It’s all free! Here’s $500 for your user group, all the swag you want, and free Facebook advertising. No catch. Really.
Microsoft has a kind of love affair with its developer community. As a result, the Microsoft developer community worldwide is the largest and most cohesive community you could imagine. It was Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, who said, “Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers!”. That set the tone for the importance of and relationship with developers to Microsoft.
The ways in which Microsoft supports local communities has varied through the years. Today, it’s 100% through technical communities (MSTC) and your local developer evangelist. MSTC is a site where community leaders can “register” their community group and schedule their monthly or special events. MSTC rewards community events with $250 sponsorships (twice a year), gobs of swag (for every event), and Facebook or LinkedIn marketing (for every event) – all 100% free. This sort of lush support helps simplify any community leader’s plate of work. If you aren’t using MSTC, you’re missing out.
Let me show you how to get it.