As the year is slowly approaching to an end, the famous question raises again: how does one become a Sitecore MVP?
What is the Sitecore MVP Award?
The Sitecore MVP is an award given to the individuals who have contributed to the Sitecore community and Sitecore throughout the year. This page https://mvp.sitecore.com/about provides a good overview of categories and the basic list of requirements.
The categories
The first thing you need to decide is which category you want to go after. Currently, there are 4 of them:
- Technology – developers working with Sitecore
- Commerce – developers working with Sitecore Commerce mainly
- Strategy – marketers or digital strategists
- Ambassador – Team leads, Architects, CTOs, VPs etc. – providing business value for the community
Now the dreaded how
The reality is, there is no real checklist what you need to do because each of us is different. Some people feel more comfortable blogging, some enjoy talking at user groups, some do video recordings and podcasts, others prefer organizing and supporting people. Participating in the hackathon is one of the good examples which is not on the list but is a great experience to be involved with and does contribute to the community. Please make sure you contribute something beyond your day job.
The main thing is, find what you feel comfortable with and go for it. Try to focus on a couple of things instead of going through the “list”.
Time management
Being involved and contributing to the community is time-consuming, I won’t lie about that. Perhaps you will be one of the lucky ones who’s company allows you to blog and research within working hours but in most cases, this will not happen and you will need to dedicate your private time to it. Try to “book” several hours per week, or even one day per week in the beginning. The more you do in the beginning, the easier it becomes later.
Don’t be shy to ask for help
When I decided that I want to speak at the user groups, I had no clue where to start. I saw that the Sitecore community is active on Twitter, so I posted the question there and within minutes, the replies have started to arrive. I still do the same when I am in the mood to present: I would post a tweet “Does someone need a speaker?”. There is always someone who knows someone who can help you with. Commit First, Figure it Out Later!
The Sitecore community is mostly active on two channels: Twitter and Slack.
Useful Twitter hashtags: #Sitecore #sitecoresug #sugcon #sitecoresym #SitecoreMVP
Sitecore MVP Twitter account: @SitecoreMVP
Slack global: click here to join
Slack WoS: click here to join
And don’t forget, the answer is always a no if you do not ask a question. There are no wrong questions, we were all beginners once and had the same questions when we were starting.
Why do you want to become a Sitecore MVP?
For me personally, I enjoy meeting people and visiting other countries. Throughout the process, I gained many actual friends, not just the virtual ones. The MVP title is nice to have, but titles come and go, connections with people remain. It really depends on why you have decided to go for the MVP, but please remember if sharing and being part of a community is not your passion you might want to look for another award.
And for the end
Whatever you decide to choose and do, my advice would be: do it because it makes you happy, follow your passion and most importantly, do not forget to have fun while doing it.