Walldorf.
I noticed that Oliver, another SDN’er that I had come to know on Twitter, was going, so I tweeted him and asked if he was interested in going together.
A couple of weeks later I got the in the car with a total stranger to drive the 300 kilometers from Cologne to Walldorf.
Oliver had already been to several TechEds, so he introduced me to more SDN/BPX’ers; Craig, Mark, Marilyn, Thomas and some of his ex-collegues at CoE (Center of Excellence).
From there on, the ball started rolling, and soon I found myself blogging on SDN, tweeting with all those Mentors who used to be nothing more than pictures to me (considering them friends today), working on ESME with the best people on the planet, securing myself a new job in Norway and now since last week, a Mentor myself.
Wow!
That’s a great story, Anne. Congratulations on the SAP Mentor title!
I am selfishly thrilled that Twitter has changed your life as well. You were key in bringing me — and, as a result, Kirsten — into the inner circle of the ESME project when I was sort of spectating from the sidelines. For that I am truly grateful. What an experience! So I guess I have Twitter to thank?
Cheers,
Jen
You may not know this but after that little event in Walldorf at the beginning many people asked me if you have changed your name or something but “they knew you” but not the name - you appeared in our world almost magically and have quickly found your way into every aspect of it - excellent having you here and we hope you stay long time!
The beer in Berlin is still on me!
Anne:
Really love your post -:) I had a similar story…I knew all SAP Mentor (By SCN) when I joined Twitter…The I came to meet most of them at TechEd Vegas 07…Actually I meet with Thomas Jung for the first time thanks to Twitter…I was in my room after the “Kickup Meeting” and post something like…
“I’m in my room, number XXX…Call me if you’re up for a beer”.
Thomas replied and we get along for some beers and chatting…James Governor and Michael Cote drop by and say hi…Then Thomas introduced me to Marilyn Pratt and she introduced me to Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin…
Amazing how Twitter can achieve that kind of things -:)
Greetings,
Blag.