It’s that time again – time to nominate someone (or yourself) to become an IBM Champion. Nominations opened, October 3, and will remain open through November 14.
Who are IBM Champions?
IBM Champions are not IBMers. Instead, they are customers, business partners, developers, and consultants who are being recognized by IBM both for their knowledge and for extraordinary contributions to our communities. IBM Champions are experts in their fields and share their knowledge as speakers at IBM and user group conferences, as well as via blogs, tweets, forums, articles, videos and more. IBM Champions are active in user groups and meetups, they bring developers, customers, and partners closer together to make the most of IBM technology. IBM recognizes IBM Champions in Analytics, Social Business, Power, and Cloud, including Middleware.
Who should be nominated as an IBM Champion?
Well, here are the detailed criteria (also described below), but maybe what would help are some examples of people who might be IBM Champions: The person in your company who knows everything there is to know about your IBM software or hardware and makes it all work together and is always the one answering everyone’s questions. The person writing articles or books about IBM technology. The person with a blog who investigates and covers IBM technology. The person who runs the local meetup or user group covering IBM technology. The person whose Twitter stream is always sharing what they’re building with IBM technology. The person making YouTube videos about developing with IBM technology. The person who has a couple of sessions every year at IBM and user group conferences and events… Those are all people who might be IBM Champions…
Criteria / Guidelines
The IBM Champion program requires IBM advocacy and influence outside one's own organization or customer engagements. We also seek individuals that have significant contributions in at least 2-3 areas as defined below.
Significant contributions - a contribution, executed multiple times or for an extended period of time.
Examples include:
- Blogging regularly
- Tweeting regularly (on topics relevant to our industry, but not necessarily IBM-specific tweets)
- Speaking at multiple events in a calendar year
- User Group Conference Planning Committee member (involves the execution of a conference or a part of the conference over a period of several months)
- President or Board member of a worldwide or local user group for a period of 1 year
Contribution Areas - participation in at least 2 contribution areas are required; 3 are recommended. Samples of related contributions for each area are noted below.
Still not sure?
If you’re still not sure, maybe it would help to get to know some current IBM Champions. First, you canlook up all the current IBM Champions on developerWorks. Also, we’ve started a new series on this blog so you can meet some current IBM Champions—read about Sreeharsha Naik, Bob Oesterlin, and Andy Lin on the blog and keep an eye out for new profiles being added regularly.
Got someone in mind?
Ok, so you’ve got someone in mind. Good. What’s next? Well, it’s time to NOMINATE!
Gather information about what the person has been accomplishing over the last 12-18 months with IBM technology. We look for people who are both knowledgeable experts and passionate about sharing that knowledge. So that means you want to be able to substantiate both their expertise (certifications, courses, applications, hackathons, Open Badges, etc.) and their advocacy (speaking engagements, blogs, social media, work with IBM teams, etc.).
A couple of notes: you can’t surprise someone with a nomination. You need to speak with them first and let them know you’re nominating them, because you’ll be sharing some personal data about them such as contact information and we want to be sure they’re ok with it. Also, you’ll want to see who they’ve worked with at IBM (business partner reps, sales reps, developer advocates, etc.), and include those IBMers in the process and on the nomination form.
Benefits of being an IBM Champion
Wait a minute, is it worth it? What does the person get if they’re selected as an IBM Champion?
IBM Champions receive the following and we're always working on new benefits for our IBM Champions.
- Special visibility, recognition, and networking opportunities within IBM communities, events, and conferences
- Participation in exclusive IBM online communities
- Exclusive access to IBM product development teams
- Invitations and discounts to events and conferences
- IBM Champion logo merchandise to wear, display, and enjoy
- An IBM Champion open badge through the IBM open badge program, which allows the IBM Champions to have a verified digital credential to use in social media and networking sites.
- Special recognition on their developerWorks profile: The profiles of IBM Champions have special designations, such as "IBM CHAMPION" under their name and a unique icon on their profile picture. Their profiles may also include an endorsement and notable achievements in the left column to recognize their contributions to the technical community.
Still not sure?
Still not sure? That's ok - we can help! We’re hosting an info session for anyone interested in learning more about the program. You’ll hear from Libby Ingrassia, the worldwide IBM Champion “wrangler,” as well as from some current IBM Champions about the process and the benefits. Join the session on October 11 at 9:45 am CDT (GMT -05:00).
We'll also be hosting a session at World of Watson and there will LOTS of opportunities to meet IBM Champions, hear sessions from IBM Champions, and get to know the IBM Champion team if you're at the conference. Stay tuned for more info on WoW.
Session #: 4019
Title: The IBM Champion Program Ninja Rockstar Evangelist Squad
Day: Monday
Time: 1:00 PM - 1:20 PM
Next steps
When you're ready to nominate yourself or someone else, here's your get-started checklist.
- Join the info session on October 11.
- Review the nomination form and gather all the information you'll need.
- Create a developerWorks profile (or have the nominee create one for themselves if you're nominating someone else).
- Get permission from the person you want to nominate.
- Nominate, nominate, nominate!
- Share this message far and wide!
Still have questions? Get in touch by leaving a comment here, by chatting with us via social media on Twitter@IBMChampions or by sending email to IBM Champion Wrangler Libby Ingrassia.