SharePoint is a remarkable in the way that so many people are so ready to help other SharePoint Users. When I was involved in creating SharePoint Village I was keen for it to be a showcase not only for the best products in SharePoint but also the SharePoint Community. This is why you will find many of the woldwide SharePoint User Groups listed there as well as links to great SharePoint resources like 'SharePoint Magazine' (now available as a glossy magazine to order) and 'Nothing But SharePoint' (home of the famous 'Stump the Panel').
The SharePoint Community is massive so if you are involved in SharePoint never feel you are on your own. If you have a problem don't quickly get your credit card and buy a support call from Microsoft try the SharePoint Community first. There are two great ways of getting instant free help with SharePoint and one of these I only came across yesterday. Like many of you I twitter and have started using the hashtags even though I didn't really understand them. But it seems that if I type #avfc lots of Villa fans even ones who don't follow me will see my twitters. Also #sharepoint means I can annoy the SharePoint community, but the best new one if you seriously are asking a SharePoint question and need help is simply #sphelp. I tried it and within seconds had found the answer to a problem that I had spent hours scratching my head over. So to all you tweeters don't forget the #sphelp tag.
The second way to get quick and very helpful SharePoint help is to join the yahoo group 'SharePoint Discussions'. Then when you have a question or problem (ideally SharePoint related) you just email sharepointdiscussions@yahoogroups.com and within seconds the group will try and help you with your problem.
So let's take time to say thank you to some of the real SharePoint Super Stars who go the extra mile to help us all. People whose passion for SharePoint shines through and who can communicate it so well. If you know a SharePoint Super Star then don't keep it to yourself nominate them for the SharePoint Village Birthday Honours list and then perhaps they might end up being one of the first four people on the SharePoint Walk of Fame. Visit http://sharepointvillage.com/?page_id=7008 to nominate them now before the closing date of midnight 31st August 2011 (same time as the transfer deadline for the Premier League).
So who will be on the Birthday Honours List?
Good luck to Villa as they take on local rivals Wolves on Saturday and try to return back to the top of the premier league. To link the mighty Villa with the SharePoint Walk of Fame it was great to see this week that entire 1982 European Cup winning team is set to be inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame, in October. The Villa side who beat Bayern Munich in an unforgettable night in Rotterdam were managed by the late Tony Barton who took over from the great Ron Saunders two months before the final.