The Linux Foundation announced the Top Five 2011 Linux Gurus — the members who contributed the most to the Linux.com community over the last year. This year's winner is Matthew Fillpot, who will receive a “Dream Linux Machine” and, like the other winners, an invitation to next week's Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit.

The Linux Foundation (LF) launched the Ultimate Linux Gurus contest in Jan. 2010 when it opened its Linux Jobs Board on Linux.com. The contest is intended to let Linux.com visitors earn points from various site activities that count toward a higher ranking as a "Linux Guru." 

Each year, the LF's Linux.com community website gives the top-scoring guru the title of "Ultimate Linux Guru," a prize that includes a variety of gifts and honors, says the LF. This year's winner is Matthew Fillpot (pictured).

The Linux Gurus program totals points earned from Feb. 16 through Feb. 15 of each year, a period during which more than 500 community blogs and 4500 message board posts were published on Linux.com, says the LF. More than 2,600 comments were posted to articles, blogs and boards, and nearly 700 answers were provided to questions posed by the community, says the non-profit Linux advocacy organization.

This year's most active Linux.com contributors and 2011 Linux.com Gurus are:

• Ultimate Linux Guru: Matthew Fillpot (mfillpot) — A Linux user since 2000, Fillpot is a development and training specialist at an international travel company. He was ranked among the Top Five Linux.com Gurus in 2010, and has been a Linux.com moderator since early 2009. Fillpot will receive a fully loaded "Dream Linux Machine" as his prize.
• Linux Guru: Aaron Aceves (adnhack) — A software engineer at Softek, Acves says he was "born to be a geek," and that he "likes Linux, tech, coding and Mustangs."
• Linux Guru: Andrea Benini (ben) — Benini has been a systems administrator for nearly 20 years and today holds that title, along with the title of product manager, at Pluriservice.
• Linux Guru: Shane Hatcher (ShaneH57) — Hatcher is a student and fire department volunteer who plans to be a Linux systems administrator after graduation.
• Linux Guru: Istimsak Abdulbasir (saqman2060) — Abdulbasir is a self-proclaimed "tech enthusiastic" and a Linux.com moderator.

The Top Five Gurus will receive invitations to attend the invitation-only Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in San Francisco on Apr. 6-8, where they will participate in the annual Linux.com Planning Meeting, says the LF. Each will also receive digital Guru badges, and can list their awards on their resumes.

According to IT career website Dice.com, job postings asking for Linux knowledge are up 47 percent year-over-year, says the LF.

Stated Matthew Fillpot, the 2011 Ultimate Linux.com Guru, "By contributing to the site, I am able to help others learn about Linux while picking up new tips for myself — all while putting my skills on display."

Stated Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs, the Linux Foundation, "The 2011 Linux.com Gurus are gaining an important recognition that can help them market their skills in an increasingly lucrative and competitive area of IT: Linux development and administration."

Availability

More information may be found at the Linux.com Linux Gurus program page. The Top 50 Linux.com Linux Gurus are showcased here.

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.