We’re on the cusp of 2006 as I write this. 2006???!!!! Yep — another year into the new millennium. Things have been awesome this year for the myITforum crowd. We’ve moved away from 3rd party hosters, to our own domain with our own responsibilities and much better ways to continue to build and grow the community. As I sit and think about it, 2006 will be the cornerstone for myITforum. Things are coming for our community that will ‘wow’ you sometimes, but it’s still about you. We have the ability this year to do just about anything you suggest, where in the past it took a pint of blood (mine, btw), some political badgering and a little screaming (through email, of course). And, the best part about this? myITforum is powered by the community. Sure, we monitor posts, but we would never filter posts just because someone has a problem. This is the kindest, most caring community I’ve ever seen. And, because of the topics we cover from our experts in the field, they will always be unbiased. If you want to continue to be part of it, let me know. There are many ways to contribute and help grow the community.
This year alone, we’ve seen the community grow from 10,000 members to almost 20,000 members. That’s pretty dang good, by any standards. And, quite honestly, those numbers have dramatically increased since we set out on our own. There are so many people, and I should say, SMART people, in this community that really makes it worth the trip to the web site, the email discussion lists, and the forums.
MMS 2005 has come and gone, but each year, MMS gets better and better. I’m really looking forward to MMS 2006 in San Diego. This is Richard Threlkeld’s home town (who now works for 1E), so this should be a great venue. Richard should be able to provide all the great places to visit and hang out.
As some of you may have heard or noticed, Microsoft and the SMS Alliance are 100% behind what we are doing. The Windows Management (WM) folks at Microsoft were concerned when the largest community for their WM products was in need after the TechTarget fiasco. We’ll be dedicating some specific pages on the site soon for these companies, so I hope you visit them to help understand how secure this community really is.
As the New Year approaches, I really want to thank a few people that have been instrumental in the longevity of myITforum and also in the support for the community. They are: <drum roll, please>
1. Our myITforum Advisory Council: Ed Aldrich, April Cook, Dana Daugherty, Michael Mott, and Michael Schultze. These folks have been there when I needed a slap in the face or a pat on the back. Without these folks, there probably would not be a community or a MMS. Check out their respective BIOs on the site.
2. Ron Crumbaker. Ron has worked, tirelessly, for the past couple months to make sure myITforum was up and running as it was before, even though we never received all the files and settings from the previous hoster.
3. Microsoft. Microsoft has always supported our community. Not just because they need it, but because they understand that what we are doing is right. Not right just for Microsoft, but right for the community. There are many, many people at Microsoft who have become dear friends over the years while they continue to see our vision of community is the best.
4. The SMS Alliance. You’ll finally be hearing more about the companies included in the SMS Alliance this year. This group of companies are firmly behind our community.
5. My wife and kids. If it were not for my wife, I’d not be still here in this endeavour. She has been fully supportive (well, most of the time — except when I’ve had to work 20 hours a day at times).
6. The many friends I have through the community. Frankly, without you, I would have never realized how important this community is to the industry and the world. You can jump out to any other Internet community and be immediately berated or shown a link to a past post on a list or forum. This community is caring and dedicated. You never have to worry about asking a “dumb” question, because there are NO dumb questions. It doesn’t matter if the same question was asked a week ago, folks here take their own time to make sure the question is answered. There’s no other community like this in the world.
Happy New Year!
