What’s In The MVP Award ?

Recently I was awarded MVP status. The MVP Program attempts to recognise people in the industry who have made a difference to the community by contributing their expertise. This is an excellent goal but in my opinion the MVP Program suffers from a lack of transparency. With this in mind I thought I would start sharing more information about what this program means. I’m starting with something very simple: the gift that is sent to MVPs when they are awarded MVP status. Note that there are many other (considerable) benefits to being an MVP but this post is simply about what’s in the box that Microsoft sends to you.

We’ll start with the box itself:-

This picture shows the box complete with the outer, shiney sleeve. Remove the sleeve and you’re just left with the box itself:-

Inside the box is a professional certificate:-

On opening the box you can see messages from Steve Ballmer and Rich Kaplan congratulating you on your award:-

The booklet on the left tells you all about the MVP Program. There is an MVP badge on the top right and a brown MVP box that opens up like this:-

The box contains an MVP pen/light pen, an MVP post-it notepad, an MVP credit card wallet, an MVP 1GB USB stick/keyring and an MVP badge.

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Posted by: Guy Smith-Ferrier
Posted on: Friday, July 20, 2007 at 10:22 AM
Categories: MVP
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Guy Smith-Ferrier

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

guy[at]guysmithferrier[dot]com

Abhishek,

I certainly think that there must be some recognition that reaching a group of people who would otherwise not be reached must be taken into account. The problem is that the mechanics of this are unknown.

Guy

anon

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

anon

It may well be a reward, but there are obviously criteria. Apparently I was nominated by more than one person, spoken at 4 major conferences and 1 minor one, including 1 abroad for which I paid the travel for, as well as running a usergroup, speaking at other usergroups every 2 months and I can’t get an explanation, well, it makes you wonder.

anon

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

anon

Lack of transparency is correct. I was nominated by two different people for this time around. Nothing. So I emailed asked for confirmation I didn’t get it, and perhaps an explanation of what more I needed to do. Nothing.

Granville Barnett

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

Granville Barnett

I thought MVP awards were more about who you know rather than what you’ve done, the more MVP’s you know the better chance you have.

Guy Smith-Ferrier

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

guy[at]guysmithferrier[dot]com

Granville,

Well that’s certainly not the official criteria for becoming an MVP. I will be trying to learn more about the exact criteria over the coming year.

Guy

Guy Smith-Ferrier

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

guy[at]guysmithferrier[dot]com

Whereas Microsoft are keen to point out that it is intended to be a reward for the previous 12 months efforts as opposed to an exam, I agree that the lack of feedback is unhelpful and is a source of discontent. We will see what can be learnt.

Guy

Abhishek

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

Abhishek

i think the lack of transparency comes from the fact that this is a global program. e.g. how do you compare User Group contributor in Brazil to newsgroup contributor from UK? this leads to challenges on articulating the award criteria.
I do agree that lack of feedback for people who don’t get selected may not be the best thing to do. thinking of the logistical and process challenges that will need to be overcome Smile

Guy Smith-Ferrier

Saturday, July 21, 2007 2:22 PM

guy[at]guysmithferrier[dot]com

This is true. When no explanation is given it is difficult to understand why one person is given the award and another is not. The lack of information exposes the program to doubt and criticism and I think this could lead to a loss of respect. I will be interested to see what I learn over the next year.