Discussion
(1/12) How I fell in love with social media & the EU, and made that my whole career, a thread.
This isn’t TikTok (thankfully), but let’s do a bit of *Storytime* anyway.
I’m Hannah and I’m a social media manager for the EU.
Sometimes I still can’t believe that’s my real job.
(2/12) Where did it all start? Probably in New York. When I was 11, my family up and moved across the Atlantic. This was the early 2000s, social media wasn’t a thing yet, but the internet was my way to stay connected to my home country. There were some pretty big cultural moments I missed out on, like the 2006 World Cup, Tokyo Hotel, and the start of Sido’s rap career. Blogs and precursors of modern day social media, like chatrooms, were my way to hold on to Germany and my sense of “Home”. 🇩🇪🇺🇸
(3/12) It’s also in New York where I had my first contact with international organisations. I went to a German school there, and some of the kids in my class had parents working at the United Nations, or in embassies. It’s pretty early on that I visited the UN Headquarters, and when the Security guard said to us “You are now leaving US territory” I felt instantly at home. So there was a sense of “this is what I want to do with my life” already then. 🇺🇳
(4/12) In 2007, I moved from the US back to Germany. This time round I was pining for the US. Facebook was just coming out and that was my way to stay connected with friends across the “big pond”. This period of my life is also the time I realised I was not straight. It’s damn lonely in the closet, but American websites like Trevorspace were a way to connect safely and anonymously with other teens going through the same stuff. For me, in those days, social media was a lifeline. 🏳️🌈
(5/12) In 2010 I joined my first session of the European Youth Parliament, and I was hooked, instantly. The EYP brings together young people from all over Europe to debate politics, and… do fun stuff. Social media was a big part of the EYP experience too. After every session I’d get tons of friend requests, and we'd use Facebook groups find new sessions to apply to. At sessions I usually joined the media teams, learnt how to make videos, layout magazines, and create blog after blog. 🇪🇺
(6/12) I joined Twitter in 2011, right after high school. I had time to kill, and I wanted to get creative on the internet. I also started a tumblr. God I miss early 2010s tumblr. Social media was just this silly thing, no one was making it their career. Influencers weren’t a thing yet. That’s also when I coined the handle I still use today: HPOD is actually an acronym for “Hamlet Prince of Denmark”, I was a bit of a theatre nerd in those days, and I was Hamlet in my last school play. 🎭🎨
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