Tridion User Group?

I've been toying with the idea of organizing a Tridion user group in NYC/North East Corridor for a while, but just didn't find those 60 minutes needed to get into it. There are quite enough professionals working with Tridion in this area of the world to make it sustainable, however I don't have the faintest clue into what would be needed from an organization stand point.

And to put it bluntly, I really don't have the time to bother with it.

But I still want to do it.

So, let's itemize what we need to make it happen, shall we?

#1 User community - it does exist, and I can get everyone's contact via SDL Customer Support
#2 A reason to meet - Meeting for a couple of drinks with no other excuse used to be a valid reason in the past, but I think that in today's my-company-is-nimbler-than-that-and-all-I-do-contributes-to-the-bottom-line economic environment we will need more than this. So, first hurdle to go through: get speakers/presenters.
#3 A venue - This being NYC, it's rather easy to get us a bar/lounge where we can meet. If we want to do more corporate, it's going to cost a pretty penny. It becomes hurdle nr 2, thus.
#4 Corporate Sponsorship? #3 is really a candidate for Corporate Sponsorship... but then #2 becomes even more important, since with sponsorship you really must provide value

So, ideas thrown in the air. I would like to see it happen, but I can't manage it, I don't have the time for it.

Anyone willing to pick it up? I'll help where I can, and can certainly get some buy-in from SDL (Marketing, PS, Support, etc)

SDL Tridion MVP Awards

A few months ago our CEO asked me to launch a MVP initiative, intending to raise awareness about our community, and giving this people a way to differentiate themselves from the rest of the "general population" of Tridion consultants.

Thinking this was a great idea, I put my hands into it and about a month later we had a budget, a process and a web page. We wanted to be different from other MVP programs out there, so we decided that rather than having someone within Tridion selecting the MVPs, we would instead have a "Community Selection Panel" to do this. Idea is simple: 5 people, nominations by email, come January 1st just yay or nay per candidate.

And that's when you realize that not everything is black or white.

Anyway, all this to say that the Community Selection Panel has reached an agreement today about who is getting Tridion MVP status for 2010, and there's only 10 of them. Hopefully others will realize that this could be valuable for them too and start contributing more actively to the SDL Tridion community.

Many people think that this is an award for knowledge, where the most knowledgeable people get the award. It's not the case at all. This is an award for those that - for no financial reason - share their knowledge freely and openly to the whole community.

More to follow.