It’s a little while since Experts Exchange – the online knowledge sharing community I am a very active member of – sent me an email entitled “You have been nominated for an MVE Award”.
Despite my participation on the site, I had never heard such an award even existed – let alone did I consider myself to be in the echelon of Experts to win it! So, when I received an email about a month later, entitled “You are a 2012 MVE Award Winner”, I was rather excited!
The process and the appointed “committee” for the selection of Experts was kept rather secret – for good reason – but it did not take long for information to start to filter down through EE’s company blog.
An excerpt from that blog post reads:
For the MVE, it is the community first. Not only have they achieved recognition as a subject matter expert in their field of expertise, they are considered outstanding contributors as they interact with the community. The MVE is not as concerned with the considerable points they can earn as they are with the satisfaction of those they help.
I would imagine this is exactly how I currently see my Expert role at Experts Exchange. The customer asking the question represents the most-important link in the chain. It would be impossible for me to answer every Exchange Server question which is ever posted – there are only 24 hours in a day – but I answer as many as possible, in as much detail as possible!
It is my vision that technology should be as invisible as possible in the business and the home. IT should serve a crucial, recognised purpose to those in-charge of it, but to anyone else, it’s critical that IT does not become a burden to their daily lives. My vision is ever present in my mind when I am helping others at Experts Exchange. It’s possible that I could simply explain how to fix a problem this once, but I would much rather explain why the problem occurred and how it can be avoided in the future. After all, the fewer problems a user experiences, the more trust they place in the technology, and the more they are willing to use it. It’s a win-win situation!
For me, I am incredibly pleased, and thankful, of the opportunity which Experts Exchange has given me. It is only by participating in a community where everyone helps each other that I have been able to learn more than I could otherwise. It has also allowed me to learn from some of the best but also to build some incredible connections to other knowledgeable people in the tech world.
There is a further “biography” of my work at Experts Exchange on the page announcing this year’s winners. I recognise many of the names there, and have personally met at least three of this year’s MVE winners on several occasions! They are a fantastic group of people.
The MVE awards are an annual award. This year is the inaugural year, and I am very excited that I was one of the few to be selected for the first round! It is not, of course, all about the award. It is about the people I have helped via Experts Exchange. This came to light in a comment on the blog post announcing this year’s winners:
I have been on EE for more than 6yrs, but MATT’s contribution has been so helpful to my windows management in Uganda East Africa. Congs all of our MVEs
- James Nayinda Kayongo
This is the real reason I participate in a knowledge sharing community. The sense of being able to assist others is simply incredible, and I am thankful of the opportunity Experts Exchange has given me.
Many thanks once again to all those involved and to all those I have assisted over the years. You are all truly remarkable.
