I thought social media were a waste of time.

I was wrong.

This will be my last thread of 2020.

It's about me and this year on social media.

If you think you are not a "social media type" but you would like to start getting to know yourself, this thread is for you.

Hi, for all the people who don't know me, I am Francesco, from Rome, Italy. I am 37 years old and I've worked as a Software Engineer for the Copernicus Project for European Space Agency.

Exactly one year ago, I was just coding by myself, alone, studying, and exercising daily

At the beginning of this year, I've started using Twitter a little more, because I wanted to promote an Android App I did.

It's a Simple periodic Table, that has nothing to do with programming. An idea I had had since Android Came out.

But it ended in a different way...

To be honest, I've always considered social media a waste of time.

I thought that to be successful, you should avoid social media at all and just focus on working hard, studying hard, every day.

But I was wrong. Very Wrong.

The Switch:

But since I've started using Twitter to connect to other developers, I've changed my mind.


I have discovered so many amazing people, who are the most developers, and my life really changed this year.

The First Article

On the 21st of February, I have published my very first article.

I had never published something in my life, my mind was really more about consuming content rather than creating content, and this has been an important moment

I've changed my mindset.

The Idea

Then In March, I had this idea:
I wanted to start my Youtube Channel.

But this was really a problem for me, because I had tried this in the past alone, and I never made it.

So I decided to do this before the year ends.

And then something happened: THE LOCKDOWN

During the lockdown, I stayed at home for 2 months, barely going out just to buy some food and water. Here in Italy, we had a really hard lockdown.

And of course, this was bad, but I've found time to work on myself, especially on content on Twitter

I loved creating content!

When the lockdown ended, in May, I could start walking and running again.

I still remember that I did a 20km run, probably one of the toughest training of my life!

A very good feeling!

But I still had this idea of making videos.

And so I started recording myself, post some pics of myself with my friend on Twitter.

This has been really important to me.

Because my brain slowly got used to show myself

First Video!

In July, I made some small videos, when I don't talk, and they are just for fun, but the most important one for me it has been the one on the 25th of July.

It was a 23 seconds video of me just saying thank you for reaching 20k on Twitter.

I was so proud!

Then In August, finally, I posted my very first video on YouTube.

I still remember me shaking when clicking that "PUBLISH" button, probably one of the most important moments of the year!

Because I know myself, and I know that my problem is always to get started with something

I already knew that from that point, everything would have changed.

I needed some time to figure out what could work and what could not on my channel.

I have started with a technology that I love, Docker, and I got many views, but for me creating a video was very hard

That was probably for my English: I can read and understand very well English spoken, but speaking in English, has always been a problem for me.

I had to solve this issue.

And I finally found a way, which was also good for my channel

One day in October, I've made a call with a friend

I have posted that call on my channel and this changed my life, another time.

I've discovered that I could practice English, by speaking with my Twitter friends. Useful.

Even if this was very awkward, I've decided to do that

Working hard

As I said, the problem for me is getting started.

But I have other qualities, and one of these is consistency and working hard if I want to get something.

There is no problem is you don't want to work hard!

This is just how I am.

Then I started to make video calls with people, 4/5 per day sometimes, and after a couple of weeks, I had almost 30 calls!

Suddenly I've discovered that I could have done 100 videos in 100 days, which for me was kinda a dream.

But this started coming true!

Then I have made an announcement.

Days =>Videos

I've started on the 26th of October!

And I can proudly say that I am still in the game on the 31st of December!

I am rarely proud of myself, but this time I am.

Perfection does not exist.

This can sound like an annoying proverb, but practice makes it perfect.

Perfection is something we pursue but we never really achieve

I've seen a 90-year-old Japanese sushi master, who still says he is not perfect!

I have also started making Live streams.

I am still working on those, but you can't imagine how happy I am for getting started in this world.

I have decided to make live streams in weeks. 3 for now.

This could look easier than 100 videos in 100 days, but it's harder.

Thank you

I would like to thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support.

This means the world to me, and it really helps me to keep going, every day.

This Tech Dev Community is really amazing!

What I think now about Social Media

Social media can be useful.

They just need to be used in the best way for you.

If this is to get a job, get some money creating valuable content, or just to laugh!

Just be yourself, and do it for you.

And don't be scared if you are an Introvert.

Also, don't hide your nature!

You can improve and little by little you can go out of your shell.

Do it for others but also for you, because you deserve it after all that hard work.

Good luck

The end of a year, not of my journey.

So this has been my 2020.

This has been for sure the strangest year of my life. But many good things have happened to me, and I want to keep going. Every Day.

Because this is what I want to do.

In 2021, I will focus on YouTube, because I've discovered that I really like this. I like the idea to create something for free, for other people, to help them even if they can't afford any resources.

If you want to check my Channel, here is the Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBRxDSTfr2aJVODDh4WG_7g