If you follow me on Twitter you know that I spent most of the day at the Social Media Business Forum. Actually I am still here. I am sitting in the second to last row at the Blogger Relations panel with Lucretia Pruitt, Ilina Ewen and Kelby Carr. It has been a really good conference so far.
I attended a session earlier today on Building and Managing an Online Community with panelists Patrick OKeefe, author of Managing Online Forums Laurie Smithwick of Kirtsy and Ryan Boyles.
During that session I commented during a question I asked that you are not a community manager until you have dealt with trolls who threaten to bomb your car. That was re-tweeted quite a bit and even called the tweet of the day, by Gregory Ng.
But the thing is, I am dead serious. My issue is the casual use of the title “community manager” that now somehow encompasses customer service reps and anyone who monitors a brand on twitter or creates and manages a facebook fan page. Yes, you are reaching out and even communicating with the community but that is not enough.
Until you have been in the depths of this craft by nurturing and growing the community, reaching out to influencers, contributing massive amounts of content, dealing with relentless trolls and working hard to be an advocate of the community to bosses who may not necessarily understand what your work entails, I am not going to acknowledge you as a community manager.
There are many of us who take this work seriously and are put to task on a daily basis dealing with all that comes our way. And it is not pretty.
Laurie Smithwick answered my question saying that people like us need to hunker down and just do what we do and it will all be clear in the end.
We are still in the very early days of social media and this is going to happen so I really need to just get over it. But right now, I find it annoying. I will hunker down next month.
For complete coverage of the Social Media Business Forum, search the hashtag #smbf. I also have a few photos on Flickr.
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11 comments
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October 23, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Jill
This is so true – one who is a community manager is committed to developing the community and not just “using” it for business or brand purposes. There are customer service roles that are relevant but they aren’t the same roles.
October 24, 2009 at 12:02 am
HeatherO
LOL! Love your honesty Angela, and I feel your pain! Words do matter. This is all new, and therefore the terminology is as well.
Unfortunately too many people are trying to ‘leverage’ social media to make a quick buck and are picking whatever label will get them there. For others, like myself, it is the balance between finding a term that clarifies what we are really passionate about, and the value that we strive to provide, and a term that people can understand!
In any case, in the past few days I saw a tweet from someone that they were “going to speak on social media at ___Real estate office” who had NO photo, or bio and had less than 100 followers! Then a ‘new media agency’ with few followers AND had not tweeted since mid-september! Today I came across a ‘social media agency” with 9 followers on twitter!
Point is, real difference makers aren’t a label, they create results. And when it doubt, it’s pretty easy to look online and see who is making a real difference.
And most importantly, your community knows:)
So, hunker or no hunker, hold the torch high , and carry on my friend!
October 24, 2009 at 11:39 am
Richard Millington
I don’t think community manager is unique in this.
Millions of people call themselves writers, journalists, consultants, travellers and plenty of titles without the proper credentials.
I don’t think it’s essentially a bad thing. It’s forced people to educate themselves about the different levels within those fields and judge people accordingly.
Personally, I hope many more people begin calling themselves community managers. Soon, everyone will be forced to learn what constitutes a good and bad community manager.
…and that can only be good news for you Angela.
October 24, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Angela Connor
You raise good points, Rich. I can always count on you to come through with a different perspective to make me think a bit further. You’re right. Community manager is not unique to this and it immediately makes me think about the ‘journalist vs. blogger’ issue as well as the citizen journalism issue. I believe that citizens can perform ‘acts of journalism’ but I know that it takes training and practice to be a real journalist…
It probably is a good thing for the craft on some levels. I still hate to see it abused. I don’t want it to be diluted, that’s where I’m coming from but as it continues perhaps those who are really doing it will emerge as the experts. thanks for sharing your thoughts.
October 24, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Angela Connor
Hi Heather. Good to see you here. I think we are still at the very beginning and everyone is trying everything. I heard of someone charging $1,500 to teach individuals how to use facebook. It’s hard to watch when you have integrity but I am trying to accept that people do things differently, some are only after $$ and all of this talk about authenticity is garbage coming out of the mouths of some who scream it from the mountaintop. I don’t think that twitter is the only gauge of social media understanding but you should at least have a presence in the space if you are going to teach others.
I am become increasingly annoyed at the level of contradiction and hypocrisy, but that’s another post for another day.
October 24, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Angela Connor
Well, said Jill. Well said!
October 24, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Brinstar
Well-said.
October 26, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Frank Reed
Well said Angela. I would be curious how many people you think have that kind of “roll up your sleeves and do it” experience in these early stages of Social media?
What would you say are the true characteristics of a community manager?
Is it because we are SO early in this game that everyone can be an expert? Social media is playing out like search marketing has over the years.
Thanks to Wayne Sutton for pointing me here. Great work.
October 26, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Angela Connor
Hi there Frank: Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective. You ask an interesting question. I don’t know how many people are in the roll-up your sleeves roll but there are many of us! Particularly in branded communities. I would say that a community manager is responsible for a certain space, cultivating and growing that space. Relaying the stories that demonstrate ROI, being an advocate for the community and a huge content contributor. They have their finger on the pulse of the community, people know who they are and they yield a great amount of influence. The success or failure of the community is largely based on their efforts and planning. I can go on. But I think you’d like me to stop, for now.
October 28, 2009 at 10:33 am
ileaneb
Angela,
Thanks for your insights on what the “job” entails. I am new at this and trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible. I will follow up on the resources that you have shared and hope to gain a better understanding of my role.
Thanks – Ileane
October 29, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Angela Connor
Hi Ileane: Congrats on jumping into the community manager role. I’d love to chat with you anytime about your experiences. And please feel free to contact me if you think I can be of assistance.