I'm blogging live from the Denver VMUG event, and I must say, the vibe here is one of the strongest I've felt at a regional event in quite a while.  There is an all-star cast of characters including (but not limited to) Eric Siebert, Scott Lowe, John Troyer, and Andi Mann.  I had the morning keynote slot to kick off the event after a great introduction by John Troyer.  I even managed to unveil my new Grillin' hat, which my wife absolutely despises, making it that much more compelling to wear.

"Social Media" has quite rapidly become the go-to buzzword for marketing professionals everywhere.  I see a lot of similarities in how the term is used to how "Cloud Computing" has become the default initiative in almost every datacenter.  Everyone is talking about it, it has different meanings depending on who you ask, most of the people who claim they are experts simply aren't, etc.  Over the last 9-12 months I've often been tapped on the shoulder at work, by family, and in conversations with other IT professionals to help describe exactly what Social Media is and how it's best used.

One of the first misconceptions that I often have to debunk is that Social Media = Twitter + Facebook.  These technologies are just a part of the "Social Media" umbrella, and arguably, are the most popular, but by no means are they all-inclusive to the concept of Social Media.  The amount that I was asked to define Social Media ultimately made me stop and analyze just how I personally use Social Media as a Software Professional, Author, and all-around geek.

• I share photos and updates of my personal life with my family members across the country
• I connect with other IT professionals to build and maintain relationships and share ideas
• I capture customer feedback about market conditions or software solutions that I deliver

Over the past 2 months, I've been silently working in the background on analyzing the VMGuru.com brand, where it has been, and ultimately, where it needs to be to share the information I continue to gain.  I wanted a simple and clean interface that allows me to talk virtualization, general technology, and travel without being overly distracting or confusing to readers.  I still feel I have a little bit of CSS adjustment to do, but I wanted to finally officially launch VMGuru.com V4.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be updating and revising the old content from the previous version fo the site, and ensuring the most recent details are available.  In addition, I'll be going through BOTH of the Advanced Technical Design Guides, and chapter by chapter, will be releasing updated information on each section as it relates to the current state of VMware, and the cloud and virtualization market as a whole.  This will essentially allow me to "rewrite" the ATDG's and keep them updated in the optimal way possible for the time that I have available, and in a way that is meaningful and useful to the community.

The great part about the relaunch is that I do not have to continue to tackle VMGuru.com content alone.  I've managed to ring in the assistance of Mattias Sundling (Who still needs a cool nickname.  He's Swedish if that helps.  Feel free to leave recommendations in the comments below).  We should also see some submissions from Scott Polly, who still has yet to provide a bio for the site, so I'm not even going to pretend that he's cool enough for a nickname yet.

Please welcome the new contributors, and keep watching the site for new information as we shift towards a more dynamic datacenter through 2011 and into 2012.