AzureHeroes An Honor to be Recognized, and a Great Way to Recognize Others

About-Updates · 16 May 2020

Microsoft has always been great at recognizing those community members that provided value through the Microsoft MVP program. This program is amazing, and a way for Microsoft employees and MVPs to nominate those contributors that stand out within the community.

For those individuals that are not in one of these two categories, there had not been a way to recognize and give a sign of public recognition to the great people that volunteer their time to share their experiences through user groups, blog sites, virtual conferences (and live ones under different global circumstances, community forums, and GitHub.

That is until now. Microsoft created Azure Heroes in December 2019 as way to nominate and recognize those members of the community that have given their time and efforts to sharing their knowledge with others. #AzureHeroes (https://www.microsoft.com/skills/azureheroes) was originally launched to community members in Western Europe, but anyone is eligible to be nominated and receive the digital “badger”. What is a digital badger? Let me explain.

When someone is recognized as an Azure Hero, they receive a QR code that is used to redeem a collectible within a digital wallet. These are similar to certification badges, you have the ability to share them to social media for directly within your wallet. Microsoft has made these collectible badges fun by using the badge as a play on words to create the numerous Badgers for each of the categories. https://www.microsoft.com/skills/azureheroes

Each of these categories are based on a specific area of contribution. The number of badgers that are awarded differs for each category, which is identified on the Azure Heroes site.

I have had the honor to be the recipient of three of these badgers over the past week for Community, Mentor, and Content. I want to thank those that took the time to nominate me for these. Finding one of these in your inbox gives you a feeling of pride.

What I would like to let anyone know that is reading this, is that when someone within the community has done something worth recognizing, take the time to nominate them. It only takes a couple of minutes and it will mean a lot to that person to receive the recognition.

And if you attend an Azure event or view a Global Azure Virtual video, make sure to look in the comments. You may find a link to claim a Leather Badger. Have a great day and stay safe!