TheCR Live and SXSWi: Community Management IRL

Wow!  Just over three years ago Jim and I started The Community Roundtable believing that communities had a bright future in enterprises and that they would change business strategy and value chains. We knew that the individuals who worked in the social and community sphere would need support, access to their peers in a private setting and resources to help them scale. Based on the events we’ve run or participated in and the number of sessions we’re seeing that are community focused at SXSWi this year, it seems we were right about the growing need for community management resources.

Very early on we started an in-person event in Boston called TheCR Live. We did this to listen and learn from those working in community/social and quite frankly to give both Jim and I a chance to get out from behind our computers and see people in real life.  We are thrilled that not only is TheCR Live thriving in Boston, but it is now active in Chicago and launching in Austin on September 7th!  Clearly we aren’t the only ones who are interested in getting together face-to-face to learn and share in a casual setting. These extensions of TheCR Live help us fulfill our mission to connect community leaders, regardless of whether they are our customers or not.

Here is our upcoming TheCRLive schedule around the country.  We hope you will check it out if you find yourself near one.

Austin – September 7
Boston area – September 7
Chicago – September 12
Washington DC – September 18 with Rachel Happe and Ayelet Baron (details & sign up link coming soon)
San Francisco area – Date to be announced soon
Boston – October 5 with Hillary Boucher
Chicago – October 11 with Ayelet Baron

I also remember being at SXSWi in March of 2009 just before we launched The Community Roundtable and it was the one place where you could be sure to find people talking about social and community management.  Today there are many more conferences that are designed specifically for community professionals and even mainstream conferences that include sessions on the topic.  But SXSWi is still one of the best sources to discover trending topics and meet people in the trenches. This year’s submissions include many focused on community management and we’re excited to see the topic flourishing and getting even more attention.

Voting for SXSW Interactive sessions (which help determine which ones actually get presented) is open through Friday, August 31st.  If you are going to be there or are just interested in what people are talking about in community management, check them out and vote on your favorites.

Great panels submitted by some the smarties who are members of TheCR Network include:

Here’s another good list of sessions put together by TheCommunityManager.

Plus many more:

Go Vote. Now!