January 2009

I apologize for being remiss in my Community Manager Job of the Day postings.  Here’s a good one, though. Hat Tip to Jake McKee, the Community Guy, for posting the details. Check the listing at the Community Guy Job Board for more details.

This looks like an awesome opportunity for a Burbank, California based music fan. Actually there are two opportunities here – both full and part time, and both on-site.

Do you live and breathe in message boards and fan clubs? Do you know every pop culture, lifestyle and music blog out there? Do you know what a great fan experience is on a website? Do you know how to increase traffic on an artist’s site and keep people coming back?If that sounds like you, then let’s talk.(Also, if you are really connected to the hip hop/rap online world, we might have a place for you too!)I am looking to fill 2 positions at a major record label: The first is a 40 hour a week consultant. You would work here at the label helping to build and market an online community for an artist. This includes the official artist site, all social networking sites, message boards and blogs. We need someone that is a FAN! It’s ok if you don’t have a lot of experience! It’s ok if you are fresh out of college! Are you a member of street teams or e-teams? Great! Members of fan clubs and very active on message boards? Awesome! Know Dreamweaver? Even better. You will have specific traffic goals to hit and will come up with new and exciting ways to build a community for an artist. This is a consultant position. Pay is 30K a year and no benefits.The second is a part time position also at the label. You will work 3 days a week and will assist a team doing the above position. This will include everything from data entry (excel knowledge is a plus), online research tasks, updating sites and social networks, etc. Pay is $12 an hour, 18 hours a week.

Rock on.

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We received our first job seeker request recently, and so I wanted to show you all more on how this is going to work.

If you are looking for a job, please submit your details to be included in the next round at the Looking for Employment page.

JR Moreau

Blog: JR’s Not So Literal Blogging
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

I am very interested in learning about employment opportunities in social media and community management. I have already used social media marketing in my current day job and in marketing side projects.

If you would like to contact JR Moreau for more information regarding his experiences and expertise, please send an e-mail to james.r.moreau[AT]gmail.com.

Related Posts:

• Community Management Job Seekers for January 30, 2009
• Community Management Job Seekers for January 22, 2009

Tagged as: employment opportunity, job seeker, looking for employment

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I have a friend who’s a big muckety muck at a major phone/Internet provider. I haven’t seen him in a few months, but I keep remembering a conversation we had over the summer. I won’t bore you with all the minor details, but the bottom line is he (and many of his counterparts) don’t care for bloggers or social networking outlets because it’s harder for complaints to be swept under the rug  or handled quietly. They’d rather not have their flaws made public. I get it. Who wants that kind of negativity? I don’t agree though.  I feel having an online presence is good for business instead of the other way around.

Our conversation began when I mentioned how another blogger complained on her blog about a defective product and poor customer service. The day she posted, a representative from that same company commented saying he would take care of her problem, and he did – immediately.

Soon after that I learned my cable company was being switched to a well-known brand. I asked on Twitter of others’ experiences with this company and lo and behold….a representative of that company reached out to answer my questions. I dug the vibe.

So my friend, the big muckety muck at the phone network ,hates the idea of bloggers talking about their services or folks complaining to The Consumerist or other blogs. Again, I get it. Who wants to look bad?

But…

Consumers are frustrated by a lack of customer service, what other choice to they have?  What happens when you navigate a phone menu to nowhere, or get put through to fake supervisors who don’t help at all? Shouldn’t the folks paying for a service get the best service possible? That’s why I have more confidence in a company with a heavy online presence than with one that chooses to sweep all the bad stuff under the rug.

Should businesses monitor social networks?

Absolutely! It’s important to not only understand what folks are saying and why, but to reach out and offer assurance. In fact, I’d much rather pay extra for a company that rocked the customer care than support anyone who doesn’t put their clientele first and foremost at the top of the priority list. Moreover, if I see someone else having issues with a certain company and see said company reaching out to make amends, it will give me more confidence and maybe even encourage me to do business with them.

Just because a business doesn’t have an online presence doesn’t mean folks aren’t going to talk. Isn’t it better to monitor what they’re saying and reach out to fix the issue than to pretend it doesn’t exist?

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• Community Management is More than Just Twitter
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Tagged as: Customer Service, social networking, Twitter

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As Community Managers, it’s our job to find out what is on folks’ minds and bring it to the attention of the people who can solve the issues.  Many times issues have to do with technical difficulties or scenarios that may make folks a little unhappy.Most communities are respectful however, and usually present their case in a kindly manner in one of our forums.

Still, sometimes other members of the team would rather the community doesn’t have a place to discuss technical issues or user unhappiness. It’s not that they don’t want the issues to come to light, but they’d:

A. Prefer not to have to do this extra bit of work

B. Prefer not to have the whole community discuss these issues. The power of suggestion and all that. One question can lead to many people claiming the same issue.

Riddle me this, Community Managers. Should issues such as these be discussed in public, or is best to hide them away so the world thinks everything is rosy? I realize there are certain things that should only be discussed internally, but should a community be allowed to discuss negative issues they face as well?

Please discuss…

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A little less than a year ago, I was making my rounds on Twitter when I came across a tweet from Darren Rowse. He was traveling back to Austrialia from SXSW, and his reserved seat was of the uncomfortable variety.  He wanted to know if anyone had a connection at Qantas who could help him with an upgrade. Why, yes. Yes I did. My childhood friend Linda now lives in Australia and works for Qantas. We Tweeted back and forth throughout the night regarding seat preferences (Darren prefers aisle) and reservations. No emails were exchanged except between Linda and I. By the time Darren was ready to board his flight he had a coveted exit row seat. We couldn’t swing first class, but we got the next best thing. In fact, when he got to the desk, the attendant asked him who he knew at Qantas to get that seat.

As we tweeted the details back and forth I realized this Twitter is a very cool tool. Can’t find something? Throw it out on Twitter. Need a contact person? Throw it out on Twitter. Need an upgrade? Throw it out on Twitter. Looking for a job? Check Twitter. Want to see how folks feel about your business? Search Twitter.

Tweeting Up a Pirate Ship

I came across another cool Twitter story yesterday at Chris Brogan‘s blog. Chris and his fellow “pirates” Justin Levy and Colin Browning wondered if they would be able to get their pictures taken aboard the famous Pirate Ship “The Song” at the Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas. Chris and Justin asked around on Twitter to see if anyone knew anyone who could arrange a photo op on the pirate ship. Brandie, who handles interactive marketing at the Luxor, reached out to the small band of pirates and made the magic happen. There was a little more involved than a tweet, there were calls and explanations to be made, but it was Twitter that got the ball rolling and made a dream come true.

Not only is this a testament to the power of Twitter, but it also shows the importance of businesses getting on board this whole social media thing. The Luxor, Treasure Island and even Las Vegas, got some great free publicity from this one photo. Plus it gives the organization this whole warm and fuzzy “we get it” vibe.

Twitter and the Job Search

Here’s another Twitter story. When I learned I was in the running for my Community Manager job, I did a Twitter search, among others. I like to read up on the place where I may work as I find this helpful in the interview process. I also followed the CEO and several other members of the team on Twitter.  During my second interview, the CEO told me he was impressed that I found him on Twitter and followed him. Apparently I was the only candidate to do so.

Every day I see job opportunites shared on Twitter. I see folks networking and schmoozing. I even applied to some awesome opportunities I wouldn’t have found on my own. I’m still waiting for the first Twitter job interview, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. Twitter rocks as a job search tool.

How will YOU use Twitter?

The morale to this story, boys and girls, isn’t how many followrs you have on Twitter or how funny your Tweets are (though I do love Twitter for its entertainment value). It’s about how one small thing can unite the world. It’s about using social media to make contacts and connections. It’s about making the world a smaller place, one tweet at a time.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us your Twitter stories.

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Tagged as: Chris Brogan, Qantas, Treasure Island, Twitter

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Many Community Manager jobs have a telecommute option, which is awesome. As most of my friends know, I have no intention of ever returning to a traditional office job. I enjoy the flexibility of working at home and spending the time with my family. I became spoiled as a freelancer and now I’m spoiled as a telecommuting Community Manager.

That doesn’t mean it’s all bunny slippers and Oprah, however. If you’re hoping to land a gig where you can work from home, let me turn you on to a few things to consider first:

1. Folks don’t always respect your time - It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. People will think that because you work at home your job isn’t so important. They will call you during your working hours, and drop by for coffee. Friends and family will ask for favors and wonder why you don’t get enough house stuff done during your working hours. Remedy this by establishing working hours and making sure everyone knows you’re not available during this time.
2. Working at home is hard – Flexibility is good, but you have to make a lot of compromises of your time. I spend free time and “lunch hours” driving children to various activities or running errands. It’s very rare that I go out to lunch with friends or co-workers and any time spent doing children’s activities during the day is made up well into the evening. Plus there are constant distractions: The phone, the TV, the Internet, the fridge. You have to be very disciplined to work at home without a supervisor standing over you.
3. You’ll work more hours at home than you do at an office job - Home workers are constantly checking and responding to emails and tweaking projects, even after “office” hours. If the computer is on, you’re checking on work, no matter how often you vow to stay away.
4. If your Skype is on you must be working – Many times your superiors or co-workers don’t consider your weekends or evenings as private time if they know you are online. If they see you on Skype or Twitter, they might contact you with some extra things to do. This happens often among homeworkers. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries.

Working from home is the best thing for me and my situation. However, telcommuters must have discipline and a good work ethic. Are you up to the challenge?

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Tagged as: community manager, telecommute, work from home

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If you are looking for a Community Management job and feel like all of the good positions are taken, then you should definitely head on over to our Looking for Employment page where you can fill in details about yourself which we will not only post on this blog, but also make a conscious effort in trying to help you find your spot in the Community Manager world.

Please make sure to fill in as much information as possible, but don’t just copy and paste your resume. This is your chance to sell yourself to any company that might be looking for a Community Manager, so make it count.

Also, if you are company looking at hiring someone, and want to get the word out, feel free to use this form as well to let us know of an opportunity you have available.

This service is free and makes no guarantees, but as things grow, evolve and change, we have the opportunity to sit on the cutting edge, so submit your information today.

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Tagged as: employment, job help, job postings

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If you are looking for other places to hang out with Community Managers, and for some reason, Kommein isn’t enough for you, there is also a great community slowly being fostered on LinkedIn called: Online Community Managers.

With over 170 members, there are more than a few people in the position that can either help you learn more about the career, if you are interested in it, or if you are already a Community Manager, and want to talk about the job, they have conversations relating to that as well.

Some recent discussions include:

• What is Community Management?
• Essential Reading for Community Managers
• How to Become a Good Community Manager?

If you are looking for a community of Community Managers to talk to, then the LinkedIn community might be a great start.

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Tagged as: community managers community, linkedin

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I just wanted to take a minute to thank the great community already here at Kommein. Our RSS readership has grown from nothing, to nearly fifty readers in the span of a month, which is amazing to me. Thank you all so much!

Both Deb and I have been putting a lot of ourselves into this project, and we both appreciate that you have all decided to subscribe to what we have to say. Deb Ng is definitely a rock star in this subject, and has already created some fans through her Community Manager job of the day posts.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do (Subscribe to Kommein) as we hope to continue to push out some great content, and tip our hats to you, as we continue forward. This year is going to be a huge year for community management, and there are no people that realize that more than our readers, so once again, thank you for subscribing.

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