Great new opportunity to connect with other partners and Microsoft!

One of the key “benefits” of the TS2 style public events that our team did (and many of you likely attended), and something we always got good feedback on, was that those events were opportunities for our mainstream partners, especially our core Registered Partner base, to meet and mix, aka network, with other partners who were also invested in the Microsoft technologies and partner “ecosystem”.  Well, since we’ve stopped doing those events, some of our partners have had to look for other vehicles to leverage for networking.  And, if you’re not familiar with them, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce and put a “shout out” to the IAMCP (International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners) organization – they’re a great org for any Microsoft partner to invest in, especially if you’re interested in the personal/business networking aspect.  But this post really isn’t about IAMCP, it’s about another brand new opportunity for you to join the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Community.

The MPN Community is a place, hosted right on the Partner Portal, where you can connect and collaborate with other partners and with Microsoft as well.  In fact, the MPN Community was designed specifically to facilitate real-time networking opportunities between people, like yourselves, who are selling or building Microsoft solutions and Microsoft. This is way better than the TS2 events because now you’re not just networking with a small group of local partners, but engaged with a much larger sphere of influence and opportunity. 

So, by way of introducing you to the new MPN Community, let me suggest some ways for you to engage with your peers and Microsoft globally or directly within your region. Among other things, you can:

1. See what’s happening in your local community and region, as well as attend partner events and engage in social media with people in your community.

2. Get involved in Microsoft communities focused on student talent for hire, public policy affecting the technology industry, technology training and education and much more.

3. Join the conversation with Microsoft and other partners through online social media like Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft and partner blogs.

4. Keep up to date with the latest partner relevant news, webcasts, and videos, and find product specific information and training within the broader Microsoft partner network.

And, finally, I’d like to direct you to a few partner network community resources that may be of interest to you and help you start the conversation with other partners and Microsoft.

· Join the community Twitter feed and the partner network Facebook page (and the home page even has a link to a FAQ to learn more about “social media” in case you’re a slacker like me who hasn’t really gotten immersed in all that stuff as yet.)

· Watch short video series on SMB, Windows 7, and Azure.

· Take a sneak peek at what is being planned for the 2010 Worldwide Partner Conference

Hopefully, I got you at least curious enough to check it out now, and even more so, I hope you’ll find it to be a useful tool to engage with other Microsoft partners, as well as Microsoft, to help you get even more out of your investment in being a part of our partner.