I would like to thank Darren Woollard for taking the time to create and send over my new vEXPERT and iVirtualise sticker (even if it is spelled wrong :) )

Thanks!!

If you are a vEXPERT - go on over and add your quote to his blog here - http://vexpert.me/sticker

Last week, the 581 people that were awarded the vExpert title for the year 2013. It is large list of people who are active in the community, that share knowledge, that lead VMUG's and all other kinds of evangelizing for VMware and the community in general.

As we all know there are a number of "perks" that come with being a vExpert, but mostly it is an honor.

• An honor to be part of an amazing group of people
• An honor to serve the community
• An honor that people acknowledge your contributions

I have traditionally created a Twitter list of the vExperts each year, and this in not different.

I actually created two of them due to the fact that Twitter limited the number of members of a single list to 500 members (and of course they changed it on Thursday - after the lists were populated)

So there will be only a single vExpert 2013 list which you can find here.

Thank you for the honor and here is looking forward to a wonderful and exciting year..

<#
 .SYNOPSIS
  Will create a new vExpert.me URL

 .DESCRIPTION
  Using the Invoke-Rest Cmdlet to invoke a creation of a new vExpert.me URL

 .PARAMETER  URL
  URL that should be shortened.
 
 .PARAMETER Custom
  The custom URL that should be used.

 .EXAMPLE
  PS C:\> New-vExpertURL -URL 'http://www.google.com'
  This example shows how to call the New-vExpertURL function with with the URL parameter and generate a random URL.

 .EXAMPLE 
  PS C:\> New-vExpertURL -URL 'http://www.google.com' -Custom this_is_my_link
  This will create a custome URL of http://vexpert.me/this_is_my_link pointing to http://www.google.com
 .INPUTS
  System.String

 .OUTPUTS
  System.String

 .NOTES
  For more information about advanced functions, call Get-Help with any
  of the topics in the links listed below.

#>
function New-vExpertURL {
 [CmdletBinding()]
 param(
  [Parameter(Position=0, Mandatory=$true)]
  [System.String]$URL,
  [Parameter(Position=1)]
  [System.String]$Custom
 )
 begin {
 if (!$($Custom) ) {
  $baseurl_2 = "&action=shorturl&format=json&url="
  } else {
  $baseurl_2 = "&action=shorturl&keyword=" + $Custom + "&format=json&url="
 }
 $baseurl_1 = "http://vexpert.me/yourls-api.php?signature="
 $secret = "xxxxxxxxx"
 
 }
 process {
 $invokeurl = $baseurl_1 + $secret + $baseurl_2 + $URL
 $vExpertme = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $invokeurl
 $vExpertme.shorturl | clip
 Write-Host "The shortenend URL is now in your clipboard" -ForegroundColor Green
 }
 end {
 }
}

1. This is now a function – and it accepts parameters.
2. One of the parameters is CustomURL which will allow you to enter your custom text if you please.
3. The output will provide the URL and a success message.
4. The URL will now be in your clipboard so you can use it.

The voting for VMworld Call for Papers is now Open.

Cody Bunch and myself have submitted a session – based on the customer stories behind the
vExpert HoL that we are designing for the upcoming VMworld.

If you would like to see the story behind the lab – we would appreciate your Thumbs Up for the session.

1996 Managing Your Day-to-Day Administrative Tasks with vCenter Orchestrator

There are 1222 different sessions that you can vote for – so wading through them all – can be tiresome.

I will be posting my choices in a future post.

I am proud to announce that I have been awarded the VMware vExpert award for the year 2012.
The current list has been posted here.

It is nice to receive such an honor but I would rather like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to a few people in appreciation of this honor.

1. Alex Maier – for being the driving force behind the vExpert Program, for managing the VMware communities and for putting up with our nagging when we have no-one else to complain to. You are an asset to our community and your hard work is highly appreciated!! (even if we do not say it often and loudly enough)
2. John Troyer – The Godfather of the vExpert program! Thank you John for all that you do for us, VMware is lucky to have a driving force such as yourself who is so passionate about what you do and we as a community are lucky to have you.
   Oh yes, and please keep those cool SWAG trinkets and access to cool stuff coming!! :)
3. All those who were awarded the vExpert 2012 award. Thank you!! It is an honor to be amongst such a great group of people. I look forward to meeting those of you who I have not yet had the honor to meet, and working together on exciting opportunities over the next year.
4. To all those who did not get their vExpert renewed this year. I still hold you all in the highest esteem, and do expect and hope that you will continue to contribute to the community.

As in the past years – I have started a Twitter list of 2012 vExperts and will continue to update it.

Congratulations to all the vExperts of 2012!!

I was extremely happy to receive a nice email from John Troyer on Friday morning with the following text:

Dear Maish Saidel-Keesing,

We're pleased to designate you as a vExpert 2011 as recognition of your contributions to the VMware, virtualization, and cloud computing communities. You’ve done work above and beyond, and we’re delighted to communicate more closely, to share resources, and to offer other opportunities for greater interaction throughout the year as we continue to grow knowledge and success in the community of IT professionals. Welcome to the vExpert 2011 Program!

<snip> ….. </snip>

As always I am humbled to be in the in the company of such an amazing group of people for the second year in a row. I can say that the program this past year has been amazing!!

I am looking forward to continuing with all the new ideas that John (and VMware) have in store for the next year.

Congratulations to all the new vExperts!

I would like to bring your attention to 3 of the lists of vExperts

My vExpert 2011 Twitter List (if you are not on it please feel free to contact me)

Arnim van Lieshout's List

Eric Sloof's LinkedIn vExpert group (by approval only)

John Troyer has just announced that the applications for the vExpert 2011 Program is now open.

vExperts are the bloggers, the book authors, the VMUG leaders, the tool builders and town criers, the tinkerers and speakers and thinkers who are moving us all forward as an IT industry.

A vExpert should demonstrate knowledge about VMware solutions and their benefits, and how they fit into the overall IT landscape. A vExpert designation is not a technical certification of any kind, although they are often very articulate and knowledgeable about virtualization and IT topics, both technical and non-technical. It should not be confused with a VCDX (VMware Certified Design Expert).

So there are a few things that are different this year, so please go over to the original announcement and read the details

I can say it was well worth while being awarded the honor last year, be it the early access to different programs, and other small freebies (and no, John would not give us a personalized iPad!!)

Information Forms will be accepted until midnight PST Friday, May 6, 2011. vExpert recipients will be notified within the following two weeks.

Yesterday the vExperts for 2010 were announced.

VMware awards the vExpert to individuals who have significantly contributed to the community of VMware users over the past year. vExperts are book authors, bloggers, VMUG leaders, tool builders, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others. These vExperts have gone above and beyond their day jobs to share their technical expertise and communicate the value of VMware and virtualization to their colleagues and community.

I am happy to announce that I am one of those who have received this award, and I am grateful to have been granted such an honor.

I have created a Twitter List that I will be updating - with those who have received the award.

If you are not on this list - please let me know - so I can add you.

Congratulations to all those that got the first round - there will be another round of emails going out on Monday.

Today April 30, 2010 is the closing day for Nominations.

 VMware vExpert Application Form

 Award Benefits

 Criteria & Guidelines

If you have not already got your nomination in, the clock is ticking……