To participate in the program, simply complete and submit the
very brief registration form. You
will receive a tracking tool (a spreadsheet that you can use
with Microsoft® Excel®, OpenOffice Calc, or IBM
Lotus® Symphony) with which you can record your
progress. If you are a current or past developerWorks author,
your tracking tool will be pre-filled with your eligible
publishing history, based on our records.
The dW author program recognizes publishing achievement and
does not offer monetary awards, and is not affiliated with any
compensation program. Your participation in the dW author
program has no bearing on whether or not you are compensated
for your published work, and vice versa.
Sorry, no. The dW author program is intended to recognize
contributions to developerWorks, so only original
contributions that are published first in developerWorks are
applicable. Content initially published elsewhere (including
book excerpts), podcasts on other sites, your personal blog,
and so on, are not applicable. Similarly, IBM-based content
that is not published on developerWorks, including Redbooks,
Technotes, Information Center entries, IBM Press books, and so
on, cannot be applied to the program.
No. All eligible content published in any technology zone (such
as Java™, XML, Web development) or brand zone (such as
Lotus®, Rational®, WebSphere®) will count
for the program.
Sorry, no. Because many articles cover several topics and
products, we often spotlight an article in multiple areas of
the site to make it accessible to the widest audience, but the
article is still only published once.
You don't have to wait to sign up for the program before you
submit article proposals to developerWorks. In fact, your past
publications from the last five (5) years also apply for the
program, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
After you register, you will receive a tracking tool that will
be pre-filled with your eligible past contributions, based on
our records. You can add your future publications to the
tracking tool in the same format.
Due to changes that have occurred over time to our content
management systems, it is possible that an item might not be
included on your history. If you believe the information we
generate about your past developerWorks contributions is
incomplete, simply add the missing information to the tracking
tool, and we will verify it along with all your other entries
during the confirmation process. Remember that a content item
must be an original developerWorks item, actively online, and
you must be an author or reviewer to receive publication
points for the article. Also, remember that articles published
prior to 2004 are not eligible.
If you have accumulated the minimum number of publication
points and fulfilled all the scope requirements needed to
achieve a dW author program designation, you will be awarded
the designation, provided you have published a content item on
developerWorks within the past 12 months. If you haven't
contributed to developerWorks in more than one year, then you
will be awarded the designation with your next published item.
This is an opportunity for past authors to re-establish their
presence on developerWorks.
Our records often include the names of technical reviewers, and
sometimes authors acknowledge their reviewers in an article.
For others, we will use the reference information you provide
in the tracking tool to verify these entries during the
confirmation process. The program instructions you receive
after you register will explain how to enter all items into
the tracking tool.
Responding to questions that result from your article goes
along with the territory of being a developerWorks author. All
authors should expect this to some degree, and so this effort
is included and reflected in the points that are awarded for
publishing content.
Yes, but not for the same article.
No. Because we are unable to accept every article or proposal
we receive for publication, you should only add an item to the
tracking tool after it has been published on developerWorks.
Unpublished or otherwise ineligible items that you enter on
your tracking tool will be deleted during the confirmation
process.
Contact your editor or the program administrator. If your
content is eligible to be included in the program, we will
instruct you on how to enter it in the tracking tool.
Because you track your own status, you will always know what
you need to do to reach the next achievement level by checking
the dashboard section of the tracking tool.
In addition to accumulating a minimum number of publication
points, you must also complete the scope requirements
associated with the designation.
We will generate your publishing history when you register for
the program.
Blogs, podcasts, chats, forums, and spaces are eligible
community activities. (If you wish to include forum and space
activity, you will need Version 2.0.0 (V200) of the tracking
tool, available mid-April 2009.)
All publication points are divided evenly between
co-authors.
No. For the purposes of the dW author program, a blog is
considered a single content item that is continually updated.
Therefore, publication points are divided equally between all
group members, as they are between co-authors of a technical
article.
The dW author program was developed to acknowledge the
contributions of individuals, and so the program contains
elements that require participants to demonstrate their
individual strengths. Of course, teaming is critical for
success in all aspects of our industry, and so the program
also contains elements that require working with
colleagues.
When you reach an achievement level, you will receive an e-mail
notification, an announcement on developerWorks, and a formal
certificate of achievement that specifies your designation.
You can use your new awarded title with your professional
credentials as a way to exhibit your accomplishment, promote
your expertise, and heighten your professional reputation. A
graphic badge that corresponds to your author designation will
be automatically appended to your author bio on future
developerWorks publications (after April 2009). Master Authors
will also receive an exclusive page on developerWorks
highlighting their publishing achievements.
This is a recognition program and does not offer monetary
awards.
The dashboard section of your tracking tool displays the number
of publication points you have earned and the scope
requirements you have completed, and also counts down the
remaining items you have left to reach each achievement level.
When all the indicators for an achievement level reach 0, the
word “SUBMIT” will display. At that time, send your tracking
tool to the program administrator at dwaarp@us.ibm.com so we
can verify your data and confirm your achievement.
Because much of the publishing process is beyond an author's
control, there is no time limit during which you must complete
all the requirements for a particular achievement level. The
exception is that you must have published within the past 12
months to be awarded a designation.
You can enter updates into your tracking tool at any time. You
do not need to notify us each time you publish a new article
or if you wish to add items that were not included in the
pre-filled data in your tracking tool. Send us your tracking
tool when the dashboard indicates that you have completed the
requirements for an achievement level.
The tracking tool is designed to make it easy for you to enter
your publication information as accurately as possible. Still,
mistakes can happen. If we find errors or discrepancies in
your tracking tool during the confirmation process, we will
notify you, correct the errors, and return the tracking tool
to you so you can continue.
Yes. However, if your article was published on the
developerWorks worldwide site in English and then translated
for the dW China site, you can enter information for EITHER
the English article OR the Chinese article into your tracking
tool, but not both. Whichever article you choose, please enter
the English title of the article in your tracking tool.
It doesn't, unless we revoke your designation according to the
terms and conditions of the program.
Please keep contributing! There are ongoing plateaus beyond
Master Author. For every additional 100 publication points you
accumulate, you achieve another Master Author level. For
example, after you have earned a total of 300 publication
points, you will have achieved Master Author, Level 2; after
400 points, Master Author, Level 3, and so on.
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