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05.29.08 Community Manager's Evolving Role  By Tom Diederich Community managers like hats. And that's a good thing - because they wear several. It's hard to list everything a community manager does because that list varies from company to company and Web site to Web site. It's also a moving target. I recently spoke with a friend of mine at the Patricia Seybold Group, Matthew Lees, who was writing a report titled: "How Should You Manage Customer Communities?" Matt asked me about my background and how my professional experience helps me do my job. I told him it does more than help me "do" my job - it helps me "shape" my job. This apparently piqued his curiosity and forced me to think back to events that have transpired since my 1988 college graduation. This trip down memory lane both horrified and delighted me (not in that order). I told him that since graduation I've been a: • Newspaper reporter/editor • Peace Corps volunteer • English teacher • Marketing writer • Technical writer • Project manager • Internal communications manager • Forums moderator • Community manager "I should have warned you that I've worn a lot hats," I told him. He paused for a few moments.
"Well, that's probably a good thing," he said. When the report was published a few weeks later, I understood what he meant. Matt wrote that: "Community Managers could be the most well- rounded employees on the payroll. The role demands a strong mix of business, management, technical, analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills, and a wide range of experience." This of course made me feel better about all of the job-jumping I've done over the years. Yeah, that's it it's all been part of my master plan! 
In Part II of this topic, I'll talk about my specific experience as a community manager at Symantec and how that role rapidly evolved to include all of the bullets listed above. I'll also talk about some of the cool things in the works at Cadence. Meantime, I'd love to hear from you. If you are a community manager (or a related area), what hats do you wear? Is your job constantly evolving? Do you have a team or are you a one-person show? Feel free to talk about anything else that's on your mind! Comments About the Author: Tom Diederich is a contributing writer for ConversationsMatter.org. |
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