This past week I received another care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for 2021-2022. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for the thirteenth straight year. I still recall my first MVP award and how it got caught in the company spam folder. Good times.
I am not able to explain why I am considered an MVP and others are not. I have no idea what it takes to be an MVP. And neither does anyone else. Well, maybe Microsoft does since they are the ones that bestow the award on others. But there doesn’t seem to be any magical formula to determine if someone is an MVP or not.
I do my best to help others. I value people and relationships over money. And I play around with many Microsoft data tools and applications, and blog about the things I find interesting. Sometimes those blog posts are close to fanboi level, other times they are not. But I do my best to remember that there are people over in Redmond that work hard on delivering quality. Sometimes they miss, and I do my best to help them stay on target. Maybe that’s why they keep me around.
Looking back to 2009 and my first award, I recognize the activities I was doing 13 years ago which earned my my first MVP award are not the same activities I am doing today. And I think that is to be expected, as I’m not the same person today as I was then. I have a different role, different responsibilities, and different priorities. I’ve branched out into the world of data security and privacy as well as data science.
I now spend time writing for multiple online publications instead of my here on my personal blog. Often those articles are not about SQL Server, but are almost always about data. I remain an advocate for Microsoft technologies, and continue to do my best to influence others to see the value in the products and services coming out of Redmond.
This past year was a bit different, of course, as COVID affected different parts of the world in different ways, at different times. As such, the Microsoft MVP program made the decision to auto renew MVPs without evaluating our current activity. This year’s award is the equivalent of Free Parking in Monopoly, Sure, you’re still in the game, but you aren’t doing much, things are happening around you, and everything is OK.
Summary
I’m going to enjoy this ride while it lasts. I’m also going to do my part to make certain that the ride lasts as long as possible for everyone. Here’s a #ProTip for those of us renewed this year:
Say thank you. Then say it again. Be grateful for what we have. Email the person that made the widget that you enjoy using over and over and tell them how much you appreciate their effort. Email your MVP lead and thank them for all their hard work as well.
MVPs do advocate for Microsoft because we want to, not because we want an award. After all these years I’m still crazy for Microsoft, and I am happy to help promote the best data platform on the planet.
