What exactly is a Microsoft Access MVP? How does one attain this status and what is required to maintain it?

I ask because I see that Pat Hartman is now a Former Microsoft Access MVP.

Can anybody enlighten me?

Brian

Link (https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpexecsum)

I looked for her name and could not find it - I wonder if it's a year to year thing and she's not an MVP anymore?

:)
ken

From Microsoft's perspective, the more information and help there is available for Microsoft products, the better: it promotes their products over others. MS has a knack for finding low cost ways to increase their income, including recognizing knowledgeable MS product users who actively participate in public forums and, as a result, make Microsoft products more attractive than otherwise. The MVPs, in turn, bolster their resumes with the designation. Not to diminish the mastery of the MVPs...they are simply terrific...yet at the end of the day, good or bad, it comes down to more revenue for the Big Chief...

Thanks for the link Ken. In the FAQs it mentions that it is an annual award lasting 1 year.

Brian
FFBCS

Thanks for the link Ken. In the FAQs it mentions that it is an annual award lasting 1 year.

Brian
FFBCS

What's the FFBCS stands for Brian ?
Former football coach supervisor ? :rolleyes:

What's the FFBCS stands for Brian ?
Former football coach supervisor ? :rolleyes:

Former Fellow of the British Computer Society

A bit of feeble sarcasm I suppose, as much as I admire people who achieve things it seems strange to list youself as a "Former"

Wish i hadn't done it now:o

Brian

The bcs.org site looked professional enough... Not sure why you have second thoughts listing it as a credential?

:)
ken

The point is I'm no longer a Fellow as I see no point in continuing to pay fees for a qualification no longer of any use.
The point I was trying to make was if you no longer qualify, why mention that you once did, that's what I regret raising especially as it would appear that i'm getting at Pat who I greatly admire.

Brian

I see - :)

ken

Do you get a trophy and a bonus when they give you the MVP.

With Microsoft it's more likely you get a pint of flat beer and a kick in the arse.

After all, Bill Gates didn't get to be a billionaire by writing cheques.

The MVP is an award for PAST performance. It is a year-to-year thing. A large part of the selection criteria is based on your web presence and believe me it requires an enormous amount of time to keep your participation at a level that will be rewarded. My participation dropped dramatically due to the fire in our house earlier this year. We are still camped out in a hotel and won't be back home until the end of November. My life has been a little topsy-turvey and spending hours posting answers every day hasn't been at the top of my list of priorities.

in addition to your online presence, the MVP leads consider your impact on the community in general. Do you speak at local events, do you write books or articles, do your peers respect you enough to recommend you?

The perks for being an MVP are many. The one I miss the most is being in daily contact with my fellow MVPs and the Access development team. It was great to have people who could answer MY questions when I had them instead of me always being the one to answer. Another perk is an MSDN subscription. I had already had an Action Pack subscription which I used for my business so the MSDN added to that gave me Visual Studio. I already had all the other software I needed with the Action Pack.

The most fun part of being an MVP is going to the MVP summit which is usually held annually in Seattle and Redmond. This past March about 3,000 of us converged on Seattle where we took over a half dozen different hotels and attended various events at the civic center. The last two days of the conference, we were bussed to the MS campus in Redmond where we met with our respective product development teams. The logistics of the event were amazing. There was always a bus and a helpful employee around when you needed one and MS knows how to throw a party. Each night was a different event held at a different venue. One night we went to the Seattle Air and Space museum where we occupied the entire museum with buffets and tables and chairs. Sections were dedicated to dancing or performing. Lots of the folks brought instruments and performed impromptu sets on the museum's theator. If the line for the flight simulator got too long, you could always climb into one of the jets on display.

I changed my tag line to Former because I didn't want to just remove the reference abruptly. After I think everyone has seen it, I'll change it to "Future" instead of "Former" :)

Pat,

How about eternal?

Wayne

I'm with Wayne on this, it seems a bit churlish of Microsoft to take such a hard line, but given your fuller explanation I'm not sure where they would draw it.
It probably makes more sense than people being able to quote qualifications long after they have lost all knowledge, I have a friend/excolleague who pays his subs so that he can still append FBCS to his name some 20 years since he had more of a clue about computers than the guy in the street.

Brian