Community Speak Up October 28, 2009
San Francisco, California
Speaking up can be fun!
Community work is full of ups and downs. The concept is hardly new, but the acceptance of Community Management as a field is still growing. Even still, case by case experiences range from community to community, and even less discussed, company to company. Adding to the confusion, the community space is becoming increasingly more crowded with claims of "expertise" from people claiming to be "social media gurus."
Personally, these thoughts prompted regular lunches with others working in the community space. While each individual experience was filled with unique challenges, over the course of time a single need began to resonate: "Where is our support system?"
The definition of "support" varies from person to person. By founding the Community Speak-Up, we aim to gather a group of community-minded folks around the things that should matter: discussions about Community Management as a field, career growth, tips and best practices, problem solving, and most importantly, grounded conversations about what it takes to be a Community Manager.
Our view is that the field of Community Management is continuing to grow, and because experiences vary, there really is a need to gather, discuss, and learn from one another on a more regular basis. We want to help grow this field through unified support, so please consider joining us once a month with a brown bag lunch and a desire to speak up.
NOTES: Current has offered to host in our cafe, however seating will be limited. Please bring a brown bag lunch.
Some primer for the first Community Speak Up - cine + octo = boo
About Community Speak Up - Absolute Sovereignty
Community Speak Up! - Quirkyknitgirl
Added by manima on October 15, 2009
Comments
yamy
Thanks for the invite, but I won't be in the city that day.
lauraglu
This is something I've chatted with people about as well. We definitely need a support system :)
elsachang
ugh, the Bay Bridge is closed and I can't go! :( Do you guys have webcast?
fotogail
missed it this time but interested.
manima
hey elsachang, sorry i didn't see this until just now. we weren't equipped to webcast this time around, but it went so well we will be doing again next month. i'll keep you in the loop!
nahduhlee
Fortunately that day is my bday! Unfortunately that means I'm not going to be able to make it. I'm extremely happy that something like this has been simmering elsewhere. Ariel and I talked at length for awhile about starting something similar. Thank you Mario for taking the initiative and bringing together people from CM and beyond!