Many of you have first hand experience of our phenomenal sql community (affectionately labelled the #sqlfamily).

Your first encounter with it may have been quite subtle. Perhaps you were surprised by the generosity and willingness with which help can be found? Maybe it was that first SQL Saturday you attended? However you first experienced the power of the community, one thing is for sure and that is the spark which it ignites within you. You felt the buzz, experienced the camaraderie and could taste that there was more, a whole lot more, to this sql stuff. Something great and you wanted a slice of the action.

For those new to the event, #mememonday is the community creation of Thomas LaRock (Blog|Twitter), the driving force of which is to encourage the SQL community to put virtual pen to paper. This months theme “What do you want to do for your #sqlfamily in 2012?”

Successful communities are about relationships. All good relationships need a healthy balance of give and take in order to really flourish. Taking from the community is the easy bit! Maybe you attended a free webinar or the free community day at SQLBits where all the speakers generously give their expertise and time solely for your benefit. Maybe you read a blog post that showed you how to resolve your issue, or perhaps a flurry of experts promptly answered your query on Twitter(#SQLHELP). I bet if you think about it, you’ve probably taken quite a bit from the community. I know I sure have.

Here’s what I will be doing to give back to our #sqlfamily, what I will do for you in 2012.

• Reply to ALL of your emails – I will continue to reply to all of your emails. To answer your queries and to provide the advice you seek. Although I can’t vouch for the quality of said advice I will always give you my genuine and honest opinion. Sometimes, with your permission of course, I share your emails and my replies to them here on the blog.
• Say Thank You More – I endeavour to show gratitude, to appreciate and to thank my fellow family members more. It requires such a tiny amount of effort to say thank you to a forum reply, in a blog post comment or a to send a quick email note but it means such a great deal more to it’s recipient.
• Blog SQL Differently – Blogging about SQL Server often means content with a technical focus. It does not always have to be though! There’s so much more than “T-SQL Tips” and “How To” blog posts. I promise to continue to Blog, to share my honest thoughts and opinions with our family. To continue to attack topics that others have yet to challenge. To look at things differently and to share content that is fresh, unique and different.
• Be A Forum Champion – One of my favourite ways to share with our #sqlfamily is through the various sql forums, particularly MSDN and Stackoverflow. To be a trusted voice that takes pride in not only answering your questions but doing so in polite and courteous fashion. Forum etiquette has been loitering around in the dumps of late in my view(maybe a post is needed on this) and the best way to clean it up is to lead by example, to champion the cause.

The very best thing about our #sqlfamily is that it keeps on giving. Let’s make sure it stays that way! What do you want to do for your #sqlfamily in 2012?

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