Meet Your Windows Central Ambassadors

[Muessig]

Well deserved, congrats TechFreak1!

 

[TechFreak1]

It's all good RumouredNow and I thought I was overly dramatic :winktongue: :grincry: lol.

Congratulations gpobernardo & pankaj981 on the transition to the moderator team

Ashish - Sorry to see another fellow ambassador go .

Chintan Gohel, realwarder, Mad Cabbie, and charlatan1978 - welcome, looking forward to working you with all .

 

[Mad Cabbie]

Hi all. I'm Chris, aka The Mad Cabbie. I'm new to this ambassador role, and I am still finding my feet! Hopefully, I'll get a grip on things quickly, and be able to offer some kind of assistance, should someone want to pick my somewhat cloudy brain.

I'm a 46 yr young, father of four, who tries his best to keep the kids fed and watered. Not cheap when they range from 18 months (Yeah, I know, but the TV remote went missing ) to 17!! I am also, despite being BiPolar, an optimist. I like where W10 is heading, and I do enjoy a bumpy ride, providing the destination is worthy. I'm not the most technically minded, but willing to help out where possible.

I, like many, have jumped into the Windows Ecosystem full bore. I run a small taxi company in the UK, and all of our devices, both mobile and workstation, are 10'd up. Why Windows? Well, it's basically reliability. They do everything I need, without breaking the bank. This means my drivers are less vulnerable on the road, and the Cortana system is a god send. The drivers are completely hands free, and the office staff can send jobs out using the workstation Cortana to individual drivers. This, again, saves me a fortune on full taxi job allocation software, which is pretty expensive, when you add in data heads in the cars. My kids all have Lumias. My younger two can be 'kept' an eye on using the find my phone feature in w10m, along with being able to monitor their usage with MS family. Again, this is good news for me as my youngest boy is autistic and a) can disappear from a locked room, b) doesn't quiet grasp what is an appropriate website C) even if he mutes his phone, I can get it to ring at full volume!! A great feature by MS.

So there you are. That's why I am wrapped up in Windows. It just works for me. We tried Android, but it never felt cohesive and iOS is just too damned expensive, and both of those OS's leave the drivers open to the less desirable sector of modern society.

So that's me. Probably more than you need to know, but hey, I like to be straight up, and give you an insight into why I think W10 is heading in the right direction.

 

[11B1P]

Get ready to give up any free time you had. WPC will expect alot from you.

 

[RumoredNow]

Get ready to give up any free time you had. WPC will expect alot from you.

Thank you for your concerns.

Let me state clearly that Ambassadors are all volunteers. The position is seen by many as an honor and a privilege. No one has any contractual obligation and our Ambassadors are free to retire at any point they choose.

Visibility on the board is important for an Ambassador and it is astute of you to have noticed. As I say in the preamble (OP), we look to Ambassadors to "Be visible and active" among other criteria.

How could it be otherwise? The Oxford English Dictionary has this to say about the word Ambassador:

a person who acts as a representative or promoter of a specified activity

To represent and promote, one must be visible as a necessity. They must have a presence. For this reason, when considering candidates some of the criteria we look at include how active they have naturally been over the long haul. We want Ambassadors who have shown as Members that they love coming to this site and participating in it anyway. The types of posts they make also help as well as any number of intangibles that might make them stand out above the crowd.

And that really is the key. It is felt that they are outstanding community participants even before a position as Ambassador is offered to them.

The fact that you have noticed so much activity from Ambassadors is a compliment. It means the system is working. It means the Ambassadors are getting out there and doing their thing. They volunteer for this. Every day they get the satisfaction of feeling that they have contributed to the community of Windows users.

I am going to take your statement as positive feedback that my Team is making that difference. That they are being "visible and active" and engaging our members and guests. In a way it is a vote of confidence in the Team and how it operates.

I'm also going to state publicly here for benefit of Members and Ambassadors alike... I promise that it is always voluntary to perform the duties of Ambassador, that anyone can retire at the time of their choosing and receive nothing but gratitude for their efforts. Certainly we never disparage anyone for having other priorities that might prevent them from completing their duties as Ambassador. On the contrary, the entire Team seems to rally around each other and wish nothing but the best for past and current Teammates no matter their status as Ambassador or Retired. Yes there are criteria and as a Team Leader I have to evaluate whether or not those criteria are being met, but I also understand that life has other priorities beyond a tech forum. I'm ready to acknowledge that and honor it at a moment's notice. If an Ambassador ever expresses to me that they have demands on their time that keep them away from the site, I want to work with them to not feel guilty or obligated, to help get them over a rough patch. Sometimes they take a hiatus and then continue on with their Ambassador duties. Sometimes the other obligations are so large and lengthy that retirement is in order. There is no shame in it. It's understandable by one and all, or should be.

There is honor in serving, or having served, no matter the length of service.

I've learned from my predecessor in the post of Ambassador Team Leader, Muessig, and also from our very professional Community Manager, James Falconer that this understanding and flexibility is key to good leadership on a team built completely of volunteers. Further, that it is something practiced from the top down. It's institutionalized.

One last word. Should any Ambassador feel "abused" it should be evident and understood that appeals can be made to the Moderator Team Leader or Community Manger who, in my opinion, would both gladly look into anything brought to them and seek the best possible resolution for all involved.

11B1P, I'm always happy to hear from members, especially ones who are known to be as helpful as your post history clearly reveals you to be. I hope I've addressed any concerns you might have.

Should you wish to discuss this further I am always available via PM. Additionally you should feel free to PM Muessig (the Moderator Team Leader) or James Falconer (Mobile Nations Community Manager) if you would be uncomfortable having a discussion with me.


Sincerely,
RumoredNow
Windows Central
Ambassador Team Leader

 

[11B1P]

No need to try and explain the role of the Ambassadors. I was one for a while, until the requirements to write articles and other duties beyond the role of Ambassador became excessive. Heck, maybe you've cut back on the requirements expected.

 

[RumoredNow]

No need to try and explain the role of the Ambassadors. I was one for a while, until the requirements to write articles and other duties beyond the role of Ambassador became excessive. Heck, maybe you've cut back on the requirements expected.

This thread is about Ambassadors and since your post addressed being an Ambassador and how much they do, I put something out for the public record, since that would be an Ambassador Team Leader function.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Hi,

My name as it says in the username is Chintan, I'm an electrical & electronic engineer in Kenya, just finished my course, waiting to graduate. I currently live in Nairobi, wonderful, exciting fast moving city. I used to live in Mombasa for over 20 years. Right now I work full time, Monday to Friday (7:30 to 4:30) and Saturday (7:30 to 7:30 the next day) and occasionally Sunday day shift when needed

Recently I got the curiosity and passion to try new things and so I am currently using the windows 10 mobile insider preview on my Lumia 1020. I had tried using windows 10 insider on my surface 3 but that's my personal pc and the issues were bugging me at that time. I have also tried using office insider but after I reset my brothers pc, I never signed up for it again

So other things about me: I'm happy to help, have always been, especially when I was in school. Whether it was maths or Physics or any other subject. I like helping since there have been many that have helped me and I like spreading that feeling.

My experience with technology has varied a lot. I currently have a lumia 1020 (which I half won, more about that below), a surface 3 (which I did win), a HP envy m4 which my brother bought for both of us, a finally dead hp pavilion 9723ca (17 inch, the best laptop I have had), Samsung tab 2 (which I won, gave it to my parents), ASUS fonepad (which I won, gave it my brother) and Coloud boom headphones (which I won)

From the post above, you can see I like winning new stuff. :winktongue:

A couple of years back, I entered in a local Here maps mapping competition. Simply the most edits to Here maps would net the winner a lumia 1020. I made 18500 edits which was more than the total edits made by all other competitors combined. Clearly I was the winner. The Nokia Europe team decided to send me a 820 which was not what I wanted. Argued for a couple of weeks but no budging. So I took the 820, sold it, added more money from my savings and bought myself the 1020. One of the best decisions I made.

I've been on the windows central forums since I enrolled into windows 10 mobile insider version 10512. So a few months really.

I'm happy to help as I said because helping means I learn something new and I like learning new things.

My perspectives are from an emerging country and I hope that means I can bring new thoughts and ideas

that's it for now

For sure one thing I can say right now is that there is a lot to read and digest.

Update: lumia 1020 got stolen in June

 

[RumoredNow]

A couple of changes today...

Mad Cabbie is retiring from his Ambassador duties. He has a very excellent reason: his business is booming and it is taking up a lot of his time, along with his thriving family. We wish him continued success and happiness. On a personal note, I always enjoyed Chris's good humor and the way he got in there and helped people while keeping a great attitude of promoting the platform. As a recent convert to W10M he made a big splash here at WC and moved onto the Ambassador Team rather quickly. Chris, I look forward to seeing you around the boards still as your time permits.

Pleas join me in wishing him well by posting below...


Indistinguishable will be stepping up to Senior Ambassador. He has been an Ambassador for a long time and has helped many users with his know how and helped out around the place a lot. We expect more great things from him in the months to come and it is a well earned promotion. Look for him just about anywhere across the forums as his interests have proven very broad. He is one of those Verizon subscribers, but don't hold that against him. :winktongue:

Please join me in congratulating him by posting below...

 

[ven07]

Whoot welcome to the big show indistinguishable (it's not that big)..

Sad to see the cabber go, but business is business all the best to you sir

 

[Muessig]

Chris - Best wishes for your business, maybe we'll see you back when things calm down.

Indistinguishable - well deserved!

 

[RumoredNow]

Lots of changes...

Some time ago, ven07 left off being a Senior Ambassador to become a Moderator on this forum. He's a great guy and we are lucky to still have him around our pages. Y'all mind him now, ya hear.

Ed Boland had family and business duties that took up all his time. Getting his retirement through was delayed for various reasons, but he stepped down to handle things. Ed, we miss seeing you around, buddy...

libra89 became an Ambassador today. You've all seen her filling our threads with knowledge and good humor. Please wish her well in her new role. Likewise gordonfink who brings a lot of hardware knowledge to the Ambassador role. We expect great things from him. And abhishek singh21 also joins the Ambassador team with his outstanding knowledge of the platform. Another fantastic addition.

Please leave your congratulations in the thread for our newest Ambassadors. They surely will appreciate it.

Lastly, I'm stepping away from the Ambassador Team Lead role due to a new job that takes up huge swaths of my time (busy in a good way). The new Big Cheese is Guytronic, whom you should all know from his long and exemplary service as a Moderator and all around great guy in the forums. Please welcome him below.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Hi and welcome to all the new folks. I know you will all do a great job! Congratulations!

 

[Guytronic]

Awesome news!
Looks like we have a great team in the dugout.
Congratulations to our new ambassadors and a large thank you to the current hardworking guys.
Ed keep pounding away in the big thread my friend you are one of our best members in good standing.

 

[zocster]

Awesome on the new selection. Great team.

Sent from mTalk on 950XL

 

[gordonfink]

Thanks folks for the welcome.

I started with hardware some years ago, as I have 3 kids who managed to break their iPhone 2G screens regularly. They were too expensive to do at a store, so I learned how to do it. Well, they have moved up over the years to breaking their iPhone 6 screens, so I get to do those too.

Wouldn't you know it - they had lots of friends with iPhones and Galaxies asking if I could save them 100's of dollars on repairs, so I did.

Over the years, I suppose I've repaired about every model of tablet and phone.

I first got into Windows Phones when I bought a 920 with a cracked screen, just to see if I could fix it. I was able to do that, and the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. I've been through 920, 640, 830, 640XL, 1520, HTC M8, 930, and now 950 as personal use phones, and seen the insides of most others.

There is plenty that I don't know, but there are some things I do know.

If you have a hardware question, please ask, PM, or whatever, and I'll try to help.

Thanks for the welcome to team - will do my best to chip in.

 

[libra89]

Thanks for the welcome everyone, I'm planning to do my best here and I'm glad to be a part of the team.

As for me, I entered the "madness" late into the game. Windows Phone was my first smartphone OS, thanks to the Lumia 521. The price was excellent and performance was nice too. I actually used our very own "Ask a Question" forum to do just that without making an account. Someone asked me to make an account and provide more info so here I am after lurking the site since sometime in late 2014.

As time went on, I grew to like this site and Windows Phone together, with the more that I learned each day. I then went on to a 640 after counting down the weeks until it would be released. I really liked that phone on 8.1. Currently not a fan on it on Windows 10 Mobile, so I picked up a 550 that I really like. I consider myself to be a chronic switcher of phones, but Windows 10 Mobile is my idealistic choice.

I really like to help and I hope that I can help with Windows 10 Mobile related inquires and whatever else I know somewhat.

 

[worldspy99]

Welcome libra89, abhishek singh 21 and gordonfink.
I am sure you will have a blast.

 

[worldspy99]

Also I needed to state that is has been "RumoredNow" that RT is stepping away from Ambassador Team Leader role. Thanks for all your efforts.
We are definitely in good hands with Guytronic. Congratulations on the promotion!

 

[James Falconer]

Agree with everything above. RT is such a great guy, happy that he's sticking with us as a moderator. Would be a shame to lose him altogether.

As for the new additions and Guytronic taking over, welcome to all, and congrats Guytronic!

Ed, we hope you still find the time to join us here. Thank you for all you've done and hope to see you around here as often as possible!