Interview with a Wiki Ninja and a .NET Dev Expert – Carmelo La Monica

Welcome to another interview with a Wiki Ninja! Today’s Ninja is a long-time MSDN collaborator and TechNet Wiki contributor, who has been involved in the MSDN/TechNet community since 2009!

Carmelo La Monica Carmelo La Monica's avatar

Let’s look at Carmelo’s stats:

  • 134 Wiki Articles!
  • 542 Wiki Edits!
  • 78,632 Recognition Points!
  • 2,043 Forum Answers!
  • 7,980 Forum Replies!
  • 2,112 Helpful Forum Votes!
  • 10 Blog Posts on official MSDN/TechNet Blogs!
  • 118 high ratings on those blog posts!
  • 165 Blog Comments
  • 33 Gallery Items!
  • 50 high ratings on those gallery items!
  • 199,364 Downloads on his gallery items! (that’s 30K+ Recognition Points worth)
  • 40 MSDN Library Translations!

Wow! That’s a powerful collection of community contributions!

Next, let’s look at some example TechNet Wiki articles from Carmelo...

Italian Articles:

English Articles:

Carmelo contributes in English and Italian! Let’s get to the interview!

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Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?

Hello everyone, my name is Carmelo La Monica, I was born on 05.22.1978 and still live in Caselle Torinese in Italy. As a boy, I was fascinated and attracted by electrical and electronic technologies, so after high school I attended three years of College in the electrotechnical field. After my studies at age 17, I started to work in the industrial sector, specifically on machine tools with numerical control and plc, dedicating myself to the electrical part and electronics. But with the passage of time I started slowly anticipated that a date has led me to begin to dedicate myself also to software development. Here are my profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

What are your big projects right now? What technologies are they in?

My biggest project (speaking of technology) is to learn how to program and to be the best in the field of industrial technology, on machine tools, plc, numerical controls, and also in the use of Microsoft technologies that lately I’ve been using a lot for my current job, especially developing applications in Visual Studio, in WPF with the C # and C ++ languages. Another big project that has nothing to do with the technology is to please God, which surely is the most important project on a human level!

 

What is the TechNet Wiki for? Who is this community for?

TechNet Wiki, for me, is a very important project because the community consists of a group of persons of high technical expertise, in products of the highest level. It is so crucial for those who are new to development with Microsoft technologies and also for IT professionals. Another important thing is to collaborate at the moral and human level with a beautiful group of friends, although we’re geographically distant but we’re always friends and ready to share our work experiences and knowledge.

What is it about TechNet Wiki that interests you?

What interests me lately because of work commitments and others, is to share my experiences by writing forum answers and wiki articles, especially on the experiences I’m doing in the industry, i.e. the integration of Visual Studio with components, such as numerical controls, plc, and various electronic boards types, and I can show you how each component interacts with the other components, and of course the internet of things, which is very close to the work I have beeen doing lately.

One recent example:

wpf_project

On what TechNet Wiki articles have you Collaborated with other community members? What was that experience like?

In the past I initially worked with Luigi Bruno and later with Emiliano Musso, and I have to thank both of them! I believe that we write about the top technology topics that concern Italy for now. These are the ones that we wrote this last year, and we shared more items and experiences on the Wiki! But thanks also goes to Ed Price, because if it was not for his kindness, I would not do anything since the beginning and now have this opportunity to share with you this interview.

On which topics and Wiki articles do you spend most of your time?

I took a long time with passion to write articles in the mobile area, especially on Windows Phone from version 8.0. after I spent more articles on the ‘Internet of things and now Industrial Automation, but I will not forget what I have done in the past. I’d also try Xamarin soon as possible and then share some made in practical experience.

What are your favorite Wiki articles you write about?

There are many great Wiki articles, but it’s better to point out the following Wiki pages that list out the articles. Obviously for those that are in Italian, I understand better. 🙂

Italian articles on TechNet Wiki

Wiki: Portal of TechNet Wiki Portals

How long should a Wiki article be?

An article in my way of thinking, must be detailed and broken down in a suitable way. It should not be too long and complex. It is best to break it into parts, because if they are too long and complex topics, the user stops reading after a few minutes because it becomes too demanding on their time, and therefore they do not fully understand what they are reading.

Who has impressed you in the TechNet Wiki community, and why?

Again the answer is many people. If I have to pick a name, the person I point to is Ed Price. His contributions are very intense and he has done exceptional work. His content is a true reference point for all of us. After that, I also point people to Peter Geelen, same thing. He is always very active and writes high-level articles. He has made big and very important contributions. Another person that impresses me so much is Pituach. It’s the same for him. These are, without taking anything away from everyone for their work in the TechNet Wiki community, the three people who have impressed me the most for their dedication.

What does success look like for TechNet Wiki?

TechNet Wiki is already a success, just for the fact of being there, helping people, and giving the opportunity to all fans to share their experiences. But, more importantly, it’s a good starting point for those who looking to learn for the first time in the computing world.

 

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Thank you, Carmelo, for the interview!

Please join me in thanking Carmelo for all his TechNet Wiki contributions!

 

Wiki, Wiki, you are so sticky,

- Ninja Ed