Does it?
Really?
Or does your community needs nurturing, supporting, communication, interaction?
I use the term community manager here and there on my online profiles, only because it seems that it’s the term that people and businesses recognise and relate to the most. However, I think it’s a severe term for what it usually means in reality.
We are all part of communities online. We find our niche and where like-minded people hang out. We find out tribe or group. We get passionate about brands we really like and we are happy to shout about them. We have our favourite singers and actors and could join dozens of online communities that share our love for our idols.
Whatever our interests are, there’s a place were we can hangout online, or even start our own hangout and gather a community around us.
But through all this happening, I’m pretty sure none of us think that we join a community to be managed. I don’t. Do you?
I think by using the label ‘management’ it gives the impression that your community will be unruly, cause havoc and have to be managed. Of course, if you bring a group of people together, then you may come across a few who don’t obey normal social etiquette, and you can deal with them however you see fit, but you aren’t managing your followers/community/audience. In the instances where there is unwanted contribution to your community’s online equilibrium, you are monitoring and taking action, but you aren’t managing everyone in your online community.
More importantly how about we switch things about and really taking care of all of the wonderful people who give their time and energy in supporting our communities. How about we nurture our communities? Facilitate them, support them, cheer them on as they cheers us on?
Say hello on twitter @karenstrunks
