Roy

Software Engineer | Innovating for Impact ✨ Crafting scalable solutions for the world 🌍. Exploring tech to drive change 🚀.

[WhatsApp @WhatsApp]

we love you @arsenal, we do 🏆

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

Good morning from your Premier League champions 👋

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

The Arsenal. Your Premier League champions.

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

It has pleased Apple to finally approve Vwaza Music 🔥🔥

@VwazaMultimedia

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

With @sekuire it’s been a roller coaster. All investor meetings have ended up draining me. Now I don’t want to pitch anymore. I’m taking to customers who can pay.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Congratulations to the Super Bowl champion @Seahawks! This defense was special. MVP Kenneth Walker was dominant. And Sam Darnold gave us one of the best comeback stories in a long time. Enjoy the celebration.

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

Last quarter I rolled out Microsoft Copilot to 4,000 employees.

$30 per seat per month.

$1.4 million annually.

I called it "digital transformation."

The board loved that phrase.

They approved it in eleven minutes.

No one asked what it would actually do.

Including me.

I told everyone it would "10x productivity."

That's not a real number.

But it sounds like one.

HR asked how we'd measure the 10x.

I said we'd "leverage analytics dashboards."

They stopped asking.

Three months later I checked the usage reports.

47 people had opened it.

12 had used it more than once.

One of them was me.

I used it to summarize an email I could have read in 30 seconds.

It took 45 seconds.

Plus the time it took to fix the hallucinations.

But I called it a "pilot success."

Success means the pilot didn't visibly fail.

The CFO asked about ROI.

I showed him a graph.

The graph went up and to the right.

It measured "AI enablement."

I made that metric up.

He nodded approvingly.

We're "AI-enabled" now.

I don't know what that means.

But it's in our investor deck.

A senior developer asked why we didn't use Claude or ChatGPT.

I said we needed "enterprise-grade security."

He asked what that meant.

I said "compliance."

He asked which compliance.

I said "all of them."

He looked skeptical.

I scheduled him for a "career development conversation."

He stopped asking questions.

Microsoft sent a case study team.

They wanted to feature us as a success story.

I told them we "saved 40,000 hours."

I calculated that number by multiplying employees by a number I made up.

They didn't verify it.

They never do.

Now we're on Microsoft's website.

"Global enterprise achieves 40,000 hours of productivity gains with Copilot."

The CEO shared it on LinkedIn.

He got 3,000 likes.

He's never used Copilot.

None of the executives have.

We have an exemption.

"Strategic focus requires minimal digital distraction."

I wrote that policy.

The licenses renew next month.

I'm requesting an expansion.

5,000 more seats.

We haven't used the first 4,000.

But this time we'll "drive adoption."

Adoption means mandatory training.

Training means a 45-minute webinar no one watches.

But completion will be tracked.

Completion is a metric.

Metrics go in dashboards.

Dashboards go in board presentations.

Board presentations get me promoted.

I'll be SVP by Q3.

I still don't know what Copilot does.

But I know what it's for.

It's for showing we're "investing in AI."

Investment means spending.

Spending means commitment.

Commitment means we're serious about the future.

The future is whatever I say it is.

As long as the graph goes up and to the right.

[Fernando Cao @thefernandocz]

Elon Musk just stole 18 of Mark Zuckerberg's best AI engineers.

Zuckerberg offered his engineers $250 million each to stay at Meta.

But Elon gave them something money couldn't buy, and they abandoned Meta immediately.

Here's the offer that Zuck's own team couldn't resist:

[Roy @skipper_116]

@JoelFickson Learnt the hard way! That’s all I can say

[Roy @skipper_116]

@JoelFickson This is how things should be

[Roy @skipper_116]

@Times360Malawi 😬

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

History is being made. The Vwaza Team was at Dzaleka Refugee Camp for a music business link-up. It was incredible. One step at a time.

#VwazaPresents

[Roy @skipper_116]

@JoelFickson @africa_salama @VwazaMultimedia @TheDiamondMW @Kimofdiamonds @nessa_sandraa @YoungKingRio What a powerful moment! Big steps start with bold minds — keep shining. 🙌✨
#VwazaPresents

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

It’s happening guys 😍😍😍.

Cue Step by step tikukwera…

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

We welcomed three new family members to the @VwazaMultimedia family. Super excited with the new additions 💥.

Personally welcoming @nessa_sandraa , @kvnobi & @ThokoKadewere

Let’s go team!

[Roy @skipper_116]

@lingodotdev Perfect! There can never be any design so good and perfect in the whole world. You nailed it

[Software Testing Weekly 🚀 @QANewsletter]

Hey, testers! 🙂

The 270th issue is out!
https://t.co/NMoMEJFExJ

Congrats @AyaAkl, @sjpknight, @Mona101ma, @jamesmarcusbach, @JitGo, @skipper_116, @ASaiAnudeep, @PetrPlavjanik, @ppriyanshu, @gil_zilberfeld and @executeAuto!

#SoftwareTesting #QA

[J O E L @JoelFickson]

Writing Code Changed My Life!

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 15 years since I wrote my first line of code in Visual Basic back in 2010. That’s literally half my life. I still remember those early days—filled with excitement, curiosity, frustration, and everything in between. Writing code completely changed how I see the world and how I approach problems.

There's a certain mindset you develop as a software engineer—a way of breaking down problems, understanding them, and building solutions. These days, I approach life the same way I tackle a JIRA ticket [😂]. It’s hard to explain, but if you're an engineer, you probably know exactly what I mean.

I come from a small country in Africa called Malawi. Growing up, I never imagined I’d end up where I am today. From Lilongwe to the Bay Area to Berlin—I've had the privilege of meeting incredible people and building amazing things. Why? Because of code.

Over the years, I have mentored, been mentored, taught this craft, created products, communities, and more. It's incredible to just take time and reflect on the journey.

I realized early on, as a teenager, that there was only one path forward: code. It wasn’t just a way to make money—it became a form of self-expression. Writing code allowed me to tell stories, solve problems, and create things that truly matter. I often joke with friends that I feel powerless when I’m away from my computer. Whether that’s a good thing or not is up for debate, but it speaks to the deep connection I have with this craft.

There’s a place I go when I’m coding—a mental space where I feel powerful. It’s where I can turn imagination into reality, where I can show the world what I can't always put into words. What I’m trying to say is this: writing code changed my life, and I’ll forever be grateful for that opportunity.