Not Renewed for MVP Award for 2009-2010

I was a little disappointed to learn that Microsoft chose not to renew my MVP designation for 2009-2010. But I’m not down.

A bit of background: each of the dozens of Microsoft products or technologies like Windows or Excel or .NET or Xbox has its MVPs. These “Most Valuable Professionals” are so named because they voluntarily assist their user communities through forums, blogs, organizations, speaking engagements, books, etc. The award lasts for one year, and award years may begin any quarter. I was a July 1st awardee four years ago in recognition of my writing and blogging about PowerPoint. I was elated and proud. I was reawarded three more times. For 2009-2010, however, I was not.

A quick look at my old blog shows why: my contribution level dropped. A lot. Nor was I answering many questions in the public PowerPoint newsgroup or various user forums. Instead, I was plenty busy with work. In 2008, I was on the road more than at home, and the work itself had taken me away from daily PowerPoint use and more into complex graphics for large government proposals. I worked mostly with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Word, and only rarely used or helped anyone out with PowerPoint.

There is, however, good news for both you and me. Over the past few months, I’ve renewed my efforts to help PPT users by launching this new incarnation of my blog—The Presentationist—complete with RSS, comments, and more media. More importantly, I began tracking and responding to PPT user needs via Twitter. (Some of you reading this blog have come by way of Twitter. Thanks for following me here!)

The day will come, probably within the next few months, where Twitter users will, on average, create over one thousand tweets per day containing the word “PowerPoint” or the letters “PPT.” As you might guess, Twitter is where the users are bringing the conversation, the questions, and the complaints. It’s only going to grow, I believe. I am right there with you.

My contacts at Microsoft are aware of my new Twitter and blogging activities and applaud it. That’s good, because I intend to continue helping people like you in exactly this way. If it earns me an MVP designation in the future, great. If not, then I won’t feel too down. My rewards come more frequently than once a year, in short bursts of 140 characters or less.