I was pleasantly surprised to get this email earlier today.

MVPEmail

I have been admitted into the Microsoft MVP Program.

Re-admitted, I should say, because I was a member for many years (from 2005, if memory serves me right) until I voluntarily exited for personal reasons (had a motorcycle accident and recuperation) in 2021.

If I am not wrong, I was the first C# MVP from Kenya, and the third ever (Edgar Okioga and Michael Owuor were the first, in VB, if I recall right). Over the years, there has been rationalization and realignment, and now it is simply referred to as Developer Technologies.

It came with the obligatory certificate.

MVPCertificate

The important takeaway for me is the recognition of community work.

This year, I have written 243 blog posts on various software development topics. One for each day of the year.

I have always been, and will continue to be, an avid advocate for the growth of local software development and technical communities in general.

In a world that optimizes for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, LinkedIn, and algorithms, I strongly believe there will always be value in writing (blogging).

Writing is:

  1. Easy to search
  2. Easy to skim through
  3. Requires almost no investment in equipment
  4. Easy to organize
  5. Cheap
  6. Easily cross-referencable

It is also wholly hosted on infrastructure I control (hosting), in a format I control (Markdown), in a location I control (my domain).

How much impact have I had on the community?

I have no idea. Nor do I think it is possible to accurately measure.

But once in a while, I get an email like this that reminds me that everything you do, whether you know it or not, whether you can measure it or not, has an impact.

Thanks

And that is reason enough for me.

Happy hacking!