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On Getting my first MVP Award
06/21/2021

On Getting my first MVP Award

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Intro

June 1, 2021, I got an email welcoming me to the Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals Community. I had submitted some entries after I got nominated by another MVP – Seyi Oluwawumiju.

The Microsoft MVP Award looks to find individuals who make active contribution to the community of the technology they use every day. Let me paint it this way – I am a programmer who loves C#, I teach C#, I make videos and blog posts about C#, I contribute to C# docs, forums and events, I give conference talks on C#, Microsoft or another MVP sees the things I do and recommends me for the award. Microsoft says thank with the award and some token of appreciation which includes a physical award shipped to me.

Watch the unboxing video: MVP Award Unboxing – YouTube

Thanks for Microsoft for this award and recognition of my work in the community and special thanks to my wife for giving me that free time to do things beyond just my 9-5.

The Process

The process of becoming an MVP can be seen on the MVP website , but I will summarize it here based on my personal experience.

  • Be a community leader in the tech you use and love – C#, Azure, Power Apps, Azure DevOps, Functions, Office, Windows, etc.

  • Contribute to make that tech better for people – how-to videos, blog posts

  • Track your contributions (you will need these if/when you get nominated)

  • You get nominated by an MVP (or a Microsoft Staff)

  • Complete your nomination form

  • Chat with the CPM for your country/region

  • Wait for the welcome email (and keep being the rockstar that you are)

  • Continue the good work

The Benefits

  • I think the first benefit of being a Microsoft MVP is that I make more friends: In the week the welcome email came in, I had over 50 new followers in a day on Twitter and more LinkedIn connection requests. My network (net worth) just increased.

  • Swag: The award kit in itself is a cool enough swag to have on my desk. And yep – I got a lapel pin, a signed letter from the CEO, and lots of stickers. There are some other tech swags that makes it a happy deal.

  • I come one step closer to Microsoftees: although I used to be a Microsoft employee and have friends there before the MVP Award, I feel like a Microsoft insider again (although don’t expect non-public news from me).

  • I get to contribute directly to the tech I use I every day.

  • More (online) street credibility: just kidding – but really, it adds some verifiability to my profile and personal brand.

There are more benefits than I can mention as I am still discovering the benefits as they roll in.

The Future

As the saying goes, the reward for good work is more work, the MVP award is not the end, it is a morale boost to do more. I would do more for the community – more videos, blog posts, talks, podcasts and docs and meetups.

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And now that I’m getting older, I am learning to balance time between community work, family and my actual 9-5. That means planning content rollout and positioning them to come out at the right time and meet community needs.

Cheers to the future!