MVP 2011

I was awarded the MVP status from Microsoft for 2011 on Jan 1, 2011. This is my fourth consecutive award and I am honored to be recognized for my efforts in the SQL Server community.
When I opened the email last Saturday morning, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I think I deserve the award for my efforts in the community in speaking, writing, and promoting SQL Server. I think I do a lot, and while it’s my job, it’s also a bit of a passion for me.
On the other hand, I always think “what was Microsoft thinking” when I consider the deep technical knowledge that so many of the MVPs display. I know a lot about SQL Server, but it’s in a fairly shallow, general knowledge area, though I do have a lot of experience in the past. I don’t do any earth-shaking work, and I certainly don’t impress many of the experts in various areas of SQL Server work. So in some sense I didn’t really contribute a lot to the growth of the knowledge base of SQL Server in 2010.
The award, however, is very much a community award, and it is for the contributions in sharing knowledge and helping others work with SQL Server. Without the award, I wouldn’t do anything different. This doesn’t drive me, and if I lose it, it won’t change the way I approach the community.