Wiseguy captured the essence of enjoyment  and passion we all shared at Microsoft MVP Summit 2009 not only through his beautiful photographs, but also with his poignant writing.  I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him, as well as all of the other fine people I met this year at the Summit.

From MVPs in various product groups to Microsoft employees to other friendly people, this Summit to me was all about connecting with people at deep and personal levels.  Don’t get me wrong – we had plenty of good times, but coming back home to Los Angeles this time, I felt as though I made some long-lasting friendships.

It was these relationships that reminded me why I became so avidly involved in the Xbox Community: for the people.  So with that, I’ve found for myself a renewed commitment to seeing the Xbox Community grow in these personal and meaningful ways.  Through gaming, we can build relationships and spur on greater activity and ideas in the Community.

With that, here are just a few photos I took, and some videos I shot with my Nikon D90.  I hope they convey the excitement, fun, and energy we all enjoyed at the Summit this year!

Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15946013@N07/sets/72157614817033241/

Videos (make sure you enable HD for each video):

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CCC90C36BDEA3D95

Last week thousands of Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) gathered in Seattle for the 2009 MVP Summit.  aceattorney and I were among them (we were first awarded the honor of MVP  in 2006.)   Our product group, Xbox, is arguably the most enviable MVP group at the summit.  When not asking us what we do as MVPs, other MVPs  make snide remarks on twitter or just stare in awe.

All kidding aside, a possible reason for their envy is because we’re passionate. Those who understand what it is to be an MVP all agree – we’re a family.   And as a family we work together to share our knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for Microsoft.

Part of this passion includes spending time with employees of Microsoft as well as other MVPs.  This year, Eric Neustadter – Operations Manager for Xbox LIVE and Larry Hryb – Director of Programming for Xbox Live were the Xbox group’s gracious hosts.   We spent time  discussing several topics including community,  security,  support as well as several conversations on expanding the demographic of Xbox to a broader audience.

We  got a chance to play Resident Evil 5, which is a great co-op experience and we were given a limited edition copy of Halo Wars after a great talk from a member of the Halo Wars team.   We also got a chance to tour the Xbox Live operations center and several other places around the Xbox campus.   In the evening, we spent time at the millennium cafeteria eating and chatting with several members of the Xbox team from all the different departments.   It was a great experience and we are  all very happy and appreciative of our time spent with the Xbox team.   It’s always a pleasure to speak to them in person and share our passion.

As you can tell, I keep mentioning the word passion.  I think it symbolizes what we all have for the Xbox platform. While at the summit, I got to spend lots of time conversing and photographing my friends.  I’m happy that we got to connect and bring the spirit of fun for the Xbox and video gaming to each other.   While we were there  so many fun moments and memories were made.  Many of the people who support the Xbox MVPs past and present were there. The Gamerscoreblog group hung out with us and we had a great time.  Tony Hynes,  Sara Nicholson, Chris Paladino & Nelson Rodriguez …thanks for spending time with us.  Thanks to Mike Fosmire, our MVP lead, for his dedication to the group and for hanging out with us during the week, always a pleasure.

Eric and Chloe, you guys rock for welcoming the group to your home for pizza and video gaming goodness.   I loved that we all got to know each other a little bit better and it’s really nice to be a part of your family.

And thank you MVPs!!!… for sharing your time, energy and….your passion.

Check out my photos and videos from the summit…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiseguymvp/sets/72157614992215688/