Reading Time: 5 minutes Each big vendor has some kind of “community award” for individuals who have significantly contributed to the community of the specific vendor’s users over the past year. Those kind of “technologies experts” could be book authors, bloggers (in most cases), leaders in some communities, tool builders, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others. These people have gone above and beyond their day jobs to share their technical expertise and communicate the value of the specific vendor’s technologies to their colleagues and to the community.