It happened quite unexpectedly. I was attending Dreamforce for the very first time in 2012 as a brand new customer. I knew very little about the platform and we had been having so many issues with implementation partners we were considering abandoning Salesforce forever. And there he was. Steve Molis (A Salesforce MVP) standing in front of the session room, cracking jokes and reading the “safe hah bah” statement as only Steve can with his wicked good Bostonian accent. Then, icing on the cake. as Steve proudly proclaimed that he had zero certifications and no fancy schmancy college degree. He said if he could learn Salesforce, anybody could. Could I be that “anybody” I wondered. Hmmm???? Over the next few minutes Steve used formulas and reports to do extraordinary things with Salesforce. I was mesmerized and I didn’t know it then but my life was about to change forever.
That was it. Done deal. I decided to learn how to perform magic on the platform just like Steve. It’s no wonder that with Steve as my inspiration I became a formula fanatic. And my favorite formula is…wait for it… ISBLANK!!!!
The Isblank function tests if a specified cell is blank (empty) and if so, returns TRUE; Otherwise the function returns FALSE.
The syntax of the function is: ISBLANK( value )
In 2015 I wanted to create my personalized business cards outside of the company I work for. I am not defined by my employer and thought for the personal relationships I make I should have my own identity. And then it came to me. I wanted to use a formula as the basis for my email address. It seemed a logical progression to NOTISBLANK. I love using ISBLANK formula … but I am not empty (most of the time) … so therefore I must be NOT(ISBLANK) rather than ISBLANK. Notisblank Monica soon became my social media signature. It was so unique, fun and memorable that people responded to the name almost immediately. As an added bonus I was able to secure the domain name for notisblank so branding was a cinch.
Like my BIONIC success formula I had developed years earlier, I started to think of the possibilities. What if instead of name calling and using derogatory language we could define actions and thought patterns simply as ISBLANK and NOTISBLANK? What if NOTISBLANK could stand for something great (a movement standing for positivism, tolerance, trailblazing and kindness).
notisblank or (not(isblank(someone or something))*
Pronunciation: [not-iz-blangk]
Origin:Techie English akin to Validation Formula Expressions with first known use at Dreamforce September 14 2015 San Francisco CA by NotIsBlank Monica
Derived from Isblank function [ ISBLANK( value ) ] which tests if a value is blank (empty)
*atypical usage of a combination of two formula functions [not and isblank] for use as flattering slang indicating someone or something is smart,generous, forward-thinking and/or aspires to excellence.
Definition:
A light-hearted opinionated calculation of (something) which returns either notisblank or isblank.
“The Admin blank rated herself as isblank when she ran a mass update without switching off validation rules first”
“A blogger gave Microsoft a blank rating of Isblank due to Windows 10 default privacy settings”
“It’s a no brainer to blank rate most Salesforce MVPs as notisblanks”
“How would you blank rate that boring lecture you were sleeping through?”
People, Companies and Organizations may be referred to as NOTISBLANK as a description of some action. However, keep in mind that ISBLANKS may transform into NOTISBLANK and vice versa. Nobody is perfect and we all have our ISBLANK moments and ISBLANK days. The idea is to aspire to be NOTISBLANK as often as you can and to try to maintain a NOTISBLANK mindset even when you are feeling ISBLANK.
Are you with me? Come on…let’s hear it for NOTISBLANK!!!
