This afternoon @CMSWire posted an article about the SharePoint Community and what it means and what it looks like. For this article they interviewed a few people in the community and along with @wonderlaura (Laura Rogers), @meetdux (Dux Raymond Sy) and Chris Johnson (@loungeflyz) I was asked to give my feedback about the SharePoint community. The article turned out great and I think it gives a good perspective to the SharePoint community.
There are so many different types of communities that you can be involved it. Personally, I tend to focus on the following:
| Community: | What I use it for: | How to Join Me: |
| Staying in touch! This is my go-to location to see what everyone is up to. I see what new blog post are out and I see what people are working on. This is by far the thing that keeps me most connected to the community. | @jennifermason | |
| The Grid | This is a new community focused around Office 365. It is a location for others who are working with Office 365 to share ideas and work together. You have to apply for this community, but if you are an Office 365 guru you definitely should look into it! | Get on The Grid |
| BuckeyeSPUG | This is one of my FAVORITES This is the local SharePoint user group in Columbus Ohio. We meet once a month and of course have a SharePint as well! We get together to hear more about different topics and points of interest and we also spend time discussing what we are up to and what things we are focused on. | http://www.buckeyespug.com |
| MSDN Forums | This is where I try to really give back to the community. I try to respond to 1-2 items a day, but this can at times be hard based on other factors. I may miss a few days here or there, but I still consider this one of my strong connections to the SharePoint community. | SharePoint 2010 Forums |
These are just the primary locations where I am actively involved and it by no means represents an exhaustive list! There are so many great ways to get involved in the community beyond what I have mentioned. The key is that you find what works for you and run with it. I’d love to hear from others on their thoughts on community, so please post comments to either the article referenced above or this blog post so we can discuss!
Jennifer Ann Mason 