Ever heard the term "MVP" and wondered what the heck they are (outside of American Sports, that is). Microsoft has just set up a blog to help publicise their Most Valuable Professionals. In short, an MVP is an award given to worldwide experts who share their knowledge with others. This can be through writing, public speaking, forums, etc. MVP’s are re-evaluated on an annual basis so MVP’s need to keep up their efforts and expertise.
The next question is, how do you become one? The answer is: get noticed. Focus on one product and work on it. Share your knowledge. Eventually either someone inside of MS or another MVP will nominate you. You’ll then be asked to participate in building a case which will be presented to the product group. They decide yea or nay on your case. If you’re lucky, you get a nice email. There’s no exams to cram for. This is based purely on your efforts in the community.
How many of there are us? It seems to be split 50/50 between developers and IT pros. There’s just over 4,000 MVP’s globally. And there’s just 8 of us in Ireland.