Community, Community, Community….

A lot of folks in and around the Microsoft space are familiar with the infamous “Developers, developers, developers” talk that Steve Ballmer gave many years ago.  Developers that use Microsoft technologies are a primary focus of the tools and products that come out of Redmond.  They find supporting their developers very, very important.

Likewise, I find supporting the development community very, very important.  I not only get my paycheck from developing, I really enjoy developing (well, most days anyway!).  I blame James Avery for getting me caught up in this thing we call the development community, but I wouldn’t get out now.  I’ve found great friends, great ideas and great inspiration from the community.  I have found that I love teaching others what I know, but more importantly, I love learning from the community.

Today I received an email from Microsoft thanking me for the time I’ve put in to sharing my technical knowledge with others in the development community.  They awarded me a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award for Windows Azure.  Given that there are less than 5,000 MVPs world wide and less than 100 Windows Azure MVPs, it is an honor to receive this award. 

Sure there are great perks being an MVP, such as the MVP summit where you spend a week talking to passionate people (both other MVPs and on product teams) about technologies you love (and hate), but really, I believe it all comes back to community, community, community.  Here’s to another year of learning and sharing.

Congratulations to all new and re-awarded MVPs out there.