For Microsoft, and for the 3000 or so MVPs around the world, MVP stands for
Most Valuable Professional.
MVP status is a discretionary award given by Microsoft to people outside the company
who have displayed the highest level of expertise on a given Microsoft technology
or product and share that knowledge with the wider community of Microsoft end users.
In my particular case, having been awarded annualy in the ASP/ASP.NET category for more than a
decade, that means that I have developed expertise in the Internet programming space
and have shared that knowledge, over the years, through online communities, local user
groups, key technology conferences, and business and governmental liason.
Each MVP interacts with his or her community in their own way. Some are absolute
powerhouses in online forums where they answer even hundreds of posts a day. Others
write, either for the Net or book publishers. Yet others speak at user groups or
conferences. Each has a unique mix of soft and hard skills as well as a unique
personality.
Microsoft recognizes MVPs across its entire platform and technology spectrum, including
developer focused products, home and office productivity applications, gaming and beyond.
Anywhere that Microsoft wants real world feedback, and my experience has been that
Microsoft wants that feedback along every product line, Microsoft selects and empowers
key people to interface in an independant way with Microsoft and their end users.
The MVP program continues to grow. When I was first awarded back in the mid 90s, there
were a grand total of 5 people in my technology area. 5 worldwide! That was it. Now
there are literally hundreds of MVPs around the developer space.
The MVP program is definately not a North America, English only experience. There are
MVPs from countries on every continent, speaking a mulititude of languages. At last count
there were MVPs from over 30 native language groups, with large numbers of MVPs in English,
German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and other languages living in a veriety of countries.
