State of the Blog, Year 2

Two years ago, I hit the “Publish” button and began a blog. So naturally it’s time for a little self reflection on how things are going.

T-SQL Tuesday #102 – Giving back little by little

Happy T-SQL Tuesday #102! The challenge for this month is from Riley Major (b|t). His challenge is to think about how we can give back to the community. (Check out his blog invite or the T-SQL Tuesday website to find out more details about this monthly blog party.)

The list of suggestions that Riley put together is quite an impressive one. It’s a great reminder that there are so many ways to get involved in the community.

I’ve started doing several things on the list over the past year – speaking, taking on the T-SQL Tuesday challenges, getting involved with the local user group – so I’m definitely going to commit myself to doing more of that. Maybe I can “up my game” and submit to a SQL Saturday in a city that I have to fly to or even submit a session to present for a virtual user group or a bigger event like GroupBy or 24 Hours of PASS.

At my new job, I’ve been told there are opportunities to do “lunch and learns” and I’ve been told to encourage my co-workers to join me at the local user group meetings. It’s kind of a no-brainer to do those.

But of all the things on the list, I definitely would love to find a way to pay forward the support I’ve gotten from members of the community to others who need it. A few people have come to me asking for advice or to be sounding board. As happy as I am to help out, I still feel like there’s more that I could do in this area. One concrete thing I think I can do is volunteer to help the first timers at PASS Summit as part of Buddy Program, if they continue that program again this year. But I’m going to keep looking to find other opportunities to help support others as they need it and in general feel like I’m being a better citizen of our #sqlfamily. I know they’re out there, but I just need to find the way that I can contribute.

As I was putting this list together, I realized that these examples are little things that I can do. And that’s OK that they’re little things. I think that’s important thing to note for those who are thinking about how they can start to give back to the community. One of the great things that Riley’s original list proves is that not every way to give back to the community requires big gestures. If you’re not someone who’s comfortable stepping into the limelight or jumping in with both feet (or whatever other catchphrase fits), there are still a lot of behind the scenes ways to contribute. There is a place in this community for that special passion you have and this community wants you to share with us.

Thanks to Riley for hosting this month’s topic! And thanks to all those who are currently doing so much to support our community and those are going to take on the challenge to step up their involvement! And if there is something I can do to help out, please let me know….

 

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