I'm in my second year of being an Xbox MVP and I get asked daily, "how can I be one too?".  In fact, I was just at a four-day MVP Summit that Microsoft held for all the MVPs, from all the product groups.  The first day I was mulling around the show floor meeting people and they'd introduce what product group they were an MVP for, then they would turn to me and when I said I was there as an Xbox MVP, the collective response was "dude, how do I get that too?".   It made me realize that the Xbox has taken off in recognition and the fact that many people want to "attain" MVP status.  My goal for this post is to briefly explain the MVP program in general and then post my thoughts on "becoming an Xbox MVP".

One of the first places to go for info about the MVP program is Microsoft's MVP website.  There you will find virutally all the info that you'd want to know about the general MVP program, which covers all of Microsoft's product groups.

Within there you will find the MVP FAQ, which provides questions & answers about the MVP program.  From the website itself you can find the definition of the MVP program, which states:

Q. What is the Microsoft MVP Award?

A. The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award is an annual award that is given to outstanding members of Microsoft's technical communities, and that is based on contributions made during the previous year to offline and online technical communities.

There lies within the basic answer to how you might become an MVP, namely, contributing to the community, in this case the Xbox community for the previous year.  Put another way, "what have you done and been doing for the Xbox community in the past year?"  That is the first main criteria for becoming an MVP.

Microsoft's answer from the FAQ is:

Q9: How can I become a Microsoft MVP?

A9: Individuals are nominated for the MVP Award by their peers or by Microsoft, based on their contributions during the previous year to offline or online technical communities. Each nominee's contributions are then compared to the other candidates' contributions for the same year to determine who will receive the award.

Nominees are chosen from traditional and emerging community venues, including public news groups, forums, third-party Web sites, user groups, book authors, event speakers, Web boards, blogs, and wikis.

It's been a great honor to be an Xbox MVP, but it's not something that I sought to get, rather I was surprised when I was notified about the award.  In fact, in talking with other MVPs, both Xbox and other product groups, that seems to be a common thread, that the person was deeply involved in their community already prior to getting the award.  Those who look for a checklist to complete to become an MVP are probably doing it for the wrong reasons.

Another aspect of the MVP program is the age-limit issue.  Again, I'll turn to the FAQ for the answers to this:

Q10: Are there any requirements to be awarded as a Microsoft MVP?

A10: Yes, all Microsoft MVPs must be 18 years or older.

Q11: Why must Microsoft MVPs be 18 years or older?

A11: Microsoft is committed to the safety and privacy of minors. Minors are defined as anyone who is not 18 years or older. To help ensure their safety, the MVP program has implemented a policy that all Microsoft MVPs awardees awarded as of April 2006 must affirm that they are 18 years or older.

There are certainly benefits associated with the MVP program, which are great, but one of the best is the ability to meet users and to be a voice for them to Microsoft, game publishers, etc.  Again, many people want the MVP status to get free stuff, such as games, early entry in to beta programs or the like.  This is not the right reason for being an MVP, rather it's involvement in the community, such as Xbox.com forums, publishing a blog, being involved in other gamer websites, answering questions, etc.

Being an MVP is a great honor and I, along with my peers have been honored to receive the recognition, but nothing has changed, nor would it, with our involvement in the gaming community, if we weren't MVPs.  We'd still publish our blogs, help in the forums, run our websites and attend gaming conferences and report what we learn.

For more on the MVP program I encourage you to check out the current and next podcast by my friend and fellow Xbox MVP, Godfree.  You can download them via iTunes (look for Gamertag Radio) or go to the website Gamertag Radio.  You'll find two roundtables with the Xbox MVPs, including info in next one from one of the Xbox MVP leads.

Get out there and get involved in the Xbox community for the right reasons, help out your fellow gamers, post a blog, be vocal about what you think and you'll be blessed.  Perhaps you'll be picked as an MVP, but nonetheless your contributions will help the collective good.

See you online and try to go easy on this Geezer Gamer! :-)