The Community Roundtable

Empowering global community leaders with research-backed resources, training, and tools.

Community Manager Gift Guide 2019

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Did you read this Atlantic article about how gift guides work?

Well, fear not.

We are NOT in the gift guide pay for play game. Nary an affiliate link graces this post, just seven great gift ideas for the dedicated community pros in your life.

  1. Ivy’s Tea – Ivy’s Tea Co. is a pop culture and Hip-Hop inspired holistic health brand. We can safely say their tea is delicious – and lives up to their motto of “Drink Tea Like an Adult. You cannot go wrong with their signature Rise & Grind blend, but everything we’ve tried is delicious.
  2. SonSon – Known for their amazing bowties for dapper adults and kids, SonSon has also curated an amazing list of <$10 gifts.
  3. SkinButtr – Possibly the best smelling body butter in the world. Gift a tub to the cmgr in your life who is constantly typing their days away and give their hands a treat.
  4. Expedition Subsahara – Everyone knows the sign of a true genius is a messy desk. Sometimes you need to sweep that clutter away, and Expedition Subsahara makes the perfect lidded baskets to hide away desk mess.
  5. Dammit Dolls – It’s a fact – community managers are stressed out. Help give your favorite coworker a safe outlet for any work-related rage with a Dammit Doll.
  6. Snacks – Show your appreciation with something they can eat! Our favorite holiday go-to is picking something up at a local shop – always 110% better than whatever you could order on the site named after a big river… We recommend searching for a local business near you (or near the recipient) but if you need to mail a gift our favorites that ship includes: Sweet Lydia’s Handcrafted Confections,  Sappho Chocolates, and the Tipsy Scoop.
  7. Cosmic Help – Look, we can’t promise that gifting a gorgeous crystal for their desk will improve their karma, but it can’t hurt yours.

Did we miss something awesome? What’s on your wish list this year?!

PS – We’re serious, we have nothing to gain from those links above, these are just genuinely nice/cool/fun things we actually like.

PPS – Happy Holidays! If we could, we’d send ice cream (boozy or not) to each and every one of you!

5 Online Community Predictions for 2019

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2018 was an amazing year of change for the community management industry – and a year where I have seen more progress than in any of the preceding years in terms of strategic attention, maturing of community management practices, and impact on the organizations using community approaches to learning, change, and innovation.

As I look ahead to 2019 I’m excited about the potential for community approaches as organizations figure out how powerful they can be across strategic, operational, and tactical dimensions – and will help them change how they change.

5 community predictions for 2019

 

1. COMMUNITIES GET BOARD ATTENTION

Ecosystem and community strategies are becoming recognized at the board level for their value. Communities can address complex challenges and opportunities like creating agile organizations, continuous innovation, and building trust.

2. COMMUNITY SKILLS ARE IN DEMAND

Successful communities require skilled community professionals who know how to facilitate behavior change, engagement, and relationships without controlling people. These unique skills will increase in demand as more executives understand the power and value of community approaches.

3. COMMUNITY STRATEGIES UNLOCK DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

As digital transformation approaches come up short of expectations due to organizational inertia, community strategies that nudge people effectively toward learning and change will increase in value.

4. COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP PRIZED IN C-LEVEL HIRES

As more organizations use community strategies successfully, the biggest barrier facing them is traditional strategy and leadership mindsets. Increasingly, the ability to inspire movements, foster leadership in others, and create business strategies that assume abundance will be critical for executive hires.

5. ORGANIZATIONS USE COMMUNITIES TO CHANGE HOW THEY CHANGE

As information and data processing speeds increase, change becomes a critical core competency and constant adaptation becomes the norm. Communities provide the mechanism for this constant co-creation of the future and are key change agents for organizations.

 

What did I miss? What do you think will define 2019 for the online community management industry? We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!