A few days ago, I received a pretty awesome email in my inbox. I was becoming a Microsoft MVP! Specifically, an MVP in Cloud and Datacenter Management.
I can’t tell you how great a feeling it is to be included in such a technically excellent and giving community!
I’ve interacted with a number of MVPs, both online and in person over the years, and I can tell you every single one of them has been gracious with their time, has an intense curiosity, and has a genuine urge to help everyone in their community succeed.
It is this passion that I feel being an MVP is all about. The desire to build a vibrant community and helping others.
How did I become an MVP? Honestly, I don’t know. Microsoft does not disclose their exact criteria for who gets the award and who doesn’t, but they do provide some rough examples of what it takes to become an MVP. What I can tell you is there are no specific checklist of items to accomplish and no progress bar to monitor.
For me, I do what I love, and that is to create interesting solutions to problems that I experience and share them with others, hoping that if they don’t help solve someone elses problem, they at least inspire people to come up with their own solution (and hopefully share that with others as well).
Update: Some people have asked about the various ways I engage with the community. Here are many of them:
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My various GitHub projects. Many of which are published to the PowerShell Gallery.
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PSPowerHour lightning demos
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Books
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TechSnips.io screencasts
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4sysops articles
Becoming an MVP should not be the goal. It wasn’t for me, and it should not be for you. Every MVP has a different story on how they became one, what their passions are, and their particular method of giving back. Many people will say it was unexpected, pretty much everyone says that is humbling, and everyone is extremely grateful for it.
Do what you love. Give back to the community, share your knowledge, and help others succeed. Use whatever method works best for you. If you do that, then you’re already an MVP, even if you don’t receive an award.
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