Community

I’m a Harry Potter fan. I feel the books are brilliant and a very cool take on the good vs. evil thing. Currently, the Ng family is revisiting Harry & Company because my son started the books and is beginning to enjoy the movies. I’m finding the series is still as entertaining as ever, but I’m also finding something new each time I read.

Whenever I read books with my son, I look for lessons and points of discussion. Today, I’d like to share some of the lessons with you.

It’s OK to Enlist the Help of Your Friends

Harry Potter may be the title character, but make no mistake, he wouldn’t have been as successful with his magic or sleuthing without Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore and a cast of characters too vast to list here. There were times he asked for help and received it, and times he wanted to go it alone, but still had help. Moreover, he gave more of himself in a single year of school than most give in a lifetime.

Make no mistake, it took many different brains and bodies to rid the world of Lord Voldemort. “I can do it myself,” is wonderful but collaborations can rock just as hard. You’re not a failure if you work with others. If you’re stubborn and refuse to get along, things don’t always go as planned.

Smarts and Creativity Trump Magic

Harry Potter’s magic wand was only one of several tools used throughout the series. While it was an essential tool, without skill, smarts and creativity, Harry wouldn’t have succeed. His wand aided him but his ability to think logically and work through situations most people take for granted is what really got the job done. Here in the muggle world, we can’t really wave a magic want around. However, we can toss together a mix of smarts, creativity and some kickass tools and still create some pretty powerful magic.

If a Situation Doesn’t Look Right, You Can Act…or Leave it Alone

If something isn’t quite meshing, you have a couple of options. Leave it be or investigate further…

Harry and his friends had an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble. If something looked out of place, they took the time to figure out why. If they didn’t investigate a hunch, would Quirrel have stolen the Sorcerer’s Stone? Would Ginny Weasley have died in the Chamber of Secrets? Would anyone have recovered all horcruxes?

There’s good kinds of snooping and bad kinds of snooping. Going through your brother’s drawers to find some dirt on him isn’t the good kind of snooping. Going with your gut to expose evil or corruption is a whole other story.

First Impressions Aren’t Always Correct

Remember Snape? He had lots of people fooled, didn’t he? (Truth be told, I kind of had a feeling he was rolling with the good guys.)   I often wondered if Harry asked him the right questions if Snape would have been honest with him. For example, “Why did you kill Dumbledore?” or “Are you for the good buys or bad guys?”

It’s easy to make false assumptions. In fact, sometimes people you trust even make up stories about others to elevate their own careers and stature. Only you can make decisions about your relationships. Always give others the benefit of the doubt and don’t fall for gossip and finger pointing.

Good Wins Over Evil in the End

I’m a believer in the straight and narrow. People who count on sneaky tactics or bad practices are eventually called on it. People who try and get one over are usually found out. And most people who do the wrong thing don’t get away with it.

What are some lessons you learned from Harry Potter? Did I get it right here, or am I way off base?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 0 comments }

I used to write for someone who based the success of each blog post on how many Diggs it received. The problem was, this led to spike and decline traffic patterns and a transient community. I’ve since come to learn that Diggs and Stumbles are fun, especially if other people submitted our posts, but it’s more rewarding to watch my blog achieve organic, rather than forced growth.

Linkbait v. Community

I don’t think “linkbait” is a dirty word as some of my peers do. All bloggers wants folks to link to their blogs or show love to something they wrote. However, I don’t write with links or Diggs in mind, I write for the people who come here every day to read and share. I don’t achieve the huge spikes traffic that Diggbaits receive, but my traffic is showing a steady increase each day. I’m also noticing a loyal community is beginning to evolve. This doesn’t happen with blog posts that are written to gain links and Diggs over appealing to the people in the community.

My stats are showing that this blog isn’t yet achieving huge traffic numbers, but rather, there is a slow, steady rise happening. The people who are visiting Kommein are coming back for more. The people who come from Diggs and Stumbles don’t necessarily return.

How Do You Measure Success?

To me, true success isn’t how many people voted on something I wrote.  It’s the people who like what they see after reading one post, and come back for more.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy watching a blog post go viral, but after the smoke clears all I had was a one day spike in traffic.  That’s why some of my clients at first hired the folks who can get them the votes with Digg or Sphinn. Then when they realize their wild traffic patterns aren’t doing anything to truly grow their traffic and community, they hire people like me to cultivate traffic and community the right way. When you pay for votes, that’s all you get. Votes.

What Does Your Experience Tell You?

How does it work for you with your blogs? Do you write to Digg or grow community by offering something useful? Is your blog filled with linkbait and if so, how is that working for you?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 1 comment }

Bloggers take blog comments seriously. We’re irritated with spam and rude remarks and wonder what’s wrong with our writing or topic when we receive no comments at all. We spend copious amounts of time researching and devising ways to receive more comments, doing anything we can to cultivate an active community.

For many bloggers, a clear sign of success is the amount of comments received, but is it more about the comment or the commenter? Personally, I find the best comments come when I write thought-provoking posts that inspire discussion, rather than creating controversial or bandwagon-y posts designed more for the comment factor than for the sharing. Still, there’s no denying we all enjoy a heated debate or intriguing discussion.

If you visit blogs but don’t participate, or if you’re an active member of a blog’s community, you might be interested to learn how bloggers (or at least this blogger) feel about your comments.

Below is a look at some of the types of comments and commenters that show up on most active blogs.

When it’s more about the link then the blog comment

One of the first bits of advice a more established bloggers offer to newbies is to visit other blogs and comment in order to promote their blogs and their names. Sometimes this doesn’t encourage comments as much as it encourages links.

You can tell when someone is more interested in dropping a link than actually commenting because they do everything they can to get readers back to their site. Though there’s a signature line specifically for links, some commenters regularly drop links into the body of a comment. Some will pull a “I had so much to say I wrote an entire blog post on this – here’s the link.” Once in a while that can fly, but when it happens in every post it’s flat out spammy.

Also, some of those only in it for the link are fair weathered friends. They drop by, comment, and once their own community begins flowing they’re never seen again…unless they want you to link to their contest or be an affiliate for their ebooks.

We notice.

Commenting in support of the blogger

I’m not a fan of “Oh I so agree” comments that don’t really say anything. However, I’ve come to realize that many of those comments are from well intentioned commenters who want to show support for the blogger, or share that they liked a post, even if they have nothing else to offer as a comment. Comments are a terrific way to give something back to a blog you enjoy and shows the blogger you read and enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) the post.

Stirring up trouble

Bloggers enjoy a spirited discussion. It tells us our words touched our community. As long as the discussion remains respectful, all thoughts are welcome. However, there are some people who comment to stir up trouble every time. Maybe they’re looking for attention or to get links, or maybe they just crave drama, but every comment is a rant or counterpoint delivered just to raise hackles. This type of commenter may not even feel that passionate about his point, he simply wants to create a rift in the community.

Based on past experiences, I usually ignore this type of person. If an entire community doesn’t play into his hands, he’ll go off to find drama somewhere else.

Anonymous Comments

I’m supposed to tell you anonymous comments are cowardly and we need to own up to our comments and use our our names, but I’m not going to do that. I can tell you that many of the people who comment at blogs are using made up names anyway. Moreover, plenty of people are being anonymous not because they want to create trouble, but because they simply want to protect their online privacy.

I know of a few anonymous commenters who don’t use a real name because they don’t want their employers to know they’re reading blogs on company time or because they don’t want people to Google them and have their opinions keep them from a job. I once heard from a woman who uses a fake name because she doesn’t want an abusive ex-husband to find her.

Anonymous commenting isn’t always cowardly or abusive. Take it on a case by case basis.

Active participation

This is what we live for! An active community who responds to our blog posts and discusses the issues. This is more rewarding than money and a bigger treat than ice cream. .Most of us blog in hopes of cultivating an active community. Really, there’s nothing lonelier than a blog post with no comments and there’s no bigger thrill than a blog post with comments

We love hearing from you. Your comments are feedback and teach us points we may not have considered.  Don’t be afraid to comment to tell a blogger whether or not you agree or if you liked the post. Most of us can handle respectful disagreement.

Now, why not visit your favorite blogger and leave a comment?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 6 comments }

I spent my childhood on 50th Avenue in Elmhurst, NY, part of the borough of Queens in New York City. From the late 60′s to the late 70′s this area was made up of a tight knit community. I knew most of my neighbors through church and school, and we knew all everyone by name. I couldn’t walk down the street without stopping to wave, chat or play with at least three or four different friends. We didn’t dare get into trouble because we knew that our friends’ parents were watching at times our own folks were unavailable. We played, we helped and we shared. We were a true community.

Socializing in the Evening

I often think of my old neighborhood during the summer months because I remember how no one I knew had air conditioning. To cool off, we spent our days outside. We played, sat in the shade and chatted, ate ice cream or swam in a very small pool.  To escape the heat of our home we had dinner outside, seated at a picnic table under the large, shady maple tree in our back yard.

If we tried to spend the day inside, our parents kicked us out of the house. It was unheard of to watch TV during the day or stay inside simply because it was hot. Besides, it was hotter inside than outside.

At night, kids played out front until the street lights went on, teens chatted on the corner until curfew and parents sat on their stoops and chatted with the neighbors.  At that time, it wouldn’t occur to us to spend our nights inside watching television or playing video games, and if someone told me I’d socialize using a computer I’d think they were daft.

When I 13, my family moved to suburbia and, again, we got to know most of our neighbors. At that time, families were beginning to spend more time inside either watching TV or playing Pong. Most of us did go outside and hang out with our friends in the evenings, and sometimes our parents sat on the porch and chatted with the neighbors. Mostly though, my parents relaxed after their long commute home from the city with a newspaper and TV.

When I was on my own, I moved back to a different, un-airconditioned apartment on the same block in Elmhurst, and guess what? As a grownup I sat outside on the stoop chatting with my landlady and other neighbors. They weren’t all the same people I grew up with years before, but the idea was the same; beat the heat by getting out of the hot apartment and talking to the neighbors. I continued to enjoy the community spirit.

Things have changed a bit

Eight years ago, my family and I moved to suburbia. We’re on a busy road with only a few neighbors. Sometimes in the evening, I sit on my deck wishing I had neighbors to talk to. I don’t see any kids in the backyards behind my home, but I can see the televisions on in their air conditioned homes.We have young friends come and visit, but they want to stay inside where it’s cool and play Wii. We host barbecues but half our company wants to stay inside and watch television rather than come outside and talk to us, because it’s cooler inside.

Will my son ever know the pleasure of hanging out at night and catching lightning bugs with his friends? Will my husband ever experience a good neighborhood chat from our front steps? Do people still sit on their stoops and front porches at night and enjoy some neighborhood gossip, or are they staying in to enjoy their favorite sitcom from the comfort of their air conditioned family rooms?

I didn’t live in an air conditioned home until 8 years ago. Before that, we had fans that blew the hot air around and relied on cross breezes, showers and cold drinks to cool us off. I often wonder if it’s worth the trade off. Is it better to have air conditioning or a social life? Is being cool and comfortable a trade off for being part of a community? I’m not so sure.

Virtual front porch

Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and blogs, I have a virtual front porch. I can visit with both old and new friends and neighbors any time and discuss the news and gossip together. While this is a pleasant alternative, I can’t help but remember I’m really sitting at a desk by myself for most of the day. Being part of an online community is nice, but it in no way replaces the real thing.

Maybe that’s why I enjoy attending conferences and meetups. There’s no way a hearty laugh can replace an “LOL!” and 140 characters isn’t much of a conversation. There’s a real world out there, people. It may be cooler inside, but there are real people outside your door and they’re more interesting and entertaining than what’s hanging out on your laptop.

Real conversation or A.C?

If you had to choose between an air conditioned home and hanging out on your front stoop talking with the neighbors, what would you pick?  If your answer is “people,”  do you spend your evenings indoors anyway or are you sitting on the front porch or taking the dog for a walk just so you can enjoy the company of the people in your neighborhood?

Is it really worth the trade off?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 9 comments }

There’s a scene in the movie Julie & Julia when Julie reacts to receiving her first ever blog comment by jumping up from her cubicle and sharing her excitement with her co-workers.

I could totally relate.

I don’t know of any blogger who isn’t excited each and every time a blog post receives comments because it means people are reading and that what we wrote is important enough to warrant a remark. However, there’s no better feeling than that first ever comment. It’s validation. The lack of comments also inspires emotion. It can be frustrating for both beginning and veteran bloggers when the comments fail to come in.

In the ten years I’ve been doing this, I learned there’s a right and wrong way to encourage comments and I’m the first one to admit, I don’t always practice what I preach. If I could list my biggest mistakes in regard to blog commenting it would probably have to do with not doing enough to encourage comments, and allowing myself to be too busy to respond to comments as often as I should.

Here are my favorite tips for encouraging blog comments  :

1. Ask

I was taught to ask for the things I want. So if I want blog comments I ask. I try not to only say “what do you think?” and hope for a response. Instead, I ask specific questions. For example, at the bottom of this post I may ask for your tips for eliciting a response from your readers or to share mistakes bloggers make in encouraging comments. It’s my experience that a community is more responsive to specific questions and direction than if I were to only ask them to comment.

2. Leave room for interpretation

The beautiful thing about blogging is that it’s mostly sharing of opinion and experiences. This encourages others to share their experiences as well. When we state facts and leave it as “my way or the highway” there’s really nothing left to comment about. Leaving a blog post open to interpretation means more readers can participate.

3. Go for discussion – not controversy

Have you ever noticed certain blogs only receive one or two comments each day unless they bring up a controversial topic? Negativity definitely causes a reaction, but then we have to ask ourselves if this is the reaction we wish to receive. I think that if we have to go for controversy or negativity to stir the pot for a response, we also have to wonder why what we’re writing each day isn’t enough to encourage comments. Is it because our readers aren’t interested in the posts? Is it because they can’t relate to the post? Is it because it’s not stimulating a discussion? Try creating discussion worthy posts over controversy. Sooner or later negativity will drive people away, anyway.

4. Don’t Make Commenters Jump Through Hoops

I understand why some bloggers use CAPCHA or want their commenters to register. It’s to keep away trolls and spammers and makes absolute sense. However, if I have to jump through too many hoops to leave my opinion, I’ll probably pass.  It’s frustrating to have to take 20 minutes to fill out a form or to continue refreshing an unreadable security code. If it’s too hard to comment, no one will.

5. Create a Positive Atmosphere

If your blog, including the comments section, are a hotbed of negativity, folks are going to get uncomfortable. If everything you write is an attack on someone else, or commenters are sniping at each other, you’ll only attract more negativity.

A few more things to consider

• All bloggers want comments. Most want to receive feedback on their blog posts, plus they want to watch a discussion take place. Most of us also agree that we enjoy a spirited exchange. That isn’t to say we want fights and pettiness to take place, but rather, respectful disagreement. Debates are fun, but debates aren’t fights.
• One thing I need to work harder on is responding in the comments. I sometimes get so busy in my day I don’t have time to participate in the discussion. A blog’s community wants to participate in discussion with the blogger – as well as the community. Being AWOL might encourage everyone else to be AWOL too.
• Top bloggers disagree as to whether or not a blogger should respond to every comment that comes in. It’s understandable if a blog only receives a couple of comments each day, but when there’s dozens of comments it can be hard to keep up.
• If things get too out of hand, don’t be afraid to moderate and delete. I’ve been criticized for this in the past, but I’ve deleted abusive comments. I don’t delete comments that disagree as long as they’re respectful, once they’re abusive or attacks and snipes begin, I delete.
• A comment policy will help to set ground rules. If you especially post a lot of hotbed topics, you’ll receive hotbed comments. Nicely let folks know you won’t tolerate certain behavior such as attacks or cursing.
• Some bloggers don’t allow anonymous comments. Personally, I don’t mind a pen name if a person is afraid to publicly say something for fear of reprisal from an employer or a community – as long as that person is respectful. I prefer to know everyone by name, but understand that in the online world some folks wish to remain anonymous.
• Create a community not a clique. If the only comments are from you and your best friend and contain mostly private jokes and references to unnamed parties, you’re creating a clique, not a community. Include everyone or start a  private forum.

Notice these are only tips? That’s because I don’t believe there are any hard and fast rules when it comes to commenting. There’s a certain universal etiquette, but I’m not the social media police, and it’s not up to me to tell everyone how it should be done.

When a blog presents a positive environment, people will respond in kind. If you want your readers to comment, you have to give them a reason to participate.

What do you do to encourage comments? Have you noticed that certain methods drive people away instead?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 6 comments }

I often come across Facebook fan pages and wonder about the motivation behind them. Plenty of fan pages make sense. I follow the local news and some of my favorite blogs and websites. I can even see following a favorite celebrity or television series. Others, are head scratchers. For example, what inspires someone to create a page title such as “That Public Toilet Probably Has an STD on the Seat?” Did the person who created the group come across this toilet in his travels? If so, I have to wonder about some of the places he’s visiting. And, really, what does one do in a group such as this? Those who “like it” certainly aren’t in there discussing toilet seatery. They’re liking for the sake of liking since not one of the 3,200 people who “like” this page find it especially discussion worthy.

There are no innocent parties when it comes to Facebook fannery. Everyone has either started a page, “liked a page,” or, at the very least, smiled and nodded after seeing a friend “like” a page that especially resonates with us. Indeed, I’ve even considered starting my own Facebook fan pages, mostly out of frustration or boredom. Some titles I’ve toyed with include “Why Do I Bother Making Up a Shopping List When I’m Going to Forget Stuff Anyway?” “Stop Telling Me to Put On a Sweater, I Shouldn’t Have to Dress in Layers in My Own Home,” “If you don’t read my blog how come you can quote everything I write verbatim,” and “If You’re the One that Wanted the Dog So Bad, Why Am I the One Picking Up His Crap?” I don’t have the nerve though. I’m afraid that people would actually join and then I’d have to stimulate some sort of discussion. Frankly, I don’t have that kind of time. Even so, I thought it might be fun to explore some of the more interesting Facebook pages and groups out there.

How many of these do YOU “like?”

1. I don’t care about your farm, your fish, your park or your mafia – 6,007, 186 members – (I’ve been tempted to join this one myself.)
2. Pretending to Text in Awkward Situations – 3, 718,385
3. I Will Go Slightly Out of My Way to Step on a Crunchy  Looking Leaf – 2,075, 261 members
4. Awkwardly standing there as your friend talks to someone you don’t know - 2,608,062 members (Who among us hasn’t been there before?)
5. Dear Pringles, I cannot fit my hand inside your tube of deliciousness – 1,184,671 members ( Then maybe you should just pour them out like the rest of us?)
6. I Hate When One String of My Hoodie Becomes Longer Than the Other – 1,525,749 (bummer.)
7. If You Tailgate Me I Will Intentionally Slow Down to Piss You Off- 1, 438, 313 members
8. The Guy Who Discovered Milk…What Was He Doing With That Cow? 1, 316, 399 members (Part of me wants to know this answer, the rest of me is thinking it’s best not to know.)
9. Finding a Bruise on Your Body and Not Knowing Where You Got It – 649, 891 (Who wouldn’t be a fan of anonymous bruising?)
10. I Wasn’t Grumpy Until You Accused Me of Being Grump. Now I’m Just Pissed -671,452
11. Half my problems would be gone if I never associated with you 331,082 members
12. Can This Poodle Wearing a Tinfoil Hat Get More Fans than Glen Beck? 277,754
13. Why Don’t Mosquitoes Suck Fat and Cellulite Instead of Blood? – 194, 288 members
14. If Guns Kills People, Do Pencils Misspell Words? 94,949 members (Silly, no one uses pencils anymore.)
15. I Hate Battery Low - 1,250 Members (Perhaps you might charge that puppy rather than create a FAcebook page in protest? )

Have you come across some funny or unusual Facebook fan pages? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 2 comments }

The owners of the old general store got it...do you?

If you’re one of the minority wondering if community is overrated, you’re not getting it. Or rather, you’re not getting the need for community. Because if there’s one thing we shouldn’t be brushing aside, it’s the importance of the power of a collaborative of people, most especially, community.

Old School Examples:

In my old Queens, NY neighborhood, the local funeral home has a problem. They’re losing the support of the now primarily Asian members of the community because there is no one on staff to accommodate their faith or speak their language. This is a family run establishment that has been in the same location across from my old church and Catholic School for at least fifty or sixty years. They didn’t adapt with the community because they felt those who are moving into the neighborhood should somehow convert to the funeral home’s way of thinking, rather than the other way around. Now they are losing business to the Asian funeral homes and may have to shut down. If they hired someone who spoke the language and could help the funeral home to learn to  adapt to traditions and religions, they’d have more business.

Another case in point from the same town:

My former home town is what is considered a melting pot. I went to school with people of all races and nationalities and everyone got along…except for some old schoolers who didn’t want new races and nationalities moving in. There was a hardware store two blocks away from our home that my father went to often, until he learned that the new owner didn’t like Hispanics moving in to the neighborhood. Instead of adapting, the shop owner complained. He didn’t want them in his store and he wasn’t going to accommodate them. My father made the decision to walk ten blocks to the hardware store owner who chose to embrace members of the new community by learning Spanish and discovering how to best accommodate their needs. Now my Dad had new friends to talk to and share with.

Guess which hardware store went out of business?

The funeral home and first hardware store made a big mistake. They didn’t see these new arrivals to the neighborhood as community. They saw them as outsiders. The smart business owners knew that collectively people become a community and community will make or break a business. Outside of a corrupt society, majority always rules. You can say you’re a people person, but unless you understand community dynamics, you’ll have a hard time getting your message across.

This is more than just some public relations practice. Both hardware stores needed their community to survive. It’s the folks in the community who buy the products but they also recommend the business to others. Communities are fiercely loyal and those who don’t get it, the ones who don’t get community or what it stands for, are the ones that don’t last. Oh sure, the store can have a sale or jump on the next big thing, but once that special day is over, life returns to normal and they see where the true loyalty lies. People will come for a sale, the community will give continued business.

Why You Need Community More Than it Needs You

When I was 7 years old I walked to the local pharmacy and asked the pharmacist for my Dad’s prescription. He didn’t have to look at the prescription slip or check the files. He filled the prescription from memory. He knew all his customers and their families. He also knew our doctors. He knew if we had allergies or a low tolerance to certain foods, and he didn’t need a computer database to give him this knowledge. In return for the excellent customer service, we gave his pharmacy our business, and the pharmacist, our friendship. I don’t know that the guy behind the counter at the ginormous CVS inspires the same response.

There’s a reason my generation trusts mom and pop stores more than super centers. We remember what it was like to pull up a pickle barrel, sit down and chat with the neighbors. We know that community isn’t one sided. Instead, it’s everyone working together towards a common goal. That goal can be the betterment of a neighborhood, or to share information, but without community neither would happen.

Guess what happened?

As soon as people realized they had a voice they made sure it was heard. They made it clear they didn’t want to navigate a phone menu to nowhere or talk to a recording. People began realizing they had options and they could leave for a better customer service experience. And they did. They banded together for a common cause. They created a community.

Now the bigger chains also have ways of growing a community using social networking, special promotions for registered members and more. They’re getting it, finally. They offer special services to reward loyalty. Before the Internet it was harder to rally a community around a big business. Complaints were brushed under the rug and it didn’t matter if customers were left on hold for an eternity. Now they understand that it’s the people who hold the power.

I dare you to name any business that can survive without community:

Let’s try:

• Stores: Without community feedback they wouldn’t know what items to stock or what to charge.
• Blogs: Without community you’ll only having the same three people who write for the blog talking back and forth with each other.
• The DMV: Ok. Bad example…
• The Cable Company: If the community is unhappy they’ll write letters, take it to the Internet and create a public relations nightmare.
• Politicians: They won’t reach office unless their community votes for them.
• Public Relations: Simply put, without people to respond to their promotions and press releases they’d be out of a job.

One person is a single voice. A community is a powerful force.

Can you think of any business that doesn’t need people to survive?

It’s All about People

People are the reason behind any success. You might not physically see the people who give feedback or buy products, but without them nothing would exist. Would Thomas Edison invent light bulbs if people didn’t have a need for them? Would we have trains if people didn’t want to travel across country without being scalped? People are the driving force behind everything. Make no mistake, where there are people, there’s community.

You can write off community as overrated, but unless a group of people agree with you, your point won’t be successful.

See how that works?

Community.

Related Posts:

• 10 Tips for Using Your Competition to Become a Better Blogger
• Re-Visiting Kommein
• What Happens to Your Community on the Weekend?
• Community Manager Job of the Day: Community Analyst for WalMart
• You Are What You Tweet

Tagged as: Community, general store, mom and pop store, neighborhoods, people, power of people

{ 4 comments }

Seth Rogen and Kommein’s own David Peralty. Ever notice how you never see the two of them together in the same room? Coinicidence? I think not.

David Peralty

Seth Rogen

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 0 comments }

Analyzing my online community’s stats is one of my favorite ways to learn about the people who interact at my blog network on a regular basis.. In fact, my analytics programs sometimes tell me more about my community’s wants and needs than if I had straight out asked them (and, just to be clear, we should be doing that as well.)

Here is what I learn from my daily stats reports:

• Where is search traffic coming from?
• How are current promotions (such as giveaways) doing?
• How are new members of the community learning about products and services?
• Which products and services work – and which need work?
• What are folks searching for before landing on your website?
• Which tags and keywords are working?
• Which community discussions are the most popular?
• What are people saying outside the community?
• Who is linking to my company’s products and services?
• What are people doing once they’re on my site?
• What content gets the most results?
• What content, product or service gets the least amount of interest from users?
• What countries and areas do members of my community come from?
• What languages does the members my community speak?

All of this is important. For instance, when people come from different regions, even different regions of the same country, their wants and needs are different.  Also, by learning which content gets the most visits and the biggest response, a community manager or editorial team can write the type of blog posts, articles and other written content tailored to the users’ needs.

I use a combination of Google Analytics and Performancing Metrics, both provide a goldmine of information. If you’re a community manager and your place of employment won’t allow you to have access to the company’s stats, patiently explain the reasons why it’s important. Successful community management depends on knowing your users’ wants and needs. Without knowing where they’re coming from and what they’re doing, the job is made that much more difficult.

Community managers also need to know what is going on outside of the website or online community. What is someone is saying something untrue about the business or has a specific issue in need of trouble shooting?  What if a product or service received a glowing review and the community manager would like to reach out and say thanks? Knowing who is linking to you and what they are saying are key when it comes to getting others to drink the Kool Aid.

What do the stats say about YOUR community?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

{ 2 comments }