A round of applause of Microsoft MVPs!
May 13, 2011 Leave a comment
When I was coming into work this morning I was listening to a Kaiser Permanente commercial. In it, the voiceover goes on about the power of nurses: how they are able to take care of people, spend long hours diagnosing and hopefully remedying a situation and sometimes doing all of this without a thank you. The voice over, at the end, then asked all of the nurses to take a bow.
I’m asking Microsoft MVPs to do the same thing.
I remember a few years ago, I would wake up at 6am and spend an hour (before getting ready for work) helping people in the Zune forums. There was a rush of enthusiasm as I was able to help people go in the right direction to get their Zune problems resolved — even if I didn’t have the final answer, I was at least able to help people understand that their plight was not falling by the waistside and that they didn’t have to sit in limbo wondering what would happen next.
This little story though pales in comparison to some of the work that many Microsoft MVPs do, on a daily basis, in the name of helping people get the most out of technology. I could easily say it’s Microsoft technology, but let’s face it, it’s technology in general. As independent experts, our first and foremost goal is to make sure that your issue is acknowledged and that we help guide you to the right solution. Sometimes that solution doesn’t ultimately involve using Microsoft tech, but if it does then let’s get you back on your feet, shall we?
I’m proud to say that I’ve gotten to know many MVPs since getting the award back in 2008. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not in awe of some great accomplishment that an MVP will do. Whether that’s writing a book, creating a manual, starting up a forum, building a new website, developing a community, creating events, connecting people or what have you, MVPs work hard to make things easy.
Members of the community, I encourage you to seek out MVPs in your area. Go to their events, shake their hand, bring your questions, concerns, and criticisms. Leave a meeting with them feeling more confident than when you started. Remember that the end goal is always to make sure that you’re swimming above water when it comes to the technology that you use on a daily basis.
MVPs, I encourage you to continue to strive to do great work. For as long as there is a need for technology, there will be a need for individuals who can elevate people to effectively use this technology to advance their every day lives. Understand that even if you don’t get a verbal thank you, the fact that the person you helped is now able to do more and accomplish more — thanks to your input — should be gratifying.
Take a bow, Geek Squad. You’re doing fantastic!
