Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Microsoft to clamp down on MVP bloggers?
Mary Jo Foley is reporting that Microsoft may be ready to clamp down on MVP bloggers. While this could happen, I think it would have a huge negative effect on Microsoft.
Microsoft has always considered MVPs to be among its best customers. We tell the good and the bad. Recent Office, Windows, and Visual Studio betas showed a large percentage of bug reports coming from MVPs. But we also champion products. Many MVPs volunteered in January to help demo Office and Vista when the products had their consumer launch. We speak at conferences, write magazine articles, books, and blogs that support Microsoft products. Recently, Microsoft added the phrase "Independent Experts. Real World Answers." as part of their MVP marketing. It's even emblazoned on the shirts and other materials we received at the Summit. The entire MVP program is an award for past support of the community.
As an MVP, I was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and can't talk about many things Microsoft tells me. If an MVP breaks that NDA, then he should be dropped from the program.
However, if Microsoft threatens to drop someone from the MVP program because they blog about bugs or bad product decisions, the independence is lost. That valuable voice is being silenced. It won't stop the person from blogging about the bugs or decisions. In fact, it could make it worse as that person could blog even more bad things because they were punished. Remember, MVPs do not work for Microsoft. We are independent users and willing share our knowledge and time to help others. We do this for FREE.
When I was named an MVP, I had no idea what the program was or what it meant. I certainly didn't do it for the perks. I did it...and continue to do it...because I enjoy helping others. The status of all MVPs should rest on how they help the community, not on what they may say or blog that Microsoft considers wrong.
Microsoft has always considered MVPs to be among its best customers. We tell the good and the bad. Recent Office, Windows, and Visual Studio betas showed a large percentage of bug reports coming from MVPs. But we also champion products. Many MVPs volunteered in January to help demo Office and Vista when the products had their consumer launch. We speak at conferences, write magazine articles, books, and blogs that support Microsoft products. Recently, Microsoft added the phrase "Independent Experts. Real World Answers." as part of their MVP marketing. It's even emblazoned on the shirts and other materials we received at the Summit. The entire MVP program is an award for past support of the community.
As an MVP, I was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and can't talk about many things Microsoft tells me. If an MVP breaks that NDA, then he should be dropped from the program.
However, if Microsoft threatens to drop someone from the MVP program because they blog about bugs or bad product decisions, the independence is lost. That valuable voice is being silenced. It won't stop the person from blogging about the bugs or decisions. In fact, it could make it worse as that person could blog even more bad things because they were punished. Remember, MVPs do not work for Microsoft. We are independent users and willing share our knowledge and time to help others. We do this for FREE.
When I was named an MVP, I had no idea what the program was or what it meant. I certainly didn't do it for the perks. I did it...and continue to do it...because I enjoy helping others. The status of all MVPs should rest on how they help the community, not on what they may say or blog that Microsoft considers wrong.
// posted by Craig Berntson @ 10:00:00 AM 
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