A new year, a new MVP reward

For me, March started great because I received yet another Microsoft MVP Reward for 2017 and I'm truly honoured to be representing this awesome community. Although I wasn't renewed last year, I'm absolutely stoked to be back in the programme.

What is an Microsoft MVP award?

In short, it is Microsoft's way of saying "thanks" to the community leaders for contributing to the community. This award is given to technology experts who are passionate about what they do and who are always willing to help others by sharing their knowledge in different ways.

The impact of these community contributions range from blog posts, magazine articles, public speaking engagements, helping others in the online community, contributing to Open Source projects, etc.

Being an MVP also comes with great benefits like having a close relationship to the product teams, MSDN & Office365 subscriptions, Azure credits and access to the annual MVP Summit in Seattle.

How does one become an MVP?

It is simple really: Pick the one thing you really love and focus on that to become a next level expert in the field. Share your knowledge at user groups and conferences, or even just write a few blog posts about the topic. You can even just help others on StackOverflow or Github. If you feel that you have what it takes, or know someone who does, go ahead and nominate them (or yourself). Each nomination is carefully looked at and is given equal ability for consideration.

Here's some more information about what it takes to become an MVP or you can read more about the MVP Award Technology Structure here.

In closing I would like to thank everyone in my network who supported me thus far and a special thank you for my lovely wife who is always understanding when it comes down to community business.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the MVP Reward or are seeking guidance in becoming one yourself.