Contribupendence Day is coming up this Friday, July 3rd. Are you ready for it?

Wait... you haven't heard of it? Let me explain how it works:

1. Write recommendations for friends and fellow community members.
2. ...
3. Profit!

Ok... maybe there's no profit involved.

Seriously, though, last summer, Jeff Blankenburg came up with this idea. The way he put it was:

A day when we can contribute to our colleagues and friends to improve their online standing. A day when we take advantage of those features of social networks that we always put off until tomorrow. - taken from his post from last year's Contribupendence Day

I've been thinking about this throughout the year, as I wanted to select people that I didn't select last year, and I wanted to diversify my options - not just .NET people.

So this is my challenge to you - participate! If you're not sure what to do, check Jeff's post from last year and it should give you an idea of what it's about.

Labels: Contribupendence Day, Jeff Blankenburg

As I was told, July 3^rd was Contribupendence Day. So the challenge was to write 5 recommendations on {insert social networking site name here}. Like James Bender, as soon as I started writing them, my list started to grow. So I have my first five done, and I have quite a few more on my list that I want to tackle throughout this weekend.

So, in no particular order, the 5 recommendations I wrote on Plaxo were:

• Mike Eaton:Whether it's an idea for a presentation, an event, or even for a program, Mike is extremely enthusiastic about technology and knows how to turn an idea into a reality. He's quite involved with planning events for the developer community, and if he hears a good idea, he's one of the first to volunteer to help out. He's also making his rounds as a speaker, and his presentations are practical and easy to follow. I look forward to seeing more of his presentations and attending his events.


• Joe Fiorini: Working with Joe on planning a technology conference, I was extremely pleased at how well he was willing to step up with a little direction. Joe has a lot of passion for technology, which drives him to getting involved in such things as Cleveland Startup Drinks and Cleveland Ruby Brigade. I am incredibly honored to have worked with someone with as much passion and promise as Joe.


• Mike Letterle: I was quite excited to work with Mike on the development of the website for a technology conference that we helped plan. Whether we were looking at adding features or trying to get things more unified, Mike was definitely willing to take anything on. Mike also has an interest in the Ruby language and would be one of those people who could convince others to switch to Ruby with his interest in the language.


• John Stockton: I was honored to work under John's leadership when planning a tech conference. John made sure that we'd meet our deadlines to pull off a successful event. I've also watched him give a presentation. John gears his presentations so that his audience can easily follow them. He's well-informed and his passion will take him far.


• Jeff Blankenburg: From seeking out others who share his love of technology to bringing us together and truly putting the "unity" in community, Jeff is an invaluable asset to the developer community. Whether he's blogging, presenting, or just getting a group together, he continues to provide us with opportunities to network and go far in our careers. His contagious enthusiasm is what reawakened my passion for technology. I've learned quite a bit from him, and I look forward to seeing where he will lead us...

I'm looking forward to posting the rest of these recommendations. Thanks to Jeff for coming up with this idea!

Labels: Contribupendence Day, James Bender, Jeff Blankenburg, Joe Fiorini, John Stockton, Michael Letterle, Mike Eaton, Plaxo

Jeff Blankenburg had a Blankenthought today about the developer community, what your peers think of you, and how the social networking sites out there that let us review each other are pretty empty. So, he's come up with a Blankenholiday called Contribupendence Day.

If you're on any social networking site out there where you can review your peers (like LinkedIn and Plaxo), you should participate in this holiday. And if you're not on them, then get on them and join in on this celebration of the developer community.

Go read Jeff's post on how to take part in Contribupendence Day 2008!

Labels: Blankenholiday, community, Contribupendence Day, Jeff Blankenburg, social networking