The Microsoft MVC Programme

Earlier this week I spent the day with Microsoft as part of the new MVC Programme – what’s that you might ask?

You have probably heard of the MVP Programme (I’m currently an MVP for Windows Home Server).

Well Microsoft have just introduced a new programme called MVC – Most Valued Consumer, and I am honoured to have been selected as one of the first 5 MVC’s for Windows Media Center.

You may be curious as to how this came about (or not, in which case I won’t be offended).

Well, it all started with the TV Ambassador programme in the UK earlier this year.

This is a brief overview of the TV Ambassador programme:

• The UK ran a successful pilot programme to generate 1,000 TV Ambassadors of watching TV on their PC with Windows 7.

• Registration for this opportunity exceeded expectations and just under 4,000 people signed up to take part.

• 500 Xbox users and 500 Vista/XP users where chosen, based on their criteria and each were sent a TV Tuner (supplied by AverMedia).

• A specific windows Live space and group was set up as a forum for the chosen 1,000 Ambassadors to blog about their thoughts and share their experiences.

• An 6-week email campaign educated the TV Ambassadors and suggested specific tasks for them to complete.

• Surveys were sent out to gather comparable feedback from the TV Ambassadors and incentives were offered like Xbox 360’s, Packard Bell PC’s.

• At the end of the programme, the best five TV Ambassadors were chosen to become the Most Valued Consumers (MVC’s) for Windows Media Center.  Their input, engagement throughout the campaign and in the future, is extremely valuable to Microsoft.

So, there you have it, I was one of the lucky 5 TV Ambassadors to be chosen.

This week saw the first MVC day held at the London offices of Microsoft.

I was joined by my fellow MVC’s (Phillip, Steve, Graham and Richard) and we spent the day with key members of the Microsoft Windows Media Center EMEA team, amongst others.

We were asked to provide our feedback on several areas, including the SKY Player and the MSN Video Player.

We even had a really good session with the Portal Business Manager for MSN UK who talked very openly with us and listened to our feedback, both good and bad.

We also got a fantastic lunch!

I would like to thank Louise for organising the day, and also to Helena, Rob and Abid for hosting us and talking to us about Windows Media Center.

This is just the beginning of our MVC journey – so what this space!

If you would like to be considered for the TV Ambassador programme (here in the UK) drop us a line using the Contact Us link and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you want to be involved and I can put your names forward to Microsoft for future consideration.

Also, if you have questions on Windows Media Center, or feedback, why not drop us a line and we can see if we can get answers for you!