The Oscar Speech

I was recently re-awarded with the SharePoint MVP title and a person who must not be named asked if I thought it was a good idea to write about it on the Wiki Ninja blog. Normally, I'm not sure about thank you speeches as I'm not sure I'm all that comfortable with placing the spotlights on myself, but in this case I felt I had to make an exception. Not because of myself, but because I think me writing down how the TechNet Wiki Ninja community actually helped me achieve a professional goal that is quite important to me will also help to emphasize the importance of it, and can help it to grow further.

Now, I don't believe that everything has been done before, but I do believe it's always possible to learn from others, so I did a little bit of research about writing acceptance speeches. It is said that humor and jokes diminish an award, so I have to stay away from that. Being the type of personality that I am, this is kinda hard, but I'll manage. Btw, this does bring back a memory of my first job as a real developer... I was asked if I wanted to write an introduction of myself in the monthly newsletter. At that time, I didn't know that humor, at least my sense of humor, wasn't really appreciated in the company, so I wrote my hobbies included Mongolian throat singing and chainsaw juggling. Shortly after the newsletter was published, I guess already 1/4 of the people in the company hated me, and it was only my first week at the job!

Thanks for all the fish!
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was more or less expecting, and hoping, to actually get the MVP award after I was nominated. However, around the time the awards were handed out, it did keep my mind occupied. A lot. I've put a lot of effort in SharePoint community work, and although that is fun in itself, it is very satisfying if this is rewarded by something tangible like the MVP award. During the "quest for the MVP title", I strongly felt the impact the Wiki community had on my nomination. It provided a fun framework and podium to start activities such as forum participation, gallery uploads, Ninja blogs, medals and achievements, and of course, the mysterious and enjoyable TechNet Wiki Community Council. The Wiki community also backed me up during my nomination, which helped a lot. So, I guess I just want to say: "Thanks a lot, Wiki Community!". To the people who congratulated me after winning the award: thanks for being genuinely happy for me!

I also want to give a final thanks, which goes to Microsoft itself. This seems fitting as they came up with the wonderful MVP program and they're providing me with cool technologies to have fun with (okay, I'll admit that maybe that's not the only reason that MS is creating technology).

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this years' MVP summit, which is a shame as it would have allowed me to meet a bunch of the TechNet Wiki community people in real life. Rain check?