In the recent past I have actually been blogging a couple of times already about a special TweetChat event that takes place every Tuesday at noon EDT, called #KMers, where a bunch of Knowledge Managers, and other folks who may be potentially interested in knowledge sharing, collaboration and learning, amongst several other subjects, get together to talk about specific KM related topics during the course of one hour. There is already a list of upcoming events [Link here] that folks can check out, so that you can decide whether you would want to join or not. Or perhaps read through the chat transcripts at a later time over at the KMers Web site. I have been participating in a good bunch of them sharing some further insights myself, but, above all, learning plenty more from a whole bunch of really smart and rather talented knowledge workers, willing to share openly their knowledge, extensive experiences and inspiring stories. What a treat!
Sometimes though I *do* really like to take the opportunity to “save” some of those chat transcripts and bring them over here, in this blog, to have a bit more of a permanent home for them, specially, for those ones that surely hit one of my passions and that I would want to keep referencing back and forth because of the numerous golden nuggets they contained. Well, last week, we had another one of those… Check out ”Training Community Managers and Facilitators“.
This is one of those chat transcripts that would surely make for a wonderfully entertaining and educational reading for those folks who are Community Managers, Community Leaders, Community Facilitators or Community Builders, whatever term you would want to make use of. It would also be rather helpful to go through for those folks who may be interested in online communities in general and who would want to learn a lot more about how they operate them and what it is like being a community facilitator / builder.
Yes, Communities and Community Building have been two of my long term passions at work. From the first time I joined a community of CommunityBuilders 10 years ago, to today where I co-lead a bunch of them and participate in several dozens of them as a core team or regular community member. Having been involved with the deployment of a good number of community building programs inside the company, I cannot imagine what work would be like for me today without them. My work dwells around the communities I belong to. They are an extension of myself and the bunch of various social networks I hang out with. Time and time again I keep saying that communities (and networks! – they are not the same, by the way!) are the future of the workplace. Work will organise itself around them and eventually they will become, if not already!, *the* major drivers of social software adoption within the enterprise. They have been for the last five years, if you push me…
So it is not really a surprise this sudden interest in communities and community management (A wording I’m not very much in favour of, by the way; rather prefer community facilitation, because that’s what it is all about… facilitating the conversations to take place amongst community members). Communities have been operating inside (and outside!) companies for decades and they will continue to do so for many more decades to come, what’s happening now is that we finally have got the right community tooling that can help accommodate the needs of even the most complex of communities out there to deliver whatever business outcomes they may have proposed for themselves. Something that in the past we may have fallen short of it time and time again.
That’s the kind of impact that Social Networking and Social Software tools are having with regards to how online communities engage both inside and outside of the firewall. That’s the main reason why both communities and these social tools are here to stay. That’s why every business cannot deny, nor neglect, the existence of those communities and, instead, they should help facilitate the proper environment for them to flourish, mature and be self-sustainable, so that they themselves can help the business move into the next level: help, converse and engage, in a true meaningful way, with your customers. Amongst several other things …
That’s why I thought I would share with you folks today the copy of the chat transcript from last week’s KMers TweetChat, where people, who would want to learn more about successful community facilitation, would have an opportunity to learn plenty more from those folks who have been doing community building for a while. There will be plenty of gems shared along, so to help you speed read a bit, I have marked in bold some of the most interesting tweets that were shared across, so that you would have a good chance to putting those aside to help you further with your efforts as a successful community facilitator.
Thus without much further ado, here is the chat transcript. It’s a long one, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee, or tea!, and read on… Hope you will enjoy it, just as much as we did when we participated live on the event! Here we go:
4:01 pm johanlammers: [moderator] Welcome everybody to today’s #KMers Twitter Chat: Training Community Managers and Facilitators. Please introduce yourself #kmers
4:01 pm WeKnowMore: Pre-register for copcop.org: an online community on online communities http://t.co/ibojOGa #km #kmers #communities
4:01 pm plantpixie: Greetings all. Sarah DiGioia here. #KMers #KMers
4:02 pm johanlammers: [moderator] I’m Johan Lammers from Amsterdam working with online communities for UNICEF, KMers.org and weknowmore.org #kmers
4:02 pm pekadad: @johanlammers Lee Romero from Deloitte in Detroit here. #KMers
4:02 pm elsua: About to multitask between this week’s #KMers chat & an internal community call on community metrics; should be fun! Excuse the twitterrhea
4:03 pm kcbower: Kate Bower, grad student @Northwestern studying #KM & change mgmt; writing Capstone on #PKM. #KMers
4:03 pm Ridgehead: Matt Haggerty, Ridgehead Software, Chicago – hello everyone 🙂 #KMers
4:03 pm elsua: Hello folks! Luis Suarez, social computing evangelist @ IBM; greetings from warm Gran Canaria 🙂 #KMers
4:03 pm davidchris: @plantpixie Hi Sarah – I have another call on but I have learnt to multi-task well lately #kmers
4:03 pm kcbower: Unfortunately, I’m unable to do more than lurk for the next 30 mins & will miss next week – looking fwd to rejoining convo on 9/28! #KMers
4:04 pm johanlammers: Hi Lee, Sarah, Stan, Kate, Matt, Luis, David! Great to see you guys here! #kmers
4:04 pm johanlammers: @kcbower Your usual lurking where you still engage and add very interesting things to the discussion I hope 🙂 #kmers
4:04 pm ithorpe: Hi all, Ian Thorpe, working on KM and communities in UNICEF. Looking forward to today’s chat. (others pls excuse twitterhea!) #kmers
4:04 pm davidchris: Hi everyone, David Christopher – guy who is determined to overcome social media infoglut @ Oracle #kmers
4:05 pm ChiefExecMom: Theresa here from Bain & Co Boston #KMers
4:05 pm jonhusband: @elsua .. < greetings from warm Gran Canaria 🙂 #KMers > .. Ola from sunny downtown Vancouver
4:05 pm kcbower: @johanlammers LOL – I know – I often suggest I’ll be lurking then can’t help getting engaged. Unfortunately, it’s the truth today! #KMers
4:06 pm elsua: @jonhusband Hi there! Yeah, enjoying the zillionth mini heat wave of this summer over here! 😛 #KMers
4:06 pm NancyWhite: Peeking in at #KMers before I go to yoga. Twitter networks rule! Waving from cloudy Seattle.
4:06 pm roopher: Hello, I’m Haley and I’m new to this conversation! #KMers
4:06 pm johanlammers: Great to see so many people online here today! Let’s get started! #kmers
4:07 pm johanlammers: [moderator] – Does your org employ mostly full-time community managers? Part-time? Or was it added to an existing staff function? #kmers
4:08 pm johanlammers: [moderator] The reason I ask is it might imply different training/preparation, and I’m interested to hear some real-life examples #kmers
4:09 pm ChiefExecMom: mostly full time, though many are part time and I think it’s becoming the post-maternity-leave-consultant top option! #KMers
4:09 pm elsua: 1Q A mixture of both; depends on the nature of the community, the sponsorship & leadership; most times it’s part time; another job 🙂 #KMers
4:09 pm davidchris: Hi Johan – It’s a mixture at Oracle. Social Business Communities are +staff function but we do have full and part time CM’s #kmers
4:09 pm johanlammers: Hi Haley and Nancy! Welcome to this chat! Hope you find it interesting! #kmers
4:09 pm Ridgehead: As a vendor, I see some orgs with multiple full-time community managers, and others with one resource dedicated “20 hours a week” #KMers
4:10 pm elsua: 1Q On the other hand I am working as a full time community manager from a few of them internally; so, it depends & it varies 🙂 #KMers
4:10 pm CM_BN: 1Q On the other hand I am working as a full time community manager from a few of them internally; so, it depends & it varies 🙂 #KMers
4:12 pm johanlammers: Q2: And were those community managers attracted from outside or drafted within the organization? What would be preferable? #kmers
4:12 pm stangarfield: Q1: mostly part-time #KMers
4:12 pm ithorpe: In UNICEF we do have a couple of full time community managers (sometimes managing more than one community) but maj are part timers #kmers
4:13 pm jeffhester: I’m coming in a little late here. Q2: We draft community managers from within the organization… #KMers
4:13 pm elsua: 2Q Most of them attracted from within the org; they’ve got one big advantage: they know the company & the biz; it helps #KMers
4:14 pm jeffhester: Q2 (cont.) usually as a 12-18 mo. assignment. They get immersed, then become community evangelists. #KMers
4:14 pm ChiefExecMom: Q2 Mostly from within for same reasons cited by @elsua they know the company & the biz #KMers
4:14 pm stangarfield: Q2: mostly inside (I am the only one from outside) #KMers
4:14 pm NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles.
4:15 pm WeKnowMore: RT @NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles. #kmers
4:16 pm elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles / Agree! #KMers
4:16 pm davidchris: Q2 – all inside…it’s important they have awareness of the organisation and understanding of the business #kmers
4:16 pm johanlammers: @NancyWhite Interesting! Have you formalized such competencies somewhere, some place? Do you have examples? #kmers
4:16 pm pekadad: @johanlammers Have we differentiated between a community manager and community moderator? #KMers
4:17 pm CosmoCat: RT @johanlammers: [moderator] – Does your org employ mostly full-time community managers? Part-time? Or was it added to an existing staff function? #kmers
4:17 pm rsamii: Q1 @NancyWhite Absolutely!!! #KMers
4:17 pm CosmoCat: RT @johanlammers: Q2: And were those community managers attracted from outside or drafted within the organization? What would be preferable? #kmers
4:17 pm rsamii: RT @NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles.
4:17 pm pekadad: @johanlammers do we need to differentiate? Is one related to a community program (mgr) vs. an individual community (moderator)? #KMers
4:18 pm johanlammers: @pekadad Good point! Thanks! How would you define the difference? #kmers
4:18 pm Vivisimo_Inc: RT @NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles. #kmers
4:18 pm hrheingold: Typo in last tweet: should be “good conversations” #kmers
4:18 pm ithorpe: Yes! tell us more RT @NancyWhite: I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles. #kmers
4:18 pm orgnet: How do you “select” a community manager? Look for someone who is already performing the role, already good at it??? #KMers
4:19 pm NancyWhite: @johanlammers Many of us are working to describe online “community” competencies. I just don’t think HR is looking for them yet #KMers
4:19 pm johanlammers: Interesting that most community managers come from inside the org. But that almost automatically means no experience in comm. mngmnt. #kmers
4:19 pm gautamghosh: 5 Skills for Online Community Managers #e20 #kmers http://bit.ly/d7DpQB
4:20 pm elsua: @orgnet In most cases we’ve found they self select themselves from their online activities or the communities themselves propose’em #KMers
4:20 pm CosmoCat: An interesting discussion to follow right now, here on Twitter by #KMers on community managers & Co
4:20 pm chanchanchepon: RT @ithorpe: Yes! tell us more RT @NancyWhite: I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles. #kmers
4:20 pm davidchris: the role of a community manager has evolved, and needs clarifying. Agree on identifying competencies @NancyWhite #kmers
4:20 pm elsua: @NancyWhite I don’t think HR is looking into them either, and till they do it, such role will not formalised; #stillworktodo #KMers
4:21 pm NancyWhite: @ithorpe First, I think online competencies should address the continuum of individual-group-wider network interaction. #KMers
4:21 pm elsua: ? @gautamghosh: 5 Skills for Online Community Managers #e20 #kmers http://bit.ly/d7DpQB / Thanks! For later reading… #KMers
4:21 pm johanlammers: Does your org have a (in)formal trajectory to introduce the new community mngrs to their function? If so: how? Should orgs do this? #kmers
4:21 pm NancyWhite: RT @hrheingold: Typo in last tweet: should be “good conversations” #kmers (Howard’s stuff is STILL relevant!!)
4:22 pm johanlammers: RT @gautamghosh: 5 Skills for Online Community Managers #e20 #kmers http://bit.ly/d7DpQB <- Thanks #kmers
4:22 pm pekadad: @johanlammers If I had to, community mgr=someone managing an overall community program (svrl communities being part of the program) #KMers
4:22 pm elsua: @johanlammers Not necessarily! Communities & informal networks have been there for decades! They’re just becoming more relevant #KMers
4:22 pm pekadad: @johanlammers Community moderator=responsible for a single community and tries to engender activity in that community #KMers
4:22 pm NancyWhite: @elsua You raise another important question. When should the roles be formalized, and when NOT! #KMers #communitymanagement
4:22 pm orgnet: @elsua Yes, my experience also … find the “emergent” leaders and support them, don’t bring in “outsiders” even if “rock stars”… #KMers
4:23 pm jimworth: Hi, Jim W here joining in the conversation. I see a few familiar faces here at #KMers @elsua and @stangarfield
4:23 pm elsua: @johanlammers We actually have got a community of community facilitators where they share good practices & learn from one another 🙂 #KMers
4:24 pm stangarfield: @elsua Same here – we have a moderator community #KMers
4:24 pm elsua: @NancyWhite Well, if the biz is serious about community facilitators, unless HR gets on board nothing will happen; it never has #KMers
4:24 pm curtisaconley: We have a moderator community, and monthly call where they can present, share and ask questions of other moderators #KMers
4:25 pm elsua: @orgnet The rock stars can help validate the emergent leaders to project their exposure & involvement w/ the community; but I agree #KMers
4:25 pm orgnet: Here is a map of an actual on-line community… see the layers and need for many comm mgrs or “network weavers”? http://bit.ly/bdqjQW #kmers
4:25 pm elsua: @jimworth Hiya, Jim! Welcome! Thanks for joining! Feel free to chime in! 🙂 #KMers
4:25 pm tdebaillon: RT @elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Q1 #KMers I think online “community” competencies are now needed beyond formalized “community mgr” roles / Agree! #KMers
4:26 pm ithorpe: +1 RT @elsua We actually have got a community of community facilitators where they share good practices & learn from one another 🙂 #kmers
4:26 pm wendytarr: RT @elsua: ? @gautamghosh: 5 Skills for Online Community Managers #e20 #kmers http://bit.ly/d7DpQB
4:27 pm rsamii: @elsua do you really think HR needs to be board before smthng happens? why cannot we as KM practitioners get the ball rolling? #KMers
4:27 pm johanlammers: Does your organization employ guidelines on how to manage communities? Should an organization do that? #kmers
4:27 pm elsua: ? @orgnet: Here is a map of an actual on-line comm… see the layers & need for many cmgrs or “network weavers”? http://bit.ly/bdqjQW #KMers
4:27 pm NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Some bookmarks (I’m obsessed) http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD
4:27 pm davidchris: RT @wendytarr: @elsua: ? @gautamghosh: 5 Skills for Online Community Managers #e20 #kmers http://bit.ly/d7DpQB
4:28 pm jesusmartinez: RT @elsua: @NancyWhite Well, if the biz is serious about community facilitators, unless HR gets on board nothing will happen; it never has #KMers
4:28 pm ithorpe: RT @orgnet: Here is a map of an actual on-line community… see the layers and need for many comm mgrs or “network weavers”? http://bit.ly/bdqjQW #kmers
4:28 pm elsua: @rsamii No, I don’t think so; we are making it happen every single day; it’s just that we don’t get recognised for it 🙂 #KMers
4:28 pm rsamii: @NancyWhite Depending on the org’s ecosystem, sometimes formalized is doomed to fail + informal=definite success #KMers #communitymanagement
4:28 pm alcantara: Training Community Managers and Facilitators | #KMers http://bit.ly/9PQ6rR
4:28 pm kcbower: Have to bow out, but look fwd to transcript. In the UK next week, but I expect to be back on 9/28. Have a great 2 weeks, all! #KMers
4:28 pm elsua: @rsamii Some folks get really annoyed by that; most of the others don’t; we just move along & get the job done, but understand pain #KMers
4:28 pm WeKnowMore: RT @orgnet: A map of an actual on-line comm… see the layers and need for many comm mgrs or “network weavers”? http://bit.ly/bdqjQW #kmers
4:29 pm elsua: The guidelines we have got to manage guidelines are the ones that regulate how folks should interact in social networking tools #KMers
4:29 pm arjunsingh: RT @hrheingold: Typo in last tweet: should be “good conversations” #kmers
4:29 pm stangarfield: Q3: we offer recommendations on how to manage communities, and metrics for monitoring community health #KMers
4:29 pm WeKnowMore: @kcbower Great you were here Kate! See you in two weeks! #kmers
4:29 pm elsua: @johanlammers In most cases, most of those online community interactions are self-regulating with good facilitation skills #KMers
4:29 pm NancyWhite: Org guidelines for #communitymanagement ? Ask if there are guidelines for breathing. Look to what we VALUE. That amplifies #KMers
4:29 pm davidchris: Agree – RT do you really think HR needs to be board before smthng happens? why cannot we as KM practitioners get the ball rolling? #KMers
4:30 pm jimworth: My org (large pharma) is new to this, but has created a Community Stewards forum, monthy call & community for those managing our ‘s #KMers
4:30 pm rsamii: @elsua maybe true, but when we see behavioural change – could we consider that as recognition? #KMers
4:30 pm elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Some bookmarks (Im obsessed) http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD // W00t! Thx!! #KMers
4:30 pm NancyWhite: @rsamii Where I’ve seen movement in online communities it has been ground up action on top supported goals #KMers
4:31 pm NancyWhite: RT @stangarfield: Q3: we offer recommendations on how to manage communities, and metrics for monitoring community health #KMers (YES!)\
4:31 pm npmaven: Ooh, adding to my RSS feed. RT @NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Some bookmarks…http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD
4:32 pm elsua: @rsamii Behavioural change is a good thing, but it doesn’t translate into promotions & paychecks, what it is what bugs some folks 🙁 #KMers
4:33 pm gautamghosh: @jimworth That’s a great beginning! #KMers
4:33 pm johanlammers: Q4 Is there a clearcut model, steps or approach out there that might be very helpful as a framework for starting community managers? #kmers
4:33 pm pekadad: @stangarfield What are some of the recommendations you make for managing communities? Any specifics to share? #KMers
4:33 pm jimworth: Yes, great list RT @elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Some bookmarks http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD
4:35 pm mneff: Engage your members, facilitate the conversation, don’t dominate, find out what they want and help them get it, synthesize content… #kmers
4:35 pm rsamii: @NancyWhite absolutely. There has to be a sense of purpose! #KMers
4:35 pm rhappe: @johanlammers may want to check out what we are doing at The Community Roundtable (@TheCR) #KMers
4:36 pm mneff: Build relationships, share what you know and ask others to do the same, identify your community’s top needs and work them, … #kmers
4:36 pm stangarfield: @pekadad See communities manifesto at http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddj598qm_44fx54rbg5 for suggestions #KMers
4:36 pm davidchris: some communities are stronger than others + self sustaining – Identifying the right CM is key to success with a clear purpose #kmers
4:36 pm mneff: Welcome new members, develop an orientation or a starter kit for new members, monitor the flow, there is an ebb and flow, let it… #kmers
4:37 pm NancyIannone: RT @npmaven: Ooh, adding to my RSS feed RT @NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Bookmarks…http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD
4:37 pm mneff: Resist the urge to fill in all silent periods, give people a chance to reflect and internalize, when people speak up – encourage them #kmers
4:38 pm twiliew: @elsua and hi @jimworth is party out there on #KMers? I can follow much with my tiny screen ;(
4:38 pm pekadad: @mneff @stangarfield Does a community moderator (or manager) need to be an SME in the community’s topic? #KMers
4:38 pm elsua: Q4 the @TheCR folks have put together a superb community maturity model that’s a must read for #cmgrs for sure! It depends per comm #KMers
4:38 pm johanlammers: @mneff Great suggestions thanks! #kmers
4:38 pm mneff: Keep aware, build connections, help people find other people that they can leverage in work they may be doing or are interested in .. #kmers
4:39 pm gautamghosh: @elsua Maybe what is needed next is a career path for community managers 🙂 #KMers
4:39 pm elsua: ? @rhappe: @johanlammers may want to check out what we are doing at The Community Roundtable (@TheCR) / Yes! It’s fab! 🙂 #KMers
4:39 pm stangarfield: @pekadad It’s a good idea if the moderator knows the topic, but if not, they should be paired up with someone who does #KMers
4:39 pm mneff: @pekadad Depends on the community. For some an absolute or no credibility. For others it is sufficient to facilitate. #kmers
4:39 pm roundtrip: RT @orgnet: Here is a map of an actual on-line community… see the layers and need for many comm mgrs or “network weavers”? http://bit.ly/bdqjQW #kmers
4:39 pm davidchris: interesting post / discussion on what makes a good LinkedIn community leader http://bit.ly/dq3Qwr #kmers
4:39 pm WeKnowMore: RT @elsua: Q4 @TheCR folks have put together a superb community maturity model thats a must read for #cmgrs for sure! It depends comm #kmers
4:40 pm elsua: @mneff Great suggestions! Worth while capturing them at a later time for further reflection! Way cool! Thx! #KMers
4:40 pm TheCR: ?@CosmoCat: An interesting discussion to follow right now, here on Twitter by #KMers on community managers & Co
4:40 pm jimworth: @twiliew Hi and welcome #KMers
4:40 pm WeKnowMore: RT @davidchris: interesting post / discussion on what makes a good LinkedIn community leader http://bit.ly/dq3Qwr #kmers
4:40 pm elsua: @twiliew Yes, it’s a lovely party at #kmers weekly chat going on at the moment; catch up with chat transcript later, CheeChin 😉 #KMers
4:41 pm elsua: @pekadad Not necessarily, but it helps to get a sense of belonging & participation; sense of engagement as well 🙂 #KMers
4:41 pm mneff: Recognize that people learn in different ways, help them engage in ways they feel comfortable, mix things up, … #kmers
4:41 pm NancyWhite: RT @mneff: Resist urge to fill all silent periods, give people chance 2 reflct & internalize. (Silence & lurking have + attributes) #KMers
4:42 pm elsua: ? @gautamghosh: @elsua Maybe what is needed next is a career path for community managers 🙂 / That surely is a start, but where? 🙂 #KMers
4:42 pm mneff: Sometimes we have a very formal discussion, some times we have a panel of experts, some times we have an open forum, … #kmers
4:42 pm plantpixie: RT @WeKnowMore: RT @elsua: Q4 @TheCR folks have put together a superb community maturity model thats a must read for #cmgrs for sure! #KMers
4:42 pm mneff: Recognize that your lurkers are members too. They may not speak up until they are ready. Help them get there without feeling bad … #kmers
4:43 pm rhappe: Just seeing the #KMers chat now but lots of interesting questions about integrating communities into organizations
4:43 pm stangarfield: @mneff Great ideas, Mark! #KMers
4:44 pm plantpixie: Career path? Depends on their background but I see clear connections to communications and marketing. #KMers
4:44 pm davidchris: Do Community Managers need to be passionate about their subject matter to make a community a success? #kmers
4:44 pm TheCR: ?@mneff: Resist urge to fill in silent periods, give people a chance to reflect & internalize, when people speak up, encourage them #kmers
4:45 pm ithorpe: @pekadad #KMers not sure they need to be an expert but need to be credible to their community and also have a sense of what is important
4:45 pm mneff: @davidchris It definitely helps. If they are not passionate they may not generate sufficient light to move the community. … #kmers
4:45 pm elsua: @mneff RE: Lurkers, comments, AMEN to that statement! Lurkers are essential indicators of the good health of a community; nurture’em #KMers
4:45 pm johanlammers: [moderator] Q5 If you had 140 characters to share a lesson on community management to an aspiring community manager what would it be? #kmers
4:45 pm pekadad: @davidchris I think passion is more important than subject matter expertise – the former brings energy, which is invaluable. #KMers
4:45 pm jimworth: @davidchris: Absolutely Community Managers must be passionate about their subject matter to make a community a success #kmers
4:46 pm ithorpe: Great tips on community facilitation coming from @mneff in this chat! #kmers
4:46 pm elsua: @davidchris If they would want to keep their community going for years no end, yes! It’s an essential, must-have quality #KMers
4:46 pm gautamghosh: @elsua I can see two aspects. Growth in size. Other would be growth in complexity of community. Then moving to strategy and insights. #KMers
4:46 pm davidchris: @elsua will like this – to help drive community engagement, refuse (politely) to answer community useful Qu’s on email #kmers
4:46 pm Ridgehead: @davidchris Yes, but not as important as org culture. Culture eats the most passionate zealot for breakfast. #KMers
4:46 pm stangarfield: @davidchris It certainly helps if they are #KMers
4:47 pm davidchris: RT @mneff: Some communities evolve to be actual delivery vehicles. Help them find the sponsors in the org to take that next step. #kmers
4:47 pm elsua: Q5 Community management has not nothing to do with moderating / managing a community; it’s all about facilitation & passion! #KMers
4:47 pm mneff: Another technique we use is to get several leaders to share the responsibility. Fact of life. People get tired or swamped. Help them. #kmers
4:47 pm rsamii: @davidchris It would definitely help if they are passionate. Give the community that extra “umf” #kmers
4:47 pm jimworth: Q5 do: Engage, Trust, Encourage, Nurture, Enlighten don’t: Judge, cut off convo Steer too hard, Suggest the convo is best elsewhere #KMers
4:48 pm stangarfield: Q5: community management takes time, energy, and enthusiasm. Be prepared to work at it for awhile before you succeed. #KMers
4:48 pm plantpixie: RT @johanlammers: [moderator] If you had 140 chars to share a lesson on community mgmt to an aspiring community mgr what would it be? #KMers
4:48 pm ithorpe: @davidchris I would say passion is key, but passion for the community/topic not passion for a particular pov or approach #kmers
4:48 pm elsua: @gautamghosh Those are same great points & could surely work on large, more complex communities, indeed! #KMers
4:48 pm davidchris: Agree! RT @pekadad: I think passion is more important than subject matter expertise – the former brings energy, which is invaluable. #KMers
4:49 pm elsua: @davidchris I have done that for years, David! I don’t need to be, nor do I want to, be the bottleneck of the community flow #KMers
4:49 pm mneff: Be honest with your leaders. This is hard work. Passion is not enough. They will need some organizational skills too. Help them. #kmers
4:49 pm WeKnowMore: RT @johanlammers: [moderator] Q5 If you had 140 characters to share a lesson on community management to an aspiring community manager what would it be? #kmers
4:49 pm Ridgehead: Q5: Patience #KMers
4:50 pm rhappe: #Q5: Make sure every constituency wins (I.e. Gets more value than they put in) through participating in the community #KMers
4:50 pm SarahStewart: RT @NancyWhite: Re online competencies #KMers Some bookmarks (I’m obsessed) http://bit.ly/8YkYJ8 http://bit.ly/a6pBdD
4:51 pm rsamii: RT @Ridgehead: Q5: Patience #KMers
4:51 pm kirstenwagenaar: Follow #KMers for an interesting discussion on integrating communities in organisations #cmnl
4:51 pm mneff: Some measures are useful. Apply them as the community matures to monitor their health. Best to use as a diagnostic to guide action. #kmers
4:51 pm johanlammers: Wow those are great lessons in 140 characters or less! #kmers
4:51 pm gautamghosh: @elsua And in the future learning would also come from moving between managing internal and then external communities. #KMers
4:51 pm mneff: Educate the leaders to understand the community lifecycle. Help them close down the community when it has run its course. #kmers
4:52 pm elsua: @gautamghosh Yes, that’s the final frontier, Gautam! Learn inside how to be comfortable about it, then move where the action is 🙂 #KMers
4:52 pm mneff: Show your leaders the appreciation that they may not get from their management. This is critical for long term success. #kmers
4:53 pm kirstenwagenaar: Be ready to be a pioneer. Enjoy it while you’re doing it! I guess this has everything to do with passion #kmers
4:53 pm davidchris: Encourage community engagement – a successful community is self sustaining but it needs effort and clear purpose #kmers
4:53 pm mneff: Be a role model. Run your own community and invite them to participate in your community to learn about leading a community. #kmers
4:54 pm Ridgehead: Q5 Expect to scrape your knees a few times, and wring the juice out of the successful bits. #KMers
4:54 pm elsua: ? @mneff: Be a role model. Run your own community & invite them to participate in your community to learn about leading a community #KMers
4:54 pm stangarfield: @mneff Amen to that #KMers
4:54 pm mneff: Be willing to take some risks. If you aren’t making mistakes, then you are not trying enough things {smile}. #kmers
4:54 pm plantpixie: RT @mneff: Be a role model. Run your own community & invite them to participate in your community to learn about leading a community. #KMers
4:55 pm plantpixie: RT @mneff: Be willing to take some risks. If you aren’t making mistakes, then you are not trying enough things {smile}. #KMers
4:55 pm mneff: Setting some community goals is very useful. Not all are willing to adopt but when they are ready, help them go there. #kmers
4:55 pm jeffhester: Engage others! Be the connector, not the one doing it all. #KMers
4:55 pm davidchris: RT @mneff: Be a role model. Run your own community and invite them to participate in your community to learn how to lead a community. #kmers
4:55 pm johanlammers: Great lessons you guys! I’ll collect them in a nice summary and make it available soon. #kmers
4:55 pm hjarche: Q5) A CM should use a very gentle hand http://is.gd/fav09 #kmers
4:56 pm NancyWhite: RT @elsua: Q5 Community management has not nothing to do with moderating / managing a community; it’s all about facilitation & passion! #KMers
4:56 pm mneff: The best community leader is almost invisible. A light touch to keep the machinery humming while they engage each other. #kmers
4:56 pm elsua: ? @jeffhester: Engage others! Be the connector, not the one doing it all / Indeed! Be the facilitator of those conversations #KMers
4:56 pm simonestaiger: RT @elsua: Q5 Community management has not nothing to do with moderating / managing a community; it’s all about facilitation & passion! #KMers
4:57 pm NancyWhite: Q% #KMers Know when you need open networks with or instead of bounded communities
4:57 pm gautamghosh: @elsua Communities will evolve too. Future might bring more game design elements. Comm mgrs would need to also think abt design #KMers
4:57 pm elsua: ? @hjarche: Q5) A CM should use a very gentle hand http://is.gd/fav09 / Another great read for later … #KMers
4:57 pm davidchris: RT @mneff: The best community leader is almost invisible. A light touch to keep the machinery humming while they engage each other. #kmers
4:58 pm NancyWhite: Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
4:58 pm mneff: @johanlammers Some formal, some informal. The quicker you can get them doing it the better to discuss real situations with them. #kmers
4:58 pm prem_k: RT @NancyWhite: Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
4:58 pm community_mngr: RT @NancyWhite: Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
4:59 pm elsua: Q6 communitybuilding is a journey, a continuous learning experience! Be ready to be challenged every day & move on. Empower them #KMers
4:59 pm community_mngr: RT @elsua Q5 Community management has not nothing to do with moderating / managing a community/it’s all about facilitation & passion! #KMers
4:59 pm scmorgan: RT @NancyWhite: Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
4:59 pm elsua: @gautamghosh Yes, which ties it nicely with the tweet I just shared about being a continuous learning experience of fine tuning #KMers
4:59 pm rsamii: RT @NancyWhite: Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
4:59 pm stangarfield: Expectations for community leaders to ensure that communities are nurtured: SHAPE – Schedule, Host, Answer, Post, Expand #KMers
5:00 pm plantpixie: RT @NancyWhite: Dont “Train” community managers, nurture community and network practices #KMers
5:00 pm rsamii: RT @elsua: Q6 communitybuilding is a journey, a continuous learning experience! Be ready to be challenged every day & move on. Empower them #KMers
5:00 pm kirstenwagenaar: Great to read some wonderful tweets about Community Management through #KMers! #cmnl
5:00 pm kirstenwagenaar: RT @NancyWhite Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
5:00 pm rsamii: @elsua and do not we all know how challenging it can get! as @NancyWhite always says “inch by inch” #KMers
5:00 pm Ridgehead: Nice! RT @stangarfield: Expectations for comm leaders to ensure that comms are nurtured: SHAPE – Schedule, Host, Answer, Post, Expand #KMers
5:00 pm davidchris: provide community success stories to generate interest and engage others… #kmers
5:01 pm plantpixie: Excellent discussion on community management #KMers! #KMers
5:01 pm swanwick: Submit a chat topic for an upcoming session at http://www.kmers.org/topicsuggestions/dashboard #KMers
5:01 pm mneff: Elevating this to the community director level. Focus on the key communities that produce value for the company. Provide reports. #kmers
5:01 pm johanlammers: [moderator] Thanks for a great chat everyone! I learned a lot! I hope to see you guys again at the coming #KM chats on KMers.org! #kmers
5:02 pm johanlammers: Upcoming Chat Events on KMers.org| #KMers http://ow.ly/2E6oQ #KM #innochat
5:02 pm WeKnowMore: Upcoming Chat Events on KMers.org| #KMers http://ow.ly/2E6yO #KM #innochat
5:02 pm plantpixie: Next week I’m moderating the topic of Social Governance in the Enterprise. Come with examples and tales of wins and challenges! #KMers
5:02 pm mneff: Work with the community sponsors to ensure community alignment with the business objectives. Help identify needed resources. #kmers
5:02 pm kirstenwagenaar: RT @elsua communitybuilding is journey, a continuous learning experience! Be ready to be challenged every day & move on. Empower them #KMers
5:02 pm elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Dont “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices / Tweet of the day! 😀 #KMers
5:02 pm mneff: @johanlammers Thank you for facilitating. A rich thread. Appreciate the time you gave us. #kmers
5:03 pm Ridgehead: Thanks to Johan and the group – always enlightening #KMers
5:03 pm jimworth: Stumbled up a great chat. Looking 4ward to next RT @swanwick: Submit a chat topic for an upcoming session at http://bit.ly/aLS73G #KMers
5:04 pm javimos: RT @elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Dont “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices / Tweet of the day! 😀 #KMers
5:04 pm johanlammers: I’ll try to write a blogpost on this chat alongside the transcript and get all the links nicely organized. Thanks all!! #kmers
5:04 pm ithorpe: Blown away by today’s excellent chat on community facilitation thks to @johanlammers and all, looking forward to transcript #kmers
5:05 pm CircleReader: RT: @hjarche Q5) A Community Manager should use a very gentle hand http://is.gd/fav09 #kmers
5:05 pm SthMtnMike: RT @kirstenwagenaar: RT @NancyWhite Don’t “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices #KMers
5:05 pm CreativeSage: RT @WeKnowMore: Upcoming Chat Events on KMers.org #KMers http://ow.ly/2E6yO #KM #innovation #innochat
5:05 pm elsua: @rsamii @nancywhite Absolutely! Which is what makes it such a fascinating journey, imo; one to enjoy & treasure! 🙂 #KMers
5:07 pm AnaDataGirl: RT @ithorpe: Blown away by today’s excellent chat on comm facilitation thks @johanlammers & all, looking fwd to transcript #kmers » me too!
5:07 pm elsua: @johanlammers Thanks much, Johan, for another great session on #KMers; had a great time & learned lots! Till next one! 🙂 #KMers
5:08 pm ChiefExecMom: Apologies for dropping – urgent request came in. Hoping to start summaries of chats again this week so will update here! #KMers
5:09 pm __contagious__: RT @elsua: ? @NancyWhite: Dont “Train” community managers, nuture community and network practices / Tweet of the day! 😀 #KMers
5:09 pm CircleReader: How can this apply to #education? RT @NancyWhite Don’t “Train” community managers, nurture community & network practices #KMers #homeschool
5:10 pm davidchris: inspiring #kmers chat today. Thx to @mneff for all the great tips….and @johanlammers for moderating…thx everyone…
5:12 pm twiliew: “@elsua: @johanlammers (…) had a great time; learned lots! Till next one! 🙂 #KMers” — great sessions, can’t follow w. my tiny screen. 😉
5:13 pm mdelasteyrie: RT @TheCR: ?@mneff: Resist urge to fill in silent periods, give people a chance to reflect & internalize, when people speak up, encourage them #kmers
5:13 pm swanwick: @jimworth Great to hear. I couldn’t make it this week, but hope to see you every Tues 12pm ET #KMers
5:15 pm ithorpe: @jimworth great to see you at #KMers
5:16 pm jimworth: Interesting new vein of knowledge for me http://www.kmers.org/ and their weekly chats #KMers #E20 Nice! I’ll be back
5:17 pm kiilo_: RT @elsua: Q5 Community management has not nothing to do with moderating / managing a community; it’s all about facilitation & passion! #KMers
5:17 pm elsua: @jimworth Jim, you may want to subscribe to the #kmers chat & tune in every Tue at noon EDT for the weekly chats 🙂 #KMers
5:19 pm knowledgetank: NEW AT ?MOBEE KNOWLEDGE CoP? SITE : SOCIAL CONTEXTUAL LEARNING 2.0 PLATFORM http://bit.ly/aRAzbX #KM #KMers
5:21 pm knowledgetank: links for 2010-09-14 http://bit.ly/c8LfG5 #KM #KMers
Whoahh! That was quite an interesting and rather insightful TweetChat event, don’t you think? Well, I have got something else for you folks out there still, in case you may not have had enough of community building and community facilitation. Back in June, at the Enterprise 2.0 conference event in Boston, the day before the conference took place, there were a number of various different workshops that usually take place throughout the whole day. One of them in particular was the one on “Adoption in the Enterprise for Practitioners“, put together by a whole bunch of smart and very talented Enterprise 2.0 evangelists / practitioners from the super fine 2.0 Adoption Council.
During the course of that day a whole bunch of those folks delivered up to 9 different presentations on all of the various aspects to take into account with regards to Enterprise 2.0 and Social Software Adoption. You would be able to find all of the slideware for those presentations over at the 2.0 Adoption Slideshare space. One of them would be of particular interest for us to include over here in this blog post, since it is also about community building behind the firewall.
It is a presentation that my good friend, Stan Garfield, and yours truly, did around the topic of “Community Roles and Adoption Planning“. Now the anecdote of our presentation is that we never met face to face before. That presentation was our first opportunity to meet in real life, after all of these years that we have been following each other on the KM blogs, various social networking sites and a few other online communities. We never rehearsed the session before; it was our first live delivery of the deck, but right there we both knew what we could expect from one another and complement each other rather nicely to share both of our insights and experiences with community building for both of our companies. That’s the power of the virtual networks, indeed!
That’s why I thought it would be a good opportunity as well to close off this blog post with embedding the Slideshare materials over here, so that those folks who would be interested in finding out, plenty more, about internal community building, facilitation and evangelism could have a chance to go through the slides and perhaps pick up some other knowledge nuggets that could complement quite nicely the overall #KMers chat transcript shared above. So here it is; we hope you would enjoy it, just as much as we did putting it together and delivering it at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston:
They say that CommunityBuilding is an Art and I couldn’t have agreed more with that statement! To me, it is also a journey, a continuous learning experience, where one needs to always be prepared and ready to be challenged. Ready for the unexpected to happen. Every day. That’s why truly motivated and very passionate community facilitators would shine the most and knowing that we do have some really great resources out there, I bet that it would make that job for us all even so much more exciting and engaging! At least, it does for me. And for you? What turns you on as a community builder for your communities?
Technorati Tags: KMers, TweetChat, Community Managers, Community Leaders, Community Facilitators, Community Builders, CommunityBuilders, Online Facilitation, Community Building Techniques, Chat Transcripts, Enterprise 2.0 Conference, #e2conf, e2conf, Boston, Practitioners, Enterprise 2.0 Practitioners, 2.0 Adoption Council, 2.0 Adoption, Adoption, Enablement, Slideshare, Stan Garfield, Community Roles, Communities 101, Art, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, IBM, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, Business Outcomes, Business Value, Social Software Drivers
Luis,
Thanks so much for your comments about community building and in particular your mentions of the #KMers community.
I thought your readers might also like to know that there are ~200 other Twitter Chat based communities which can be found from http://bit.ly/ChatSched
All the best,
Swan