Congratulations to one and all for a job well done! This year I've reversed the order and I'm actually blogging about it before I send a note. So if your name is on the list and you are wondering how you are reading this before getting a mail, now you know 🙂
The list you can all find here, together with the previous years.
Last year I sent the following snippet in a note to each and every new Top Contributor.
Back in 2003 when I joined SDN, yes it was just SDN back then I had no idea that 5 years later on the 5th anniversary of the “Clubhouse” at TechEd and in my celebration of my 5th year in the community that I would find myself writing such a mail to recognize the hard work of so many others! It’s been a great 5 years and I am glad you are able to step into the ranks of Top Contributors of years past to share this with me!
It's odd to think how time goes by and how things evolve, this year we now have many more categories including local languages and we are adding (this month!) about 10 new categories as well so we can more closely recognize the great efforts of so many in the community.
In fact this year we also decided to maintain the "Alumni" list and everyone who has attained the rank of "Top Contributor" (top 3 of each category from Aug 1st to July 31st) will maintain their access to the special area for "Community Influencer's" and will continue to help to direct and shape the course of SDN and the other communities in the coming years.
Remember this is about the power Forget the 1 Million... have!
For those of you attending one of the SAP TechEd events will also be able to find these folks as well as the SAP mentors and many of the SAP TechEd speakers inside the Community Clubhouse in the "Networking Lounge" just like last year, in fact this year you'll even be able to make your schedule ahead of time and not miss out out on any of your favorite experts sessions!
For some of you this next bit will of course be very familiar but for those of you new to the community the following are the levels we have here within the various communities. Two of these levels are related to a specific point number however the rest are related to strong contributions and continuously leading by example and showing the way for others in the community.
- Consumer, someone who visits listens and learns from others in the community.
- Participant, someone who has been here and now decides to begin to share their knowledge and experience as well.
- Contributor, this is someone who has taken the time to learn the ins and outs of the community and put forth some effort once they reach a 100 well earned points we consider them to be a "Contributor" and therefore give them the opportunity to show themselves as well as let us know who it is they really are via the "Profiles" - the profiles help the rest of the community get to know, understand add credibility to what it is you are telling them.
- Active Contributors, these are the folks who have continue to be active in the community and have reached the yearly milestone of 250 points - we really start to watch these folks for our "diamonds in the rough" the folks who we might consider for our level 6 at some point.
- Top Contributors, the folks I mentioned above really. These are the people who look at once a year specific to each of the categories we offer and has no real direction relation to points as each area is different and some will be more active than another so we look to what the people are doing and creating and these are the people who make it to the top of our list for level 6.
- "Community Influencer's" this is a very small group, a handful really in each of the communities who we consider through their past actions to be leaders in the community be it for their specific topics or the community in general these are people that we value their opinions very highly and we often seek them out for advice and suggestions.
Beyond that SAP has of course the "SAP Mentor Program" initiative where through strong contribution and showing yourself as being a thought leader both within and outside of the SCN environment you have a chance to be nominated! We also look highly to our level 5 and 6 for potential new How Grateful We Are For All Our ‘M’s, and even as "Community Reporters".
