Databricks Monthly Spotlight - Discontinued?

[BS_THE_ANALYST]

Hi, 

I'm curious what's happened with the Databricks monthly spotlight? https://community.databricks.com/t5/databricks-community-innovators/bg-p/databricks-community-news-m... 

I can there hasn't been anyone in the spotlight since April 2025. Has the Community Cove been moved somewhere else and I'm looking at an old part of the website?

All the best,
BS

[szymon_dybczak]

Hi @BS_THE_ANALYST ,

Again, really good question. I think the program will continue, and current situation is temporary.

But in the coming days, I intend to send a proposal to the administration to change the approach to these programs - Monthly Spotlight and Community Innovators.
Recently, I have noticed dishonest behavior from some users: abusing the 'Best Answers' and 'Kudos' system to climb the ranking as quickly as possible, creating multiple accounts, and posting their own questions and answers.
This shows a complete lack of respect for users like you, @lingareddy_Alva , @Brahmareddy or @Isi  who have been active here for a long time and have been earning recognition in the community honestly.

We should build this community based on values such as sharing knowledge, honesty, and the willingness to help others -  not on cheating and using dishonest practices. And I believe that, to some extent, these programs are the reason for this behavior. People see a quick reward here - ‘I’ll cheat the system and become Community Member of the Month, and maybe later even an MVP.’ That’s why changes are needed, along with a more rigorous approach.

Because I'd love to see one of you guys at the next Monthly Spotlight, but given how it works now I'm afraid that cheating users have greater chance. Unfortunately...

[BS_THE_ANALYST]

@szymon_dybczak that gives me hope & motivation to put more time in.

It would be nice to see community moderators pitching in a little more. 

As you've mentioned, @szymon_dybczak, it's vital that we have integrity with the scoring system. I think the best part of this is that it's gamified. Prior to working with Data, I was a Professional Esports Player. It was demoralising to compete against cheaters. It rips the fun right out of the experience (and even more so when you want to take it serious). It undervalues the achievements/milestones we work towards.

I think we need a little more love with the badges that are available on the community. For instance, if we achieve certifications, these should be on our profile, it's a great achievement after all. It's really nice to check in/up on other community members and see how they're journey is going and how it's been! The profile page should really be able to highlight that. It should be motivating to click on someone else's profile and think, "I'd love to get to that one day". It's part of the fun.

I think there's a lot of things Databricks are doing amazing with i.e. the product & the velocity of updates/love with the product. I'd love to see a little more of that love on the community.

Can we get some initiatives that get more people active on the community? For instance, data challenges, where we all submit our solutions to the problem and learn from one another. I appreciate the academies i.e. customer/partner for learning, but it's pretty siloed, right.

Perhaps we have a Weekly Spotlight of a really interesting problem that was posed and highlight some of the solutions given by the community members to solve it?

Lots of exciting possibilities 😏.

All the best,
BS

[szymon_dybczak]

Really cool ideas, @BS_THE_ANALYST! I totally agree . I recently had a discussion with Mandy Ross (our new community engagement product manager), and I told her that I love our badge system and that we should introduce additional badges to make it more fun 🙂
Anyway, a bit of sidetopic but what g_ame did you play? Why did you quit? And how do you feel in the role of an analyst compared to your previous profession? 😄 

[Isi]

Hello @szymon_dybczak @BS_THE_ANALYST 

I wanted to personally respond and thank you for the feedback you gave about me and about the current situation of the community. I completely agree, and I also shared this with Mandy in a call.

I also wanted to point out that even the MVP system should go through changes… I find it a bit sad how complex the whole situation is when it comes to becoming an MVP. In my case, I know for a fact that I have been nominated twice and I never even received any consideration, and honestly, I’ve stopped trying.

In my work to improve Databricks:

• I contribute to the community by helping other users

• I was the first to present at a User Group in Spain, teaching other companies how to migrate to Unity Catalog

• Posts on Medium
• Working with different clients as a Databricks Lead (AWS and Azure)
• Day 0 bugs reportedPrivate previews, public previews
• Multiple issues reported to Databricks Support: Terraform, Clusters, UI, Access, performance…
• I have shared my product vision because Support, Customer Success, and Product teams have explicitly asked me to

Even so, I can’t even be a Champion because I’m a freelancer. It’s true that working with Databricks is great, but sometimes it feels a bit frustrating to see how some people just copy-paste on LinkedIn and get MVP badges, while honestly, I don’t have the time to spend the whole day on LinkedIn.

Thanks again,

Isi

[BS_THE_ANALYST]

@szymon_dybczak that's awesome! I'm excited about what's to come 👌. Nice to hear there's a community engagement product manager as well 👏.

I played "Apex Legends" professionally. I became one of the best in the world, which was no small feat; it took around 3 years to reach the top. I quit for two reasons: first, because I had a really unhealthy obsession with the g_ame. This amplifies when you're closer to the top as you've got a lot to lose in terms of credibility, so you push harder. It's not like most careers, as you're pretty much punished as you get older. Second reason was due to the integrity of the g_ame. I saw the g_ame declining as cheating was becoming more prevalent. The only way to enjoy the g_ame, in a pure sense, was to compete professionally, free from cheaters. The ranked & public system is riddled with cheaters who drain the enjoyment and instil many doubts.

In my new career, I'm really content. After "retiring" from gaming, I took time to think about the best sort of career. I settled on Data due to the many areas you can pursue and grow. I love that there are so many mediums to solve problems, each with its pros and cons. I love that you can continuously learn in this field and that there isn't a ceiling. I find the communities to be filled with passionate people & it's extremely motivating for me. All the time spent researching and learning ages well with time. You become a beacon of knowledge & this works well with age (unlike gaming where you suddenly fall off and become useless 😂). It's nice that you can plateau whenever you decide and leave work to just be work. 

That's my thoughts @szymon_dybczak. Now I get to learn from people like you in the community, which is equally as fun and motivating.

All the best,
BS

[Sujitha]

@szymon_dybczak, @Isi, @BS_THE_ANALYST, 

First, I want to say a huge thank you for the passion, ideas, and honesty you’ve shared here. It’s conversations like this that remind us how much value our members bring to the Databricks Community. The time, expertise, and heart you put into helping others, sharing knowledge, and improving the experience is truly what makes this space special.

I’ve read through all your points and wanted to respond to a few themes:

• Recognition programs – We hear you on the importance of integrity, transparency, and looking beyond just the leaderboard. I’m excited to share that our Monthly Spotlight will be resuming soon, and selection will not be based solely on points or rankings. We’ll be highlighting members across different forms of contribution — from answering questions and sharing solutions, to leading user groups, creating resources, and sparking great discussions.

• Badges & profiles – The idea of showcasing certifications and other achievements is a great one. We’ll explore how to bring more of this “inspiration factor” into member profiles so you can see (and celebrate) each other’s journeys.

• Community activities – Data challenges, weekly spotlights of interesting problems, and other collaborative learning formats are all in our idea bank. You’ll start seeing more of these as we look to make the Community not just a place for answers, but also for hands-on learning and fun.

• MVP/Champion program feedback – Your thoughts on fairness, accessibility, and recognition have been noted, and we’ll be reviewing these programs with these points in mind.

Thank you again for your continued participation and for helping us shape the future of this space. We’re lucky to have you here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can build together in the coming months.

Best Regards, 
Sujitha | Sr. Community Content Manager, Databricks

[szymon_dybczak]

Hi @Sujitha ,

Thank you, for joining the discussion and appreciating our work for the community. It’s very good news that you are planning changes in the recognition programs. In the coming days, I will try to share with you my suggestions on how to reduce unfair practices and increase user engagement. Because, I think part of the problem is that many people treat the community as a springboard to get the title. Some of them even cheat to get higher in the rankings and once they receive the title, their activity completely disappears.

And I can’t wait for the new community activities, sounds like a lot of fun is coming to us 🙂

[nayan_wylde]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful message, @szymon_dybczak  It’s clear you care deeply about the integrity and future of this community, and your insights are incredibly valuable.

@BS_THE_ANALYST You're absolutely right—recognition programs should celebrate genuine contributions, not just reward titles. The issue of people gaming the system for status and then disappearing is real, and addressing it will require both smarter program design and stronger community values.

[Sujitha]

@szymon_dybczak Thank you for your thoughtful feedback and for taking the time to share your perspective. We are also excited about the upcoming community activities and can’t wait for you to be part of them. Your continued involvement makes a real difference.Thanks again for your support and for helping us shape a better community. 

[MandyR]

Hi everyone! 👋 I am so excited to see so many passionate community members! Sujitha, myself and the team are working to invigorate the Community and have some great programs in development now as she described. Feel free to email me directly from my profile page if you have thoughts, ideas, or proposals! 

[TheOC]

Hi all,
I just wanted to jump in this thread to say how motivating this kind of conversation is. It's great that we've got passion from users and Databricks employees alike to ensure integrity in the Community - it's really reassuring as someone starting to invest more and more time into the platform. I would like to second that this is a concern of mine: I feel users should not be marking their own posts as solutions, and users should not be asking their friends to mark their posts. Gaming the system is cheating the Community.

I'm really glad to hear the Monthly spotlight will be returning. As someone relatively fresh to the Community, it's especially interesting to me to hear about other people's journey into Databricks and how they contribute. One idea that might be interesting is alongside the Monthly spotlight (or within the spotlight) would be giving some recognition to the new voices - who have started sharing strong contributions and encourage people to continue involvement in the Community.

As another ask: Please let us users know if there's anything we can provide to make this process easier for Databricks @MandyR / @Sujitha!