My talk for SWARM Conference on building effective community teams is going to be looking at teams like you're creating characters and an adventuring party for an RPG. Really enjoying putting this deck together!

Art is by the excellent @penflowerink

Conference info here: https://swarmconference.com.au/

#RPGs #TTRPG #CMGR

I love seeing the community submit PRs for new #OpenSearch events! Wish the wifi on the train was better so I could push this out quicker. #cmgr #opensource

Interesting read from David Spinks: https://davidspinks.substack.com/p/should-you-ditch-your-community-job

#CMGR #CommunityManager #CommunityManagement

“During the BLM protests … I’m really paraphrasing here but [a prominent white man in the community industry] effectively said community is going to be the solution to discrimination such as racism. I actually just responded to him and said, ‘It’s also the thing that’s currently perpetuating it.’ ... The KKK meets up every week. That’s a community.” –Faisa Mohamed

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/holding-communities-for-community-professionals-to-a-higher-standard/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CMGR #CommunityManager

“If a community’s doing something or has become something, it’s the fault of the community manager, effectively. Either you were rewarding or recognizing the wrong behaviors or something else happened along the line. It doesn’t just happen overnight, and it also doesn’t mean that you’re stuck there. ... You’re never beholden to the direction you’re heading in at that moment.” -Timo Tolonen

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/imdbs-message-boards-and-why-trolls-dont-force-communities-to-close/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CMGR #CommunityManager

Being a parent can make you feel so mediocre as a professional.

I've been a Dad for 10 months now, and it's very rewarding. But it can really impact how you look at yourself and your career. The way that it has fragmented my focus has made me question my abilities.

A thread:

#Parenting #Dads #WorkLifeBalance #ChildCare #Careers #Children #Parents #Productivity #TimeManagement #SelfWorth #ImposterSyndrome #Doubt #CMGR

From February 2017: “A lot of the work that I did at Kickstarter was intensely product-focused. … Sometimes when I tell people that I actually really deeply enjoy working on product, they seem surprised that, coming from community, I would necessarily have those desires. ... [But if you are growing a community,] you're going to have to build solutions, and those solutions often are going to take the form of product.” -Cindy Au

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/bringing-community-to-the-executive-meetings/

#CommunityManager #CMGR #Product

“In the community space, we have classes, seminars and certifications. The important thing is never to think that those things are going to get you a job. Look at them as something that helps you enrich yourself and adds to what you know as a professional. Because the reality is, if you name any community resource that has [paid educational products], they mean nothing to hiring managers.” -@patrickokeefe

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/the-career-ceiling-in-online-community-management/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CommunityManager #CMGR

“Don’t be scared of your community. And don’t be scared of what they might say. Even libraries sometimes are. … But a lot of organizations are sometimes afraid of what they might get. … ‘What if 20 customers say, “Well, this new coffee shop’s coffee tastes horrible!”‘ The answer to that would be make your coffee better. Gee whiz, you just got great feedback on a product. Make it better!” -@davidleeking

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/how-libraries-build-safe-inclusive-community-spaces/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CMGR #Libraries #Library

“If you are working with people, and you can’t get into their headspace and figure out what it is that’s motivating them, what their needs are, what they’re struggling with, then you’re never really going to be an adequate community professional, because you’re not able to see things through the eyes that you are trying to serve.” -Lindsay Starke

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/the-skill-of-empathy/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CommunityManager #CMGR #CommunitySignal

Really happy to launch a leaderboard for the #OpenSearch #community. Points are awarded for engaging with the community, such as visiting, liking, and posting. Check it out, and come join us 😀 #cmgr
https://forum.opensearch.org/leaderboard

“[When it comes to hiring community professionals,] there’s a fine line between what [companies] can afford and want to afford.” –Angela Connor

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/the-community-manager-you-think-you-cant-afford/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CMGR #CommunityManager #CommunitySignal

“One September, AOL put 3 million people online without any kind of instruction about what the norms were, and that was called ‘the September that never ended’ because it was no longer possible for the people who had been online to educate the newcomers about norms.” -@hrheingold

More on Eternal September (which Mastodon has experienced its own version of): https://www.communitysignal.com/the-howard-rheingold-episode/

#OnlineCommunities #CommunityManagement #CMGR #CommunityManager #AmericaOnline #EternalSeptember #Mastodon

the life of a #CommunityManager

#cmgr

Work can hurt, especially if we support online groups or communities. When we bring people together, we have to handle other people's anger, distress, or more.

This thoughtful article helps explain the impact of managing online groups and communities and the health and wellbeing risks in handling toxic and harmful content and behaviour

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/16/whats-it-like-when-your-job-involves-wading-through-others-suffering-i-was-left-weeping-and-hopeless

#cmgr #communitymanagement #communitymanagers #moderation #ugc #vicarioustrauma #burnoutprevention

“[With vendors that serve our community’s niche], we made the really hard decision to say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to let you in the forum anymore.’ ... What we found was, it was hard for people to talk candidly about some of the major tools they used in their business, when representatives from those companies could jump in and make things, at a minimum, awkward or, in the worst case, contentious.” -@youderian

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/how-to-build-a-paid-private-online-community-with-staying-power/

#OnlineCommunities #Membership #CommunityManager #CMGR

Online communities can be part of telehealth.

“To put it simply, telehealth is … anything where healthcare is being impacted by a patient and an actor that are not in the same location. That includes a video, that includes transmissions of information, asynchronous messaging, [and] remote patient monitoring.” –Denzil Coleman

▶️https://www.communitysignal.com/how-telehealth-provides-more-efficient-healthcare-for-patients-and-providers-and-the-role-online-communities-can-play/

#OnlineCommunities #Telehealth #Healthcare #CommunityManagement #CMGR #CommunitySignal #CommunityManager

This is for everyone who wants to join, but it's especially good for my EU followers.
2023 Community Manager Unconference [Hybrid]
Bringing Community people together to galvanize failures and share successes to solve our challenges.
#CommunityManager #cmgr #communitymanagement https://rdar.li/Oej45Bb

Both of my guests will be unable to make it to #cmgrlive.
If you want to join us as a Guest, today's topic is an easy one. It will be an open-ended Self-Improvement discussion.
DM me if you are willing and available at 2 pm ET today.
#CommunityManager #cmgr #communitymanagement

This is for everyone who wants to join, but it's especially good for my EU connections.
2023 Community Manager Unconference [Hybrid]
Bringing Community people together to galvanize failures and share successes to solve our challenges.
#CommunityManager #cmgr #communitymanagement https://rdar.li/Oej45Bb