Ok. This one is short and possibly self-promotional, though I didn’t seek it out. Read on for details of perhaps the most significant event that transformed my Salesforce career. As originally published on Salesforce.org’s August 2020 #HubCap (aka “10 Highlights from the Salesforce.org Community This Month”).

Community Spotlight: Paul Ginsberg, DutchSFCommunity.org Founder, Golden Hoodie, Salesforce Evangelist

How did you get involved in the community?

I was working in the UK for a charity as a Salesforce Admin and I heard, via LinkedIn, that there was a new Admin User Group being launched. At the first meeting, I met fellow enthusiasts and realised that they, too, shared my passion and joy. As a bonus I found it a “safe space” where everyone was kind and supportive, so it enabled me to practice my (then) awkward social skills. Just over two years later I moved to another country. There was no established Admin group, so I went on to set one up, to help share best practice and to create an environment for people to share their real world experiences with one another.

What motivates you to contribute?

Enabling others to go on their journey in the Salesforce ecosystem is hugely rewarding. I usually also learn a thing or two, particularly from “newbies”, because of their different perspectives.

I love sharing knowledge. For me, it’s frustrating to reinvent the wheel–there are so many better things to be doing. Beyond the community group network, if I discover something new, I often write it down as a blog article. From there, it becomes an aide-memoire for myself, and others can benefit from it too.