Earlier today, John Mark Troyer announced the 2013 vExpert list.

Shockingly, I made the cut, and I’m beyond honored. One of 580.

Full disclosure: I originally wrote this entire blog post earlier today from the point of view that I wasn’t included, so I’d have something ready to go discussing how I plan to increase my involvement in the community and try again next year. Except for announcing that I actually was selected, none of that outlook changes.

I wasn’t even sure if I’d apply for it when the application/self-nomination form went up last month, because I knew I’d not done anywhere enough to contribute at the level as the current vExperts. That being said, I threw my name into the mix and have been waiting patiently since then to find out the results. While I’ve been tweeting and engaging people online about virtualization for a while now, I made it my mission a couple of years ago do do more. It’s difficult with other obligations like work, family, etc, to (after all that) spend a lot of time giving back, but I will. (To be honest I’m not sure how some of the current vExpert folks do it.)

Now that I’ve actually been selected, there is a huge weight to do more, in order to prove myself worthy of this selection, but also because of the realization that this is only for one year and this is something to continue to participate in. This year I hope to contribute a lot more in the way of tutorials on this site, regular news updates, and Twitter/social networking participation. I also need to dive deeper into providing assistance on the official VMware Communities site, something I’ve avoided doing so far.

I also need to go to VMworld this year.

For the sake of everyone who doesn’t know a lot about the vExpert program, this doesn’t mean I am suddenly imbued with all the knowledge of VMware’s various applications. As John said over on the VMware site:

“I want to personally thank everyone who applied and point out that a “vExpert” is not a technical certification or even a general measure of VMware expertise. The judges selected people who were particularly engaged with their community and who had developed a substantial personal platform of influence in those communities. There were a lot of very smart, very accomplished people, even VCDXs, that weren’t named as vExpert this year.”

I hope to continue to learn and share as much as I can about VMware, and continue to be an evangelist for them.

Congrats to everyone who made the cut. I look forward to continue engaging with all the other vExperts, and the rest of the community, in the coming year.

Update: Originally the list had 575 names, then 579, now 580. Also, shout out to my local KC VMUG people, who I also promise to attend meetings with regularly in the future.