Thread by @alexcrownus

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

I won this tech book wiley.com/WileyCDA/Wiley… …
#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!