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Adeyemo Adesegun @alexcrownus
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Good evening everyone, thanks for joining me on #consonancestories
I will like to thank @ConsonanceClub for having me on today's #consonancestories
I must have mixed things up. Thread not chronological. Trying to fix that
Special thanks to @MayowaTudonu who made it happen #consonancestories
Where do I start? #consonancestories
From the beginning I guess #consonancestories
I had never seen a computer before (except in the movies) until I came to Ibadan from Ife after my high school in 1997 #consonancestories
I was working as a factory hand at IsoGlassIndustries.com when I met my good friend and former colleague @SuccessOlusola . He was working working as an office assistant at the time. He now works as a medical professional in the US #consonancestories
He asked one day around if had a email address but I didn't know what that was #consonancestories
Again he asked if I knew the Internet, I was just looking dumb instead #consonancestories
He was laughing so hard he called me a "bush boy" #consonancestories
Being inquisitive as I am I had to find out what these things were. #consonancestories
And how do you find out about the #Internet? You use the Internet. #GoogleIt had not been coined at the time #consonancestories
It was the era of Yahoo!, AOL, AltaVista, OneBox, Lycos, LinkServe, Cyberspace, Excite, MSN e.t.c. #consonancestories
So my good friend @SuccessOlusola took me to a cybercafe in Sango, #Ibabdan #consonancestories
Then, you'd buy browsing time and instead of a browsing ticket you are given a piece of paper with start and end times written on it #consonancestories
Cybercafes then used wall clock to time you, no timers like Cyberlock #consonancestories
You'd pray the attendant forgets your time is up #consonancestories
They had Windows 95/98 installed on their systems and there was thing called "the server" typically a Windows NT system #consonancestories
It was like the end of the world when you hear "the server" is down #consonancestories
So, we first set up my email addresses on YahooMail, Lycos and onebox.com #consonancestories
That was just the beginning for me on this buzzword called the Information Technology #consonancestories
I was curious about how the Internet works #consonancestories
So, I had to browse the Internet to understand the Internet. Lol #consonancestories
Of course, Internet browsing was expensive at the time but night browsing was cheaper. Typically, from 10PM to 6M #consonancestories
So, my partner in crime @SuccessOlusola and I starting doing overnight browsing together once we could save enough for it #consonancestories
We would trek some km between Eleyele, Sango and Mokola just to save some money #consonancestories
I discovered you could literally ask the Internet for anything you wanted to know #consonancestories
Overseas scholarship and admission became our target #consonancestories
We applied to several schools abroad but only to schools without application fees. We had no 100 dollars to give anybody #consonancestories
While some people were busy scamming people on Yahoo Messenger (Yahoo Yahoo) and browsing porn we were putting the Internet to a good use #consonancestories
I wanted to study Medicine but my poor background wouldn't allow me.
naija.ng/885185-meet-ta…
#consonancestories
Information Technology was the hottest buzzword and Networking became the hottest career: Cisco, Novell etc. #consonancestories
Then came the certifications such as CCNA, MCSE, CompTIA A+ #consonancestories
Networking became my first love in #tech #consonancestories
Back then if you check Guardian newspaper on Wednesdays majority of tech jobs were in Networking #consonancestories
Jidaw.com became one of my favourite career websites #consonancestories
In fact @jidaw changed my life! #consonancestories
There was an online competition @jidaw on their website and I won #consonancestories
That book shaped my entire tech career. #consonancestories
I came to Lagos for the first time (save when I came when I was much younger) to collect the book and discovered Lagos is the center of it all #consonancestories
I remember visiting their office, taking Okada for the first time, to Eric Moore Wemabod Estate in Ikeja. I can never forget #consonancestories
It was with a great fanfare that they took my pictures and did a "press release" on their website. This was around year 2000 #consonancestories
Back then it was a big deal if someone searched for you on the Internet and found you. #consonancestories
So, I searched myself and there was I holding the book with @jidaw smiling to the camera. Privacy concerns were not a thing #consonancestories
That book was more than just a book on Windows Server. I learnt important areas in InfoTech such operating systems, networking, html, dhtml, css, vbscript etc. #consonancestories
I got to know about #JavaScript from #VBScript #consonancestories
I got to know about #Java from JavaScript and the so called Java Applets #consonancestories
I got to know about ASP (there was no .NET yet and ASP.NET was not even born) from VBScript #consonancestories
I got to know about #JSP from ASP and the list goes on #consonancestories
Because I had no computer I would download compilers and interpreters to the Cybercafe computers so I could learn and practice some of these programming and scripting languages #consonancestories
I started learning programming using Notepad (not NotePad++ o. Lol) #consonancestories
I learnt HTML, CSS and JavaScript mostly by viewing source in the browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. Website sources were a lot cleaner then #consonancestories
Then came Microsoft FrontPage 98 and DreamWeaver. They were the WYSIWYG heavyweights. You do view source at your own peril #consonancestories
I like learning from the first principles, they are the building blocks of true knowledge #consonancestories
Then came the IT training providers such as NIIT and APTECH #consonancestories
I couldn't afford to attend any of their trainings #consonancestories
They offered training scholarships though but you'd still pay more than 100K to attend. I did the first ever NIIT scholarship exam and passed. Since it wasn't full scholarship I didn't pursue the training #consonancestories
Luckily, a late friend of mine introduced one of his church members attending NIIT to me. She was struggling with some of the courses. I was already known in my friendship circle as an "IT guru" #consonancestories
As usual, I requested for her training materials so that I can learn the topics and then teach her. It paid off for me big time. I must say NIIT had some of the best training curriculum back then. #consonancestories
I continued my self-study in IT while in higher institutions #consonancestories
I got to know about Visual Basic after taking a course in BASIC at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro #consonancestories
There was one or two computers in the whole computer lab #consonancestories
You would need to queue to be able to type and run your program. You had 5 to 10 minutes #consonancestories
So, you'd better write the program on paper, debug it on paper and type fast #consonancestories
Not having a computer was a big issue #consonancestories
Things became a bit easier for me in UNILAG though #consonancestories
I still didn't have a computer but had roommates or friends who did. Not laptops, desktops #consonancestories
So, practicing programming became easier somewhat #consonancestories
At a point I stopped pursuing a career in Networking and programming became my major interest #consonancestories
But before then I made sure I practiced Networking. I successfully setup client-server network for civil engineering student society in UNILAG using Windows Server 2000 and Windows XP #consonancestories
I preferred programming because I only need my brain, hands and a computer #consonancestories
You can be anywhere in the world and be programming. That was so powerful for me #consonancestories
Networking requires major investment in hardware tools and the likes #consonancestories
Just know only C, Python, Java or Golang and you'd still be dangerous #consonancestories
Software is eating the world. I learnt some Cisco networking but the Cisco IoS is a piece of software #consonancestories
I am not saying Networking is not a good career choice, just saying the reasons why I chose programming #consonancestories
I have successful colleagues and friends in Networking #consonancestories
Rounding up #consonancestories
I have learnt that new technologies build on the previous ones #consonancestories
My knowledge of Maths helped me in understanding computers #consonancestories
My knowledge of Cryptography helped me in understanding Blockchain #consonancestories
Dealing with issues arising from large volume of production data helped me appreciate Big Data #consonancestories
Queuing in the sun in Nigeria will make you appreciate automation and digital transformation #consonancestories
You might have to "pay your dues" in tech career before you eventually "make it" #consonancestories
I did a job worth 5 million Naira but got 50 thousand Naira for it #consonancestories
Passion is very important but be So Good They Can't Ignore You
amazon.com/Good-They-Cant…#consonancestories
Be known for something good. It speaks to your kind of person. I was and am known by various names to different people for different reasons #consonancestories
Academic excellence is good but ability to solve problems is crucial. You are valued by your contributions #consonancestories
My goal was to graduate with a first class but I still focused on my tech career irrespective You can eat your cake and have it too #consonancestories
I have taken much time already but still feel like I have a lot to say. Will rest now. If you have any questions pls ask away. #consonancestories
Thank you!
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