Dori: Online communities and Kathy Sierra

July 18th, 2007 by chuq

Dori: Online communities and Kathy Sierra

Community Management and Social Media Comments Off

• Speaking of Sili Valley startups, I don’t know that I could ever start one, simply because I’m much better at coming up with companies for other people to start. Let’s see… Teresa Nielsen Hayden says here that she’s “embroiled in some kind of project she’s not talking about.” Over here, Chuq von Rospach announced that he’s left StrongMail. The answer is obvious (to me): the two of them should open up a consultancy that help corporations learn how to create and foster online communities. Hell, I’ve been working with online communities for about 15 years, and the two of them individually make me look like a piker. Together, they’ve been doing it for longer than most people online have been alive.

To be honest, I’m honored to be mentioned with Teresa. She’s a good, sharp lady. Our community management strategies tend to be different, I bet we’d kill each other a month in. No, let me be honest. She’d take me out, and I’d never feel it. I know who’d win that one (and should… grin).

But it’s a good excuse to note that far too often we focus on the tools and technologies of community — when in fact, community starts and end with the people. Get the right people together, and you can build the community with paper cups and strings. Build the wrong environment, and it doesn’t matter. A lot of this lives and dies with the leaders — and as I’ve finally really come to understand, the leader’s real job is to mostly stay out of the way and let the community run itself, but to know when something’s going sideways and fix it while it’s minor.

The best leaders are invisible; but that doesn’t mean doing nothing, because when an admin is noticed for being missing or not fixing broken things, that’s also bad. A good community does 95% of the work without help, but that other 5% makes or breaks (or kills) the community.

• This one’s for Kathy Sierra, just because I miss hearing her voice: Kathy, go talk to the folks at Lynda.com. Travel to Ventura, record some of your presentations, and let the rest of us watch them whenever we want. Do your blog posts as videos instead of text. Hell, go look at their call for trainers where it says they’re “looking for teachers with expertise, passion and teaching experience.” I think you qualify, and then some. But come back soon in one form or another, ’cause we miss you.

What Dori said. At some point, Kathy, you need to get back on the horse. And realize there is still an extended group of supporters willing to help you do it. Not forgotten, and the net is worse for your silence…..