SharePoint MVPs know how to have fun .. and give constructive product feedback
Around 70 (out of a total of 131) SharePoint MVPs from around the world are here in Redmond this week for the yearly MVP Global Summit conference. So, what/who are the MVPs? MVPs are individuals, who are awarded Most Valuable Professional status by Microsoft for their deep technical expertise, product knowledge, continuous feedback, and consistent advocacy of the “voice of the customer." Their contributions help Microsoft evolve its programs and products. MVPs are thought leaders committed to helping others get the most out of their experience with Microsoft products and technologies. For more information about the SharePoint MVPs, go to http://MSSharePointCommunity.com/MVPs.
As you can probably tell from the picture below, about 40 of the SharePoint MVPs had a real "blast" at our 2nd annual SharePoint MVP Paintball Outing on Monday. And no, that's not a shrub I'm leaning on in front of the group -- it's our (ex-Marines) MVP, Brad Smith, in his gilly suit! Special thanks to Combined Knowledge for providing the roughly 80,000 paintballs that were shot that day! Also, thanks to Bamboo Solutions for providing the "Revolution" (as in SharePoint-taking-the-business-world-by-storm kind of revolution) hats and to Colligo for the "Share." t-shirts. I look forward to continuing this fun tradition at the next MVP Summit!
On Tuesday, the SharePoint MVPs had nearly 9 hours of sessions that covered many of our key investments for SharePoint vNext and related Office products, and they went through another 9 hours of sessions on Wednesday, but that still wasn't enough time to cover all of the relevant topics. We'll need 3 full days next time! Much like our customer, partner, and developer advisory councils, the MVPs provide invaluable early feedback to help us focus and prioritize our software engineering efforts for the next product cycle.
In addition to playing hard and working hard, the SharePoint MVPs are also extremely passionate about community, and their camaraderie is well exemplified by other traditions such as the always delightful sampling of a Really Good Wine together (this time, a Château de la Font du Loup 2003 Châteauneuf-du-Pape) provided by our French (of course) MVP and wine connoisseur, Renaud Comte.
And then there's our tradition of having a Really Nice Dinner together -- this time about 50 of the MVPs gathered, laughed, ate, drank, celebrated, and laughed some more. We also went through our tradition of randomly exchanging gifts brought from our respective places of residence.
Lastly, the following MVPs were recognized for their exceptional contributions to the SharePoint community:
- Ishai Sagi and Mike Walsh for their tireless participation in the SharePoint community forums. We plan to make a significant investment in having several product support personnel monitor the forums and answer questions, starting in July, The forums will continue to be the de facto online place for SharePoint oriented Q&A and discussions.
- Bob Fox and Nick Swan for their thought and execution leadership with SharePoint user groups. If you're interested in starting a SharePoint oriented user group or trying to grow an existing one, these are the guys whom you should ping for guidance.
- Andrew Connell for his early adopter work with the SharePoint User Assistance team to repost his widely read and referenced blog entries on the MSDN SharePoint Dev Center.
I feel very proud and honored to be the SharePoint MVP program owner for almost 3 years now, and the SharePoint product group is very fortunate to have such a dynamic, savvy, and caring group of professionals, who consistently provide constructive feedback and help lead and grow the worldwide SharePoint community. I look forward to working with the MVPs over the next year to advance in the community even further.
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