I had been contemplating writing this blog post for a while now.
I've been an MVP for 5ish years now. Besides the obvious benefits, from my point of view, MVP gives you:
- The exposure to fellow developers across various organizations. Thus more polish.
- The constant drive to stay ahead and strive for more and more and MORE. More competition.
- Depending upon who you are, a good insider touch MSFT devs, and other MVPs. Better networking/catalyst.
As a result, the MVP community ends up being a virtual Ivy League of Microsoft Developers. These benefits are obviously passed on to organizations that employ MVPs and know how to make good use of them. The amazing networking and a much higher level of public exposure and scrutiny of MVPs just gives that extra pressure to the coal to turn it into a diamond. Even though many organizations do not appreciate the importance of continuing to polish to remain shiny, but investing in yourself was always your very own responsibility anyway.
But, of all that I like about the MVP program, one thing I don't like is how it insists on categorizing us into groups. I don't understand the difference between an ASP.NET MVP, vs. a C# MVP, vs. a VB.NET MVP. Being a C# MVP for all this while, I have worked in all these realms. Lately, as you might have noticed, I have been very active in the MOSS/SharePoint space.
So, I am now officially a MOSS MVP. Microsoft was kind enough to switch me over because it makes a whole lot more sense being here.
But, MOSS doesn't exist in vacuum. In fact, all ASP.NET and C# and VB.NET concepts, heck even COM concepts & Windows Server concepts apply to MOSS. And by golly, I intend on staying active on each one of those realms, and more going forward.
Thus, going forward,
a) I am going to call myself "MVP", and not "MVP C#" or "MVP MOSS".
b) Irrespective of how/when/where/if I get rewarded, this blog and my efforts will continue. I have learnt so much from all my MVP activities, that for purely selfish reasons I have no desire to change who I am.
c) I am thankful for the support of all MVP leads, and all product teams, and most certainly all MVPs I continue to work with.
On
12/3/2007 9:31:13 AM
John Ferringer
said ..
Sahil --
Congratulations on the continuation of your MVP status, it's well deserved. And I think you've got the right perspective on the designation. Keep up the great work on the blog, I definitely look forward to your posts.
Thanks!
John
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On
12/3/2007 12:55:09 PM
Sahil Malik
said ..
Thanks John. :)
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On
12/4/2007 8:47:43 AM
Ken Lin
said ..
I wonder if there's Notepad MVP. Maybe that's something I could aim for. :)
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On
12/4/2007 11:14:11 PM
Sahil Malik
said ..
Ken - how about MS Paint MVP?
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On
12/6/2007 2:40:37 PM
Becky Isserman
said ..
Congrats. You make a good point. Maybe one day I can aspire to become the Game Beta Tester MVP for all Xbox 360 Games.
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On
12/6/2007 4:47:18 PM
Sahil Malik
said ..
Becky - U a gamer chick!?
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On
12/10/2007 3:14:55 PM
Patrick
said ..
I've been a Calculator MVP forever. But I could never attain the highest honor, "PowerToy Calc MVP". :(
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On
12/10/2007 6:30:05 PM
Sahil Malik
said ..
Patrick,
Could be worse, you could be an MSPaint MVP (NSFW) http://www.rofl.name/flash/mspaint
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On
12/13/2007 6:06:13 PM
Becky Isserman
said ..
I have a sega genesis, wii, ps2, xbox 360, and a Dell XPS Gaming PC with a 24 inch monitor. I have about 20+ games for all the systems combined. So maybe I am a "Gamer Chick".
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On
12/13/2007 6:18:53 PM
Sahil Malik
said ..
Becky -
In a world full of single white women with cats, you have no idea how many nerds would do anything to marry you.
SM
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On
12/17/2007 10:41:08 PM
Kevin S. Goff
said ..
Sahil, I agree with you 100%.
I'm a C# MVP...but for most applications, C# is just part of the solution - I work with (and write about) T-SQL, Crystal, SSRS, etc. So I really consider myself a database developer (in general) first, and a C# programmer second.
KG
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