vExpert has always been about community. About helping people learn about virtualization. Currently, we learn about networking, automation, containers, security, and cloud. It is a group of folks who never stop learning, and some have progressed into other areas. Learning and sharing—that is this community.
The vExpert community started as a free flow of ideas, and that has never stopped. I see many folks within it helping each other. Unlike in other fields, it seems to me that the vExpert community does not stratify into those with knowledge and those without. In that way, it is different from nearly every other community I participate in. We are there, first and foremost, to help each other and to share ideas, problems, and solutions.
However, today I see increasing stratification on other channels—Twitter or Facebook, but not on individual blogs, on Slack, and in other smaller places. Perhaps I see this because it is how I am currently involved in the community. When I do use the major social media platforms, I see more about things outside the community than in, except when VMworld rolls around. Then, we use Twitter as a way to find people, arrange meetups, etc.
This continues on a smaller scale when I prepare for VMUG and other smaller group meetings. This is the social aspect of vExpert: meeting up with each other face-to-face. This is sorely lacking as we move increasingly to electronic forms of communication. Using those tools to meet face-to-face is a very good use of social tools.
However, everyone’s involvement in the community is changing. Mine is changing to more Slack and less Twitter. I am also more involved with working on my projects around my GitHub repository, mentoring, and generally helping others one-on-one.
The vExpert community is a subset of the larger virtualization community. vExperts give back to the larger virtualization community. This giving back can be in the form of knowledge (blogs, code, etc.), deeds (mentoring, speaking, etc.), or even actions (meetups, events, etc.) This is the core of being a vExpert.
However, you do not need to be a vExpert to do all of the above. vExpert is self-nominated, but it is judged by a group of other vExperts: vExpertPros and VMware employees. To earn the vExpert distinction, you must demonstrate your involvement in the community in some fashion. There are now over two thousand vExperts, and that number continues to grow.
Becoming a vExpert
The vExpert application is the core of that nomination and is used for the judging. The more detail you can give, the easier it is for the judges to judge. Regarding presentations, for example, they suggest you include the 5 Ws:
- Where (VMUG, conference, company details)
- When (date)
- Who (how many were in the audience)
- What (what you presented)
- How (how you presented, if it was out of the ordinary)
These details matter. The 5 Ws apply to all aspects of your application and to your involvement with the community. If you participate in vendor communities, that should also be mentioned, with links.
Particularly hard to judge are vendor and customer presentations, as the necessary details may be missing. Still, those details matter. More than most applicants realize, they can mean the difference between becoming a vExpert and not becoming one.
As Nick Scuola said on Twitter:
Focus on the things that you chose to do that made an impact on others. What did you do (that you didn’t have to) that helped make things better for someone else? To me, the #vCommunity has always been a positive. A way of helping each other better ourselves and those around us.
This is the key for all tracks. Do not list the work you do for your job, but do list those things you do for the community, and list any mentoring efforts. Be sure to provide the details!
Conclusion
As a 12 year vExpert, 2020 vExperts welcome to the community, and thank you for giving back to the community. Thank you for keeping this community strong and vibrant! I look forward to reading and seeing all your efforts.
