Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: Just ahead of the new school year, Microsoft and its nonprofit partner Code.org took to Twitter to recruit teens for Microsoft's inaugural Makecode Insiders Program. Microsoft MakeCode is a code platform that allows kids to write programs for a wide variety of applications even if they have little or no previous coding experience; there's also a College Board-endorsed MakeCode AP CS curriculum, which can earn high school students college credit... MakeCode Insiders, Microsoft adds, will be recognized for completing key milestones with badges, including MakeCode Influencer ("This badge is earned when a MakeCode Wizard is chosen to represent our product to teens on social media."). MakeCode Influencers, Microsoft explains, "are teens who have graduated from the Insiders program and are selected to represent MakeCode on social media in various forms... Insider applications are due today, kids! This is Microsoft's first time running the "Insider" program, and the guidebook promises the larger program's Insiders "will focus on MakeCode Arcade, a coding editor for retro-style video games, offering feedback and ideas that will inform product decision."

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