Are you a vExpert?
I normally am the shy retiring type when it comes to promoting myself. [That's a bit of classic British irony by the way]. What I mean is I normally askew such labels as “guru”, “expert” or whatever. Simply because I don’t really believe in the concept. I guru is someone who just knows more than you do in my experience – very often they are just one page ahead of you in the great big manual of the world. My other nervous about the term is often I think you claim you are one – your potentially putting yourself on a precarious pedestial. One where people may be tempted to knock you from – or throw tomatoes from. Indeed, I’ve occasionally experienced “blowback” from being Mr RTFM. When I ask a question on the forums I’m always a bit worried that someone is gonna say – Mike, its on page 189 of the PDF guide – RTFM. But being a lazy fellow its often easier to ask than trawl through acres of product documentation.
I had thought it was gonna be called the VVP (VMware Valued Professional) – I like the idea of being valued, it makes me think like I’m antique on the Antiques Roadshow (British reference, do you guys get that in the US?) Now I’m feeling like its the Golden Globe or the Oscars. I promise not cry and do a very long speech if my nomination is accepted!
But heck, I’m sure YOU are someone who has contributed greatly to the VMware Community in some shape or form. Maybe your on a steering committee for a UG or you wrote PDF which was download by 100’s of 1,000s of people and killed your web-server… Come on don’t be shy… Nominate yourself today… Now why does that sound like some kind of Microsoft catch-phrase?
January 15th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
You got my vote
And yes you deserve it for all your work. Presenting us the technical knowledge about the new VMware products.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Yeah Mike we got Antiques Roadshow in the US, on PBS (public broadcasting). Good stuff. Keep up the great work sir.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I’d be glad too. I got your book about SRM a few weeks ago and it’s great stuff. Keep up the good work!
Geert
January 15th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
submitted! thanks for all of your help!
http://www.vmwarescripting.com/
January 15th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
[...] to say, there’s a number (here) of prominent (here) virtualization (here) bloggers (here) that is already pushing the readership to fill the damn [...]
January 15th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Antiques Road show in the US! I imagine that’s quite different from the British version. In the British one people bring the prized possessions clearly hoping to find out that they have undiscovered Picasso, whilst at the same time affecting a stance of “where not interested in its value…” er, “except for insurance purposes”. You see their prized tat is in on moment an unsell-able family heirloom until they discover it’s worth £1m. It’s quite illustration of the British preoccupation and embarrassment of money and wealth.
At the same time people who watch the show – get a perverse pleasure when someone brings in something bought in an charity shop or worst still an auction house – and they have convinced themselves they later day Lovejoy (Lovejoy was an awful 80’s light drama about a roguish antiques expert… hey, its what pass for glamour in the UK. You had Dallas and we had Lovejoy, nuff said). These people are convinced they have some fantastic item of value – only to discover that’s it some knocked off junk from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. “Yes”, says the expert “what you have here is an excellent example of the kind tacky trash that was mass-produced by lumpen proles the North-East in the late half of the 19th Century when items of Chinese feel were in regarded as sophisticated – sadly your item is far from such a state…” The big smiles drifts away slowly from the hapless punters face, and we chortle with glee. I think the Germans have a word for (don’t they always!) it is called “schedenfraude”
Finally, the other game I like to play is spotting recently released criminals who turn up at the Antiques Roadshow hoping to case up some potential “swag” for their next “job” – and take the said perlonned booty to their lock-up down Heathrow way. Unfortunately, these criminal master minds forget that A. Everyone will recognise the unique one-in-a-million Ming Dynasty vase as the stolen goods it is. B. Their “boot race” (cockney rhyming slang for face) has also been on National TV shortly before said items were plundered.
If you think I’m joking it has happened – such are the joys later afternoons on Sunday with Antiques Roadshow, just before Songs of Praise.
The United Kingdom: You don’t have to be mad to live here, but it does help, and should be mandatory.
January 16th, 2009 at 5:04 am
I submitted an entry for you the moment the submission form went live.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Nominated!!!
Being a brit, I agree with your sentiment on these things. But I’ve nominated you also, but only for vExpert – I couldn’t find the vLegend button.
A small thank you for all your work over the years – which makes all our lives more easier.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I do not know you, but you got my vote.
But please , leave the gurus alone.
vExpert < vGuru
January 16th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Mike,
There’s no doubt you deserve the vExpert title with all of your contributions to our society over the years.
Additionally, I think that all of the VCIs out there should be grandfathered into the vExpert title…since we are out there every week, preaching the VMware word…and helping students each week.
Chris
January 16th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Mike,
I’ve nominated you now! No probs!
You have a cracking website, and for me the most useful thing has been your great guides you have written! Keep up the good work!!
January 16th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Hi Mike…
I just nominated your name… You are awesome… and indirectly we have benefitted lot from your work…
My 1st stop for all my VMware doubts is your site…
Thanks for being generously sharing the stuff free…
January 16th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
“vExpert nomination is also application form. Don’t make others do the work for you, lazy bum! Nominate yourself. You know better than others what you’ve been up to.” says JT.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:23 am
[...] to say, there’s a number (here) of prominent (here) virtualization (here) bloggers (here) that is already pushing the readership to fill the damn [...]
February 11th, 2009 at 12:15 am
one can not be expert at everything can they?