ERIC ZIGLER | BLOG
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Taking it public
Last week, my company finally went public with its IPO, and now that I can talk about it, I can say that it’s been an incredibly exciting project to have been a part of.
My role in the process had me tapping into all sides of my skillset. This has meant working closely with C-suite leadership, investor preview presentations, executive writing, and even getting creative with editing video for high-visibility campaigns.
One of the most fun tasks I had the opportunity to lead was creating an announcement video marking the launch of the IPO. I personally designed and edited the video playing in Times Square, up on the ABC “Super Sign,” announcing the start of trading on the NYSE.
This experience has given to me an incredible chance to grow, stretch my skills, and to contribute to something that feels a lot bigger than myself. Huge shout out to my teammates for all their hard work in making this memorable and fun as hell over the last year. Here’s to what’s next!
Hiring is hard
I recently was able to help support our talent acquisition team with their external communication initiatives. As I was doing research, I saw a lot about how hiring has shifted significantly, especially after the pandemic.
Candidates have more choices now, better leverage, higher expectations. These are the types of things companies need to be paying closer attention to if they want to have high-performing teams.
According to a study done by TEKsystems, replacing an employee can cost between two and seven times that role’s annual salary once you start factoring in recruiting, training, lost productivity. It’s even worse if you realize you hired the wrong person and have to start over:
Given the substantial costs associated with replacing an employee, it is prudent for companies to avoid making a bad hiring decision in the first place.
Throwing a job post on the website and hoping for the best isn’t a good strategy. When I’ve been working with my team, we’ve been trying to approach it in a few ways:
Make sure job descriptions sound like they were written by a human and are welcoming and conversational in tone, not boilerplate and plain.
Good candidates aren’t waiting around; you need to meet them where they are, because others will do so before you do.
The hiring process matters. It needs to move quickly or you’ll lose them.
I saw a Talent500 survey of IT professionals that found the top three reasons a candidate rejects a job:
Lack of communication.
Lack of transparency.
The interview process takes too long.
The obvious solution to all of this is that companies should be trying to work on retention. 51% of exiting employees said that, “in the three months before they left, neither their manager nor any leader spoke with them about their job satisfaction or future with the organization,” according to a Gallup study (2019). This should be a wake up call to anyone who is a functional manager.
People want to grow. If they don’t see a path forward, they’ll find one somewhere else. While employees who are satisfied with the status quo may not be your rising stars, top performers are the ones you need to be most concerned about as being a potential flight risk. Further, a 2021 Qualtrics study showed a few revealing statistics:
60% of employees said their employer didn’t offer any professional development or training during year one of the pandemic.
64% said they received no networking or mentoring opportunities.
And disappointingly, a disproportionate number of these were women. What are we doing here, people? Keep your best workers. Be flexible. Talk with them. Have a plan.
(Work) culture shock
One of my oldest friends and I caught up over the holiday weekend over beers and, both of us being in that “career driven” phase of our lives, we inevitably found ourselves talking shop.
He told me about his new gig at a company where everyone actually likes each other. Like, really. They do karaoke nights, they invite each other to family dinners. I wasn’t aware such workplaces existed, but he says it’s their MO.
Despite that, he’s felt “off.” Not about the place, but about himself. This was wild to me because he’s always been the super-social type, but now he’d been struggling to connect with his colleagues. He said he believes he has “toxic workplace PTSD” from his previous job, where he’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
In one of my business classes, we basically used Harvard Business Review as our textbook. When I heard about what my friend was dealing with, I remember this HBR article that I thought was worth sharing tips on:
Write a letter to your past self, telling yourself how good of a job you did with the tools and team you were given.
In your new job, set clear expectations and boundaries—don’t let yourself get bullied anymore.
Even in the best workplace, you might get triggered by something that happened in the past, take a deep breath and don’t let it come to the forefront.
Every time that something good happens, give yourself some credit. Celebrate small wins because you deserve every single one.
Open up to your new work crew when you’re ready. They’re happy to have you as part of their team, and will embrace you even more for being your authentic self, scars and all.
Remember to let yourself heal and grow. Okay, friend?
Summer
Strange times.
Another weekend in without my friends or fanfare. The last couple months have been, in some ways, cathartic, but also, just so terribly quiet and lonely. As we’re all locked in our houses, I find myself often thinking about life and what’s next. I’m sure you’ve done the same.
I made the move into a corporate strategic communications role not too long ago. While I still work closely with IT, this new gig has given me a chance to reconnect with my creative side, which I’ve missed. So, with the extra time on my hands lately, I decided to create a new website: Welcome to the all-new ericzigler.com.
For those who've been following along, you'll notice that this new site is significantly cleaner and more responsive than my last one. The old site was hosted on Google Sites (and before that, iWeb!), but SquareSpace provides a lot more functionality.
While I continue to expand upon my skillset and career, I’m hoping that this site will serve a dual purpose. First, it hosts my portfolio, featuring an array of creative projects I've taken on over the years. You'll find writing samples, emails, social media campaigns, and a selection of my best video work. And secondly, over the years, this blog has served as an outlet for my musings on nerd stuff, Apple things, my career, user experience, leadership, and beyond. I’ve migrated the content from my old site to here, and I’m hoping this will continue to be an occasional outlet for me.
Whether you're one of my regular readers (all two of you!), or someone who landed here searching for toasted ravioli (yes, my domain is also t-ravs.org — that’s toasted ravioli for you non-St. Louisans)… thanks for being here.
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By the way: You’re an amazing human. I just wanted you to know.
It’s not PEBCAK, it’s you
During my college days, I worked at an on-campus computer store. It was basically a mini Apple Store of sorts, but frequented by too many students wielding their parents' credit cards. My role involved fixing computers and troubleshooting issues for students.
My co-workers, mostly Computer Science majors or engineers, were absolute geniuses (no pun intended) when it came to tech. However, there was one area where they often faltered: human interaction with our customers. Whether it was the freshman confused about uploading an assignment, the research assistant wrestling with formatting data, or the sorority president in tears over a crashed hard drive, empathy was in short supply.
"It's PEBCAK," a coworker told me, "Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard."
That term didn't sit well with me then, and it still doesn't.
People often see issues with technology as their own shortcomings. "I'm so bad at computers," they say. "It's user error!"
Is it user error if a poorly designed website hampers a freshman from uploading an assignment?
Is it user error when clunky, outdated software baffles a research assistant?
Is it user error when a hard drive malfunction destroys years of precious memories for a sorority president?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that if you’re working in IT or product management or UX or, hell, anything: if you’re blaming your users, you don’t understand them.
A strong product or process requires significant user research and analysis. Are you using data to confirm your own assumptions, or are you genuinely trying to understand your users' needs? If someone complains about a poor experience, can you confidently say you've done your research and it backs up your product? Did you make sure your design makes sense to the users? Have you offered all the essential information? Could you have prevented any mistakes on their end?
So, to my college coworker, I really hope you let go of the "PEBCAK" mindset. The real problem often exists not between the chair and the keyboard, but in the failure to understand the human being who sits there.
Flipping the switch
Ah, the joys of being handed a new project that involves multiple departments. As someone who’s worked in IT, strategic communication and project management, if cross-functional work isn’t done right, it feels like wandering around a maze, and no one wants to admit they’re lost.
I recently started reading Don Norman's iconic book, "The Design of Everyday Things,” which will open your third eye to all good (and bad) design.
One of the examples he provides is when you walk into a room with a large wall plate of light switches. Each switch controls a light, but the mapping is all off. You find yourself flicking three or four switches just to illuminate the area you’re standing in.
Norman argues that this design failure isn't the fault of any one individual. Rather, it’s due to a lack of coordination among various teams—each installing their piece of the puzzle without understanding how they fit together. Sound familiar? This happens in organizations all the time, and it hurts the user experience as a result.
The challenge of alignment
In my line of work, we often have to pull in Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from various departments. Every department has its own lingo, priorities, and—yes—light switches. The challenge is making sure those switches align. That they illuminate the room effectively and easily. This requires coordination.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for replacing a meeting with an email. But sometimes, you need to put faces to names and understand where everyone is coming from. A well-coordinated project benefits from that shared understanding. It lets you map the light switches to the room.
On projects like the one I’ve been assigned, that coordination is what will allow us to make the experience of using a product as easy as flipping a switch.
Know your KPIs
I'll never forget the first time I heard the term "KPI" (Key Performance Indicator). I was 19, and in the middle of an impromptu phone interview for a tech support role at a small computer shop. “How do you make sure you hit your KPIs?” the manager asked me. I blanked and immediately hung up.
Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
Little did I know then, KPIs would become an instrumental part of my professional journey. When leading a team of technical support advisors, these crucial metrics were our compass, guiding our evaluations and efforts.
UX and KPIs: Two Sides of the Same Coin
As I continue to explore the world of User Experience (UX), one overarching lesson has made itself abundantly clear: before diving into any UX project, you have to know your goals.
User Goals
A user is always aiming to accomplish something when interacting with your product or service. Whether they are shopping, searching, or solving, there is a reason they've chosen to engage.
Business Goals
On the flip side, organizations have their own targets. Be it sales, impressions, or successful issue resolutions, there are KPIs that must be met for business success.
Alignment is Crucial
For a UX design to truly shine, these goals—user and business—must be in sync. An organization's success is defined by its users achieving their goals, not the other way around.
So next time you find yourself making decisions around UX, or even just taking a stroll down memory lane about awkward job interviews, remember the importance of setting and understanding goals. Oh, and maybe learn what KPI means if you haven’t already.
Ego, ergo, let go
Right after my time at Mizzou, I landed a job on a communications team for an IT department. My job was translate 'techno-speak' into layman's terms and disseminate that information through mass communications (think emails, social media posts, and technical writing).
One of my first major projects involved redesigning a website. As an alumnus who bleeds my school colors (black and gold forever, don't @ me), I took inspiration from my alma mater's website. In my mind, their site was the epitome of design greatness.
But here's the kicker: their site was tailored for a completely different audience. My "research" was essentially an exercise in bias and opinion, making it irrelevant for the work I was doing.
The Power of Objective Research
Now, my dive into UX lessons has clarified something: objective research is essential for effective user experience design. Here's what matters:
To accomplish this, you'll need to focus on:
Interviews: Direct conversations with users.
Observations: Watch how people interact with your product.
Focus Groups: Assembled groups to discuss specific issues or features.
Survey Data: Collected responses from a broader audience.
Card Sorting: Understanding how users categorize information.
And by the way: Document everything. Don’t rely on your memory or it becomes subjective.
My first card-sorting exercise. Doodles encouraged.
Get Your Ego Out of the Equation
This isn't about you. It's about understanding and meeting the needs of the people who are using your product or service. Your role is to guide them to their goals, effectively and efficiently.
In my case, we ended up creating a wall of sticky notes and invited users to organize them into categories that made sense to them (a card sort exercise).
So remember kids: No matter how passionately you can belt out your fight song, it won't help you understand your users. Well, maybe at a tailgate.
When it all just worked
A couple weeks ago, I got to work with the fine folks with Apple Education as we prepared a major rollout of new devices to students and teachers. It was a massive project with thousands of iPads and MacBooks for a 1:1 deployment in schools. The usual IT approach might be: “Get the devices out there, make sure they power on, keep the Wi-Fi running, call it a day.” But while I may be the “IT guy”, I don’t ever want to be an “IT guy”.
What good is all of this fancy tech if it’s not utilized to its potential? To truly be an intuitive experience that enables users to see their goals? Like, if I did my job right, they’d just walk into a classroom, tap an icon, and get on with teaching or learning. No fuss, no frantic calls to IT, no 20-step instructions laminated and taped to the wall. So that was my mindset as I worked with Apple and school technology teams to build the entire experience.
About two weeks after we wrapped up the deployment, I popped into a classroom to see how everything was going. This teacher was screen mirroring from her MacBook to the Apple TV to show the class a short video, all while juggling her lesson in Keynote. Students had iPads out, collaborating on a group project in real time. No headaches, no fiddling with settings, no drama.
At the end of class, I asked her how things were going with the new tools. Something she said really resonated with me:
“I don’t even think about the tech anymore. I just teach.”
That was it. That’s all I needed to hear. For me, moments like that are the gold standard. If a user—who might not consider herself ‘tech-savvy’—can just walk in, tap a couple buttons, and focus on achieving their goals, I know we did it right.
Good IT is an invisible foundation that lets people do whatever they need to do, without technology getting in the way.
I’ve also started noticing students using features they didn’t even know existed before: splitting screens on iPads, collaboration with classmates, or quick video editing in the new Clips app. Watching them discover what was possible (and actually enjoy it) has been super cool. I realized I’ve missed seeing users feel surprised and delighted. It reminded me why I care so much about the experience that comes with good technology. It’s my intrinsic motivator in all I do.
Breaking in a new whiteboard
I recently got my hands on a new dry-erase whiteboard and couldn't wait to break it in. Whiteboards are my jam. There's something liberating about jotting down thoughts on a canvas only limited by the size of your wall.
As I was navigating through my semi-annual existential crisis, I found myself jotting down some of my core strengths. What I realized was that these strengths all culminated in a perspective closely tied to User Experience (UX).
Let's be clear: I'm not talking about User Interface design, but rather what makes a user experience truly effective.
I've recently delved into Joel Marsh's "UX Crash Course," which has reinforced some of my existing beliefs about what's crucial in aiding people’s work or learning experiences. I want to call out a few highlights:
Making Users Effective: The primary objective of a UX designer is to create "smarter things," making users not just satisfied, but effective.
Research is Key: You can't hope to solve your users' problems without first understanding them. This means diving into research to comprehend how your users operate, all while aligning solutions with business or organizational goals.
Data-Driven Design: UX is more science than art. Decisions must be rooted in data to ensure an experience that's not just beautiful, but functional and responsive to user needs.
Looking back, I can't help but wish I'd explored this field sooner. Yet here we are, armed with a new whiteboard and an invigorated sense of purpose.
Trying out UX
Growing up, my parents ran a small-town newspaper as a side gig. A couple of times each month, they'd enlist me for delivery duty. I would dash into local businesses and leave stacks of papers for people to pick up.
I wasn't exactly thrilled about being the paperboy, but I was fascinated by the process of building the newspaper. Back then, my parents used a Macintosh Performa 550 and Aldus PageMaker software (which later evolved into Adobe InDesign). They would draft articles on the Mac, print them using a small home laser printer, and then—quite literally—cut and paste them onto a large spread for the local printer. The scent of glue still lingers in my memory.
This experience inspired me to create my own kid-friendly newspaper, filled with articles about the games my siblings and I were playing and the latest happenings in Saturday morning cartoons.
As a teen, I started crafting newsletters with friends. In high school, I joined the school newspaper and even bagged a few awards for my layout and writing skills. Later, in college and beyond, I pivoted to email marketing campaigns and websites.
What captivated me most was the joy of creating beautiful work that delighted its readers. There's something profoundly resonant when good design complements content, enhancing the overall user experience.
Though life led me down a career path that didn't fully indulge my passion for good design, I've still found ways to weave it into my daily tasks. Those projects often become the highlights of my day.
I recently discovered Joel Marsh’s UX Crash Course. Reading through his lessons rekindled that childhood sense of wonder. If you have any curiosity about what constitutes good design—and in a tech context, a compelling user experience—I highly recommend giving it a look.
Closing this chapter
When I started my journey at Apple, I knew it was something special.
Over these years, I had the opportunity to work with some of the smartest, most driven people I’ve ever met, take on new challenges, and even step into my first leadership role. That experience shaped me, and I’ll always be grateful for it.
But sometimes, life pulls you in a different direction. For me, that meant heading back home to St. Louis—to the city, family, and friends that have always been part of who I am. As much as I loved my time at Apple, home has been calling, and it’s time I listen.
“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long.”
So that’s what I’m doing. As I step into my next chapter, Apple will still play an important role in my career. I’ll be supporting K-12 education and their use of Apple technology, ensuring they have effective ways for students to learn with iPad and MacBook. It’s a different kind of impact, but one I’m excited to make.
I’ll miss Apple—the work, the people, the experience—and I hope someday I’ll have another opportunity to be part of it again.
But for now, it’s time to do something else wonderful.
Stand outside your register
My first job was working at a grocery store as a cashier—or a "checker," as they used to call us.
The manager there was incredibly serious about customer service. He asked his leadership team to instill certain behaviors in us, the front-line workers. At the time, 17-year-old me sometimes felt these methods were overbearing. However, looking back, I'm grateful for the lessons learned.
Much of what I picked up in that role can—and should—be applied to any job that hinges on customer service, whether your customers are internal or external.
Stand outside of your register—appear eager to help
Be friendly and communicative
Use their name, when possible
Show empathy for their circumstances
Make them feel comfortable
All things considered, these aren't difficult tasks. But if these behaviors don't come naturally, the effort to instill and learn them can be immense.
That's why employers often opt for candidates with excellent soft skills over those with technical brilliance but poor customer service abilities.
If only I had been better at memorizing the PLU codes for items other than bananas (4011).
Perspective
Big day of announcements today: iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (seems like everyone wants a bigger screen these days, though personally, I prefer having everything at a single thumb’s reach). And Apple Watch is, well, sexy.
But one thing I want to draw attention to isn’t the products at all, but rather the video that opened the event, called “Perspective”.
It reminds me a lot of “Think different”, which is singlehandedly what made me fall in love with Apple as a kid (and had me memorizing Richard Dreyfuss’ lines—I can still recite the commercial verbatim).
In addition to being visually stunning (and in one take?!), what it says is that it isn’t about what we make, but why.
“While others are distracted by the new, you focus on the significance of a whole new take.”
Closing in on my first year at Apple, that message lands differently. While the day-to-day work can make you hyper-focused on the details, this was a reminder to step back. To remember that this place is about thinking bigger, not just chasing what’s next, but making sure it actually freakin’ matters.
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P.S. Another incredible video worth watching is the “Intention” spot from last year’s WWDC [Podcasts link].
I work at Apple.
Today was my first day at Apple. That still feels weird to say out loud. Not in an imposter syndrome way (okay, maybe a little), but more in the “omg this is actually happening” way.
Literally from the moment we started, it was clear that things were going to be different. Not just in the way things look or operate, but in their energy. Everything feels intentional, precise, and so wonderfully welcoming — like being part of something bigger. And now, somehow, I get to be part of that.
First days are usually a blur, and this one was no exception… new people, new systems, new everything. But every conversation, every introduction, every moment just reinforced that everyone here is committed to doing their life’s best work.
It’s wild to think that after years of being that dude who wouldn’t stop talking about Apple (and made it his goal to get all of his friends to switch to Mac—done!), I now get to be part of it, contribute, and hopefully make a difference.
There’s a lot to take in. A lot to learn. But if today was any indication, it’s going to be one hell of a ride. Let’s get started.
Focusing on what matters first
I’m two months into my internship at foursquare, and just being exposed to startup culture has taught me more than I could’ve learned in school alone. When I first started, and as I picked up on the pace of things, I learned that startups don’t wait. If you have an idea, you don’t ask for permission—you start building. If something needs to get done, you figure it out and do it. That was a huge mindset shift for me.
But now, I’m starting to realize something else: It’s not just about getting things done. It’s about getting the right things done. And that’s a completely different challenge.
You can’t do it all
I’ve been leading the foursquare for Universities project, reaching out to schools, refining the messaging, and figuring out how to drive adoption. But beyond that, there have been plenty of other smaller projects, meetings, and new ideas being thrown around. Working with external contacts, stakeholders, or someone mentions something cool we could do, and suddenly, I’ve got a to-do list that is scary to look at. For me, this means feeling overwhelmed and shutting down, which, in a startup environment, can’t happen.
That’s when I saw how product team was doing things.
How startups prioritize
Sitting in on a few foursquare’s product meetings, I learned about this stupidly simple way they roadmap their upcoming work:
Now: The things that absolutely need to get done right now.
Next: The things that are coming up soon but aren’t urgent.
Later: The things that might be valuable but don’t need attention yet.
This reminded me of something I’ve seen on my own team, which is that, when it comes to being creative, sometimes constraints can actually help with that. We’ve held a few brainstorming sessions put on timers (my boss calls it “time-boxing”), and this helps to keep things reigned in and realistic. So when I realized that I’d been treating everything like a "Now" task, in reality, some things were better suited for “Next” or “Later.” So I just started applying that to my work and now I’m seeing that I can be a little more intentional with what I’m trying to get done and when.
Finally, I’ve noticed that people at foursquare don’t always automatically say yes to everything. Rather, they are more strategic about what we take on. It’s similar to the "Yes, and…" method my team has used (like in improv, which I did in high school by the way—it’s harder than it looks). Instead of immediately jumping on every idea, the best people build on what matters most first and let other ideas sit until they’re ready to move forward.
I’ve realized that saying “not yet” isn’t the same as saying “no”. Rather, it’s about making sure you’re focusing on the right things at the right time.
Don’t wait for permission
I’ve been at foursquare for just over a month, and I think I’ve cracked the code on how this place works:
If you see something that needs to be done, you do it.
If you have an idea, you start building it.
If you wait for someone to tell you what to do, you’ll be left behind.
Before this internship, I didn’t have any clue what “startup culture” would be like. I had read a couple articles about how fast-paced it was, but actually living it has been eye opening.
If something isn’t working, no one puts together a long-term strategy doc to address it. Someone just fixes it. If you have an idea, you don’t wait to present it in a meeting next month, instead you just throw it in the group chat, and by the time you check back, people are already building upon it.
That’s a big change of pace for someone from Missouri. But I love it.
Figuring it out as I go
When I first got here, I had guessed that, like most jobs, there might be some more guidance or a ramp up into what I should or shouldn’t be doing. That isn’t the case at all, because it simply cannot be the case. In a team this small and mighty, you absolutely must figure it out.
My whiteboard tracker of universities I’ve been reaching out to. Let’s not erase this.
My main project, foursquare for Universities, is all about getting colleges to integrate foursquare into campus life. Helping them create official pages, design custom badges, get students excited to check in. But there’s no handbook for how to do that, so I’ve had to build the strategy while I was executing it. This means sometimes it won’t work, but that’s part of taking the risks necessary to grow.
Some schools “got it” immediately. Others had no idea why this would matter to them. Some cared about student engagement, others were focused on alumni. There wasn’t a single perfect pitch I could use for everyone—I had to adjust on the fly. This was tough for me to get used to because, at first, I wanted to scope it all out and get things right before I reached out to schools. But then I realized: there was no “right.”
Startups life doesn’t wait—just build
My first week at foursquare, I suggested a way for universities to highlight their top check-in spots in a more dynamic way. I thought maybe I’d need to put together some project proposal to show my boss or team. Instead, the answer I got back was, “Cool, how do we do it?” By the end of the day, we had a rough concept that we could use, and try testing it by the end of the week.
These kinds of ideas don’t happen in meetings; they happen in conversations, group chats, standups, and while out for drinks. And some of the best ideas come when people don’t overthink. I’ve heard my team call it the “Yes, and…” mindset, like in improv (which I did in high school, by the way—it’s harder than it looks). The point being that, instead of shutting down ideas, people build on them.
One of the biggest shifts for me has been adapting to that mentality. You don’t have to be 100% sure an idea is perfect before you put it out there. The point isn’t to be right—it’s to create momentum.
A month ago, I thought I wanted to work at a startup. Now, I know I need to.
My first check-in
Hello, world.
When I first created my website, I did so mainly to host my portfolio and just have some sort of online presence. And while I floated the idea of making a blog, each time I sat down to do it, I’d get distracted. Well, I feel like now is finally a good time because I’ve become distracted by something that's important enough to write about.
In a couple weeks, I’ll be moving to New York City for an internship with foursquare.
All of my friends know how much I love foursquare. The gamification and social aspect of mapping your city with your friends is such a unique idea and, not only do I enjoy using the app, but I’m frequently thinking up new ideas on how it could be even better.
And that’s how I got their attention! I’ve been following, emailing, and tweeting with the product and marketing teams practically every week for awhile now (I’m not crazy, I swear). So imagine my surprise when I saw this in my inbox:
Mind blown.
So, in light of this new development, I’ve decided to start this blog as a means of getting my thoughts down about my career trajectory and other nerdy interests. I’m writing this mainly for me, just so I can center myself and reflect on what’s to come. And, if nothing else, I hope you find my ramblings entertaining.
Here goes nothing! Wish me luck as I get ready to live out a dream that once only existed in tweets. I’m excited to do some amazing things.