We at MidnightDBA sure do love a blog party, and what’s better than a blog party about love? I invited the internetz to show some love:

Assignment: Write a blog that tells us about a company (or more than one) that you think is doing the right thing. 

You can take that and run with it however you like…the way I’ve been thinking, this includes things like community involvement, marketing and advertising, customer service, product design, etc.

Roundup time!

Mike Walsh loves SQL Sentry, and he’s not afraid who knows the reasons why. Mike also shows some love for Hyland Software, not because he uses the product, but because of their community involvement, and their frontswoman in the community, Erin Stellato (blog, Twitter). I present Mike the Most Tentatively Handslappy Introductory Paragraph award.

Noel McKinney instantly wins Best Title for his contribution, Vendors Who Aren’t Just Tools. Double points for working a complaint-a-thon into the start of his “I love company X” blog post! (What can I say? I’m a sucker for techies who buck the rules.)  Noel loves Pragmatic Works, who didn’t see him “as a small fish”.

Nick Haslam sticks to the letter of the law – which I also support – and writes his love letter to a SQL-adjacent company: Zen Internet. “One of the things that a company, that is doing the ‘right thing’, is that you don’t notice them. You use their wares, and only notice when things go pear-shaped.”  Nick gets the Letter of the Law award.

Robert Cook gets all sciency with his affections, whipping out Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and translating it for DBAs.  The object of Robert’s affection? Why SQL Server Central and SQLPASS, of course!  Let’s be serious for a minute: This blog post is a must read, because he lists a TON of linky SSC and SQLPASS resources to brighten up your day and your career. And it has a picture of a nekkid butt (no kidding, SFW unless your boss is a complete idiot).  Robert, you get the award for Most Valuable UnSQL #003 Blog Post Evar.

Jen McCown (that’s me) just put up the results of the Company Love poll. I give myself the award for Most Impersonal Blog. (Frankly, I [a] didn’t want to skew the participants’ blogs, and have too many companies to name to decide.)

Matt Velic gives a great big wet smooch to the four companies that sponsored the original SQL Cruise: SQL Sentry, Red-Gate, Quest Software and MSSQLTips.  Matt is still touched to have had the opportunity (he won a place on that cruise), and I’m pleased to award him Most Heartfelt and Touching Contribution. “SQL Sentry’s “getting it” had a life-altering affect on me. I’m not at all surprised that they topped Jen’s poll: I’m living proof that they’re doing it right.”

Grant Fritchey writes of “the love that dare not speak it’s name…love for vendors.”  He’s all in hearts and flowers for TechSmith, makers of the awesome that are Camtasia and Snagit.  Grant gets the award for Naming Only Companies That I <3, Too…and also for the Gratuitous Spork Mention. (He’s right you know.)

Tom LaRock ties Noel for Best Title for his blog: Worshipping Our Dark Overlords (way to put a demonic spin on the holiday of love, Tom!)  What Overlords, Tom? “What about Microsoft?”  Ohhhhh, yeah……

Note: Both Tom and Grant get the bonus award for Mild and Appropriate Sucking Up to Their Own Companies (Confio and Redgate , respectively). I highly approve of this sort of thing, and am utterly shocked that more people didn’t take the same opportunity.

Okay, I’ll finally be a little bit committal: I, too, think that Pragmatic Works, SQL Server Central, Redgate, and TechSmith are Doing It Right. We’ve talked some about these companies on our DBAs@Midnight webshow…..and we will keep on talking.

There’s a lotta love on this internet. Thanks for sharing, guys!

-Jen McCown
http://www.MidnightDBA.com/Jen