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I reached the Summit (Global, that is)

This week in Redmond on campus is the 2005 MVP Global Summit. (For those who don’t know, annual Global Summit for our MVPs is a chance for all levels of people across the Microsoft product and field groups to meet & greet, host and knoodle with the great group of key technical experts in the community from around the world.)  At these collaborative events, MVPs also have the chance to meet others involved in their areas of interest (from Windows Client-Shell to CRM to MSN Photos) and get up to date on the latest and greatest technology and product.


This year it was also a way for people in the product groups to once again connect with MVPs and get their feedback on a variety of things… so yesterday afternoon we (members of the product groups) also hosted an MVP booth dedicated to product group Connections in the expo area, but we were busy meeting with a number of tireless MVPs. There were people who had just flown in from the US south east, from Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Sweden, you name it… and they had more energy than my four-year-old. We had a number of people in Redmond arrange their schedules just to attend the mixing events. We had representatives from MBS (CRM), Windows Server & Tools and DPE to name a few. We started at 1pm and went well after closing of the sessions. We got a tour of a number of MVP-specific sites, the MVP blogs, great product feedback and helpful insight.


One of the best things about the MVP Summit (besides the coffee bar) was that the feedback we get from the community goes straight to the teams working on the products, with no filters. You ask for an opinion and you get it, unfettered with all the detail you might miss in an on-line post. (You know you’re in deep when you start swapping “my first computer” stories and your old Compuserve IDs with one another.) And the nice thing is that everyone piles on, provides more information and feedback as they hear other discussions going on around them that may get their attention. My thanks to Cindy and Tom from MBS, Ken from DPE and the other MS employees who hung around and answered questions all afternoon. My head was spinning, and I had a blast. I hope that MVPs get as much out of the week and are as jazzed as ever.


Link of the moment: Microsoft communities, where you can reach Microsoft employees, experts, and others to share a wealth of knowledge about Microsoft products and related technologies.