The MVP Program
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I've been an MVP now for 3 years and it's that time of the year where my MVP status comes up for renewal and so I thought that I'd blog some thoughts about the program and revisit this old post from Dave Lemphers:
http://blogs.msdn.com/davidlem/archive/2006/01/20/515165.aspx.
First, the MVP program is many things to many people. To some it's just a bad form of Kool Aid, while to others it's a set of rules. Heck, according to this guy, it's now actually being run by Kofi Anan! So whatever your take on the MVP program, it's clearly an emotive discussion point.
For my part I'm in agreeance with Dave Lemphers thoughts about it and would really like to see a greater churn in the program for a couple of reasons. First, by having greater churn I think that you could keep the size of the program down and, in turn, reduce the administration effort that is required to maintain it. Secondly, greater churn would provide an opportunity for some people who may not otherwise get the opportunity - because of timing or bad luck - to be an MVP; and that would be a shame.
Aside from the obvious benefit of the free MSDN Subscription the MVP program is great because of what it allows you to do. The MVP program is really a set of tools that allow you to plug in to Microsoft at a pretty low level and to use those tools and your own energy to do things that might otherwise have been unachievable.
I'd like to see that the MVP's that are awarded are those people who are most likely to benefit from the use of these tools and the doors that they can open. For example, take some of the guys that I've worked with in the community of late: Joseph Cooney (WPF), Paul Stovell (Languages), Keyvan Nayyeri (.NET Developer Community) and Tatham Oddie (Web 2.0). Nice guys, great attitude, 1000% more energy than me - not MVP's. So here is me, with this terrific network that I've built, sitting at the top, licking cream. While they are stuck with having to work two or three times as hard as me just to get the same level of information. It's an exaggerated example used for effect.
If those guys were MVP's they'd get the invites to the right meetings; they'd get access to the right newsgroups, and they'd have the opportunity to mix their current levels of energy with the product teams to create unique and interesting things with the product. And just as important... they'd get the recognition that they deserve for the effort that they've put into the Microsoft developer community.
So this is why I agree with Dave when he talks about being a nominator. It's not just about sharing the love, it's about being a leader and growing the community. It's a mentor mindset as opposed to a me mindset.
And "Yes", while the satisfaction of giving someone else a go will be great, letting go of that MSDN Subscription will be hard :-)
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MVP Programme
posted by
JosephCooney
on
9/7/2006 8:41:41 PM
:
I told my wife about this post tonight. She said to tell you "great work, the cheque is in the mail" whatever that means. Seriously tho - thanks for the props. It's hard for me to know what "doors" the MVP programme would open up for me since I'm not in it. I do know that most of my community stuff is motivated only by a love of what I do, and a sense of "hey, I think this stuff is pretty cool and I think other people might find it pretty cool too" - I probably couldn't not do it, even if I tried. With so many people doing great work, helping others out, sharing knowledge and writing useful tools its understandable that not all these people can become MVPs.
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MVP Programme
posted by
Brian H. Madsen
on
9/10/2006 12:03:50 AM
:
Hey Darren,
This is my first year as an MVP and to date i'm still impressed with the community - i was awarded in April '06 and hope to keep my award the next year as well.
What i don't think many knows is what the MVPs do, besides blogging and receiving their MSDN subscription (yes, that one is very nice indeed). MVPs contribute to the community, without self-interest..their time is given freely and you most likely wont see a more passionate professionals around.
That aside, I was astonished to see these french double doors open up for me as i entered this very elite group of people (yes, there are quite a number of MVPs that i'm nearly in awe off, you including for all the work you do). Now, i'll try to explain what those doors revealed to me..it was not a single ticket to rich and fame...but simply a peek into a technology that i'm very passionate about. I'm a Visual Developer ASP.Net MVP, and eventhough i run an SQL Server User Group (since SQL Server is my secret love), my heart is in development. Professionally i don't think it has done much for my carreer as such, seeing as there is very few MVPs in Perth and people have absolutely no clue what the MVP does or stand for.
I agree with you that being an MVP does include following a set of rules - they appear to be unwritten rules - but there's a general feel to the MVPs that sets the apart...Passion...those that are included in this group undoubtfully are the most passionate (about IT) people you'll ever meet.
So, what do we do..well, we spend a large amount of time helping people out, researching and informing the communities about technology..this of course also means that most of us are at the absolute top of the ladder when it comes to knowledge..we also, more often than not, have a good idea of what is to come (though in many instances we can't reveal this) and that give us an edge..
So that said, if any was deserving of being Awarded it is you..
Keep up the good work...