“Climb the mountain to see the world, not be seen by the world.” – from Tim Ford.

This past July 1 was the renewal date for a number of Microsoft MVPs. The program has changed in the last year, moving from a quarterly nomination/renewal to a monthly award. The first of every month moving forward will see new MVPs awarded. All MVPs are now renewed on July 1.

For existing MVPs, we had a bit of a change, and some of us were up for renewal this year, and some next year. I happened to move from my Jan 1 date to next year, so that’s when I’ll find out if I am going to be recognized by Microsoft again.

There were a few surprising changes last week, when a few people were not renewed as MVPs. I expect that the bar for being an MVP has been raised, with so many more individuals participating in blogging, speaking, software, and more. The level of community participation in 2015 might not have been enough in 2016 to be renewed.

How do I Become an MVP?

“Climb the mountain to see the world, not be seen by the world.” 

As the quote notes, you should tackle the challenge without any concern about whether or not the world, or Microsoft in this case, notices.

Help the community publicly. You can do this in many ways:

• Write technical articles
• Speak at technical events
• Organize events
• Build OSS software
• Answer questions online

There are any number of ways to be a community person, but do so because you want to. Become the best technical community person you can, and you won’t be sorry.

If you meet some bar, and are nominated (feel free to ask others to nominate you), then you may be awarded, but you should help others because you want to. Not because you expect to be repaid with an MVP award.

Help others because you want to help others, not because someone will see you helping.

Once an MVP, always an MVP

The people recognized by Microsoft are chosen based on their community contributions in a period of time. However, these are smart people who are capable, helpful, and friendly. They will always be an MVP to me, and likely always willing to help. They continue to learn, teach, and expand their knowledge of technology.

They can always remember that they were recognized as an MVP by Microsoft, even if they aren’t today.

Filed under: Blog Tagged: mvp, syndicated