Picture My World

Twitter got me my job.

When I first discovered Twitter, I was very skeptical. Who cares about what I’m doing now, let alone what other people are doing? The public timeline is a mess and filled with too many “going to bed” posts. However, I started to warm to Twitter when I started following people I knew or had only met briefly at conferences. Many of them are interesting and smart and there’s the occasional link or discussion of interest. It’s also a great tool for a procrastinator like me looking for a diversion. (OK, maybe I should do something about that.)

Last month I was looking around for a new job. (Side note: After 13 years at Creo/Kodak, some people thought I would be there forever. Why is that?) I was updating my resume for an interview in Vancouver and twittered:

to which Matthew, whom I had met only once at a UPA conference a couple years ago, replied:

If not for what happened next, I would still be cursing Matthew for such useless advice.

And the roller coaster ride started.

One stupid message about fonts and we’re moving to Boston. It’s amazing.

PS: If you want to follow me on twitter, go to http://twitter.com/jzip.

I recently accepted a job at The MathWorks and we’ll soon be moving to Boston, MA.  (”Soon” being a relative term if you consider the magnitude of this move…)

I’ll be doing more of this usability stuff and I can’t wait for my March 24 start.  I’m joining a 30-strong usability team and a huge usability community in the Boston area. The story about how I got this job deserves a post of its own.  Stay tuned.

The rest of the family is also excited by the move.  Not only is Boston an old city steeped in history, but it also has a much larger Jewish community that we’re looking forward to joining.