A new role: evangelist

I pass, like night, from land to land;

I have strange power of speech;

That moment that his face I see,

I know the man that must hear me:

To him my tale I teach.

– The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Today’s my birthday and Tableau gave me a nice present: a new role. I’m now Technical Evangelist for the company. I’m humbled, thrilled and delighted with this.

In many ways it’s what I’ve been doing, unofficially, since first buying Tableau 7 years ago, starting this blog in 2010 (here’s my first post) and then joining Tableau in 2011.

I’ve kinda always felt a little like the Ancient Mariner. He went through a crazy experience and then felt driven to share it with everyone he sees. That’s how I feel about visual analysis and Tableau.

(another reason for the quote? The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is my favourite poem. I even tried to learn it while riding a bike around New Zealand ten years ago. If you’ve not read it, I recommend you do. Then go read the hilarious version by Hunt Emerson. Finally, go listen to Iron Maiden’s epic tribute to the poem; go on, you know you want to!)