On the first day of January 2017, I was honoured to receive an email naming me as a Microsoft MVP in the Data Platform category.
In the previous couple of months leading up to that, I had been contacted by Microsoft about the process, based primarily on this very blog you are reading. I’ve been writing at least one post a week since November 2015, thanks mainly to Brent Ozar’s influence. That year of effort (as well as other factors, such as user group sessions, forum contributions, etc.) had paid off in an award nomination.
When I started this blog it wasn’t to gain any recognition from Microsoft, and that’s still the case. You’ve seen me write more than a few times about things that don’t always make sense with SQL Server, for example.
Nevertheless, the recognition has helped in two regards: confidence in myself, and contact with the SQL Server team at Microsoft. On the second point, just reading the mailing lists on a daily basis has taught me a lot (I subscribe to categories outside of my speciality as well). On the first note, I recognized that the work I’ve put into being a contributing member of the #SQLFamily means something, and that’s also why I said yes to the book I worked on last year. It wasn’t for the glory (whatever glory there is in writing a technical book on a product that will be out-of-date in 18 – 24 months). Rather, it was to push myself and become a better person.
I have achieved so much with the confidence the award gave me. I am more comfortable doing technical presentations now, and even though I used to teach and have a number of years of experience on stage, I feel more sure of my abilities as a technical speaker because of it.
Owing to changes to the MVP programme last year, I managed to score six “free” months to align with the new system. I am delighted once again to announce that I was re-awarded Microsoft MVP on 1 July 2018, in the same category of Data Platform. While I’m able to talk passionately about Microsoft’s products and share my knowledge through this blog and public speaking engagements, I will continue to do so. Even if I don’t maintain the contributions required to retain this award next year, the recognition in 2017 and again now has made a huge impact on my career. Much like being on an episode of Fargo last year did for my acting career.
Thank you to my readers; thank you Microsoft, and congratulations to the other MVPs. As long as Microsoft keeps doing good things in the data space, I’ll keep writing about it. I’m going to be looking at Cosmos DB in more depth in the future, and I hope you’ll join me on that journey.
Are you already thinking about Cosmos DB and wondering how it might fit in your environment? Share your gnawing questions about it with me on Twitter at @bornsql to get the ball rolling.