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Meet TheCR Network Scholars | Erin Fristoe

March 23, 2021 By Jim Storer

As part of our continuing efforts to increase the impact of our community resources, we are excited to introduce you to the 2021 Scholarship Cohort. Each month in 2021 we’ll interview a cohort scholar and learn why community is important to them. 

This month we’ll meet Erin Fristoe, currently the Director of Community and Talent Acquisition for a 200-person Department of Defense Contractor.

Why do you believe in Community/Community Management?

Community isn’t something that you choose to believe in or not like Santa Claus. Community is there whether you see it or not.

But not all communities are created equal- those with strong leadership (or influence) succeed. It turns out I was “community managing” long before I knew that it was a thing. I was always the person that coordinated friends gathering, or finding commonalities between strangers to have them more comfortably engage with one another. In fact, I have a LI blog post about My Accidental Community that I wrote a few years back- community managing before I was a Community Manager.

Some people are born to do it- I can’t not community manage. The innate habit of community building that lies within me is a driving factor in my life, work aside.

What area of Community do you want to learn most about?

I’ve given talks as a SME in the Community space and enjoy learning and growing, but I really desire the leadership skills to learn how to strategize for the future. As the Community SME at my company, I don’t have anyone to learn from, for instance, creating a roadmap for the community.

In my dream world, I would take the skills and thought leadership I’ve gained over the years and consult with other small start-ups in the DC area, educating them on the value of building a strong community from the start.

Are you currently working in Community?

Yes, My current role is that of Community Director. In this role, it is my responsibility to make employees sticky. My focus is driven by two fundamentals: lowering attrition and engaging high performers- the most productive members of our community tend to be the most engaged.

Thanks, Mohamed! Watch this space for updates from Mohamed and our other 2021 Scholarship Cohort.

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You can learn more about our 2021 Scholarship Cohort here.

TheCR Connect Boston 2016 Recap

November 7, 2016 By Jim Storer

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Participants brainstorm during a working group session.

By Amy Turner, The Community Roundtable

Working in community you can get pretty numb to the amazing collisions that take place between passionate people. We recently got a reminder of what makes community professionals – and members of TheCR Network – so special.

TheCR Connect brought together community veterans and tactical experts from around the country for a two-day workshop full of inspiring speakers, actionable planning sessions, engaged networking and expert case studies. And just a little bit of networking held around actual roundtables, with delicious food and tasty drinks in hand. (Some extra-special bonding was done during the World Series game we watched as a group on night one!)

This year, participation was limited to members of TheCR Network to ensure that deep connections could be made quickly, and so that every participant could contribute and walk away with inspiration to effect real change in their community. No business cards needed at this event – everyone was already connected online in the Network!

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A roomful of community lovers led to great networking.

The Connect workshops, lightning talks and unconference sessions (all led by our amazing members) covered on topics such as Dashboards, Roadmaps, Community Platform Requirements, Gamification, Empathy and Crowdsourcing Innovation.

We even celebrated members of TheCR Network with a series of awards during Connect, to showcase the incredible work they are doing to advance the discipline of community management as well as contributing to Network in valuable ways. Awards covered such topics as “The Cheerleader”, “The Detective” and the “Explorer” and were a fun way to surprise and delight our members.

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Members of TheCR Community Team present member Ted Hopton with an award.

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Community VIP Claire Flanagan receives a special community commendation.

 

While we are sad to have another Connect event in our rear-view mirror, these amazing connections and conversations are already living on inside TheCR Network. Our year-round regular programming, including roundtable calls, working groups and discussions ensures that members are always connecting, always sharing and always learning – even if they aren’t in a room together anymore.

 

TheCR Connect Class of 2016

 

Learn how your community and your career will benefit from membership inside TheCR Network.  jointhecrnetwork_button

A Community for Community Managers

June 22, 2016 By Rachel Happe

TheCR Network logoAt The Community Roundtable, we’ve been running a community for community managers for seven years – TheCR Network. Running TheCR Network allows us to learn together every day along with hundreds of the best community professionals in the business, from over 150 organizations.

Our shared purpose in starting TheCR Network was to demonstrate the value of community management. In 2009, very few people understood what community managers did, let alone their value.

Together, our shared value has been to develop and document the evolving disciple of community management, which we do through research, programing and lots of conversations. Together we have helped make  community management more well understood and, according to our research, a strategic enabler for the c-suite. That’s progress to be very proud of!

It’s been an amazing journey so far and as community management becomes the future of all management and as engagement becomes core to both the customer experience and the employee experience, we are learning together what it means to execute on that vision. We have learned that communities are a key enabler of addressing complex organizational goals – culture change, knowledge management, digital transformation, innovation, collaboration. Communities are what allow organizations to trigger, model and reward new behaviors – and create the supportive and encouraging environment individuals need to believe the change is worthwhile – all of which creates tremendous value for the organization.

So what makes TheCR Network so special?

First, our members are really what make TheCR Network special – individuals who sit in different types and sizes of organizations working on different complex problems all of whom want to solve those problems using a collaborative, community-based approach.

Together, we highlight when community management is done well and help organize and structure community management so it is easier to understand and easier to describe. We do that through our community programs that are designed to create member collisions in a variety of ways:

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Roundtable Calls

We host 3-4 roundtable calls each month on a wide variety of topics related to community management. Sometimes these calls are facilitated by an outside expert and sometimes they are a group of members sharing an approach. A library of over 200 roundtable call reports gives members a wealth of expertise to access as needed.

Community Manager Working Out Loud in TheCR Network

Weekly Work Out Loud

Every week, we ask members to share their weekly goals. This not only encourages our members to step back once a week to think through their tasks strategically, it also helps us understand how to proactively provide connections to people and content they may not know is out there. The biggest benefit, however, is it helps members connect and share with each other.

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Weekly Community Managers Newsletter

It can be challenging keeping up with all the conversations, programs and activity going on in the community. It’s our job to help curate so members can identify the topics and activity that will help them most. Our weekly newsletter is how we help our members sift through what matters the most each week.

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Community Management Training

Twice a year, we run more structured training courses for both internal and external community professionals. This Community Management Fundamentals training provides an opportunity to level set on the basics for newer community managers and an opportunity to step back and refocus for more experienced community managers. It’s comprised of a series of short videos, worksheets and facilitated discussions with other members.

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New Member Calls

New member calls are designed to acclimate new members to both the structure and the culture of TheCR Network so that they feel comfortable jumping in and joining conversations or Roundtable Calls. It’s also important that we get to know and understand them so that we can provide better support.

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Happy Hour Chats

Being a community manager can be isolating – not everyone has a team of colleagues to meet up with for a delicious drink after work and shoot the breeze. Our weekly Happy Hour Chats are a great way for members to kick back, unwind, and maybe even vent about what’s going on in their communities. These are a great way for members to ask informal questions, stay up-to-date on industry trends and share what they are working on.

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Ask Me Anything

Ask and you shall receive – literally. AMAs allow members to receive the answers to their most pressing community questions. Every month we put one community expert in the hot seat and they answer any questions that the Network throws their way. This is a great way to showcase member expertise and help people connect with the info they didn’t know they needed.

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Community Buzz

Life – and content in the Network – moves pretty fast sometimes. The Community Buzz is a weekly opt-in email that provides members with a summary of the top content in the Network – questions that might need answering, hot topics being debated and discussions that they shouldn’t miss.

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Live Networking Events

Our members are located all over the world, and while we believe in the power of connecting online there is something to be said to getting together over tasty food and drink and getting to know someone in person. We facilitate a number of live networking events exclusively for members. These events include lunches, dinners, happy hours and TheCR Connect workshops to bring together members and deepen the connections made inside the TheCR Network.

What does all of that look like on a monthly basis?

Here is an example of a month of events in TheCR Network. We find that different members like different things – like all communities we have listeners who read and absorb a lot but participate only occasionally. We have other members who are more socially motivated who tend to participate in the weekly Work Out Loud discussions and come to Happy Hour more often. We have Roundtable Call regulars who come to just about every discussion we have and others who really like the structured training.TheCRNetwork_April2016_ProgrammingCalendar

TheCR Network offers something for every community professional – and we hope you will consider joining!

Join TheCR Nework

 

 

 

 

 

TheCR Network Sneak Peek: April 2016

April 28, 2016 By Jim Storer

By Hillary Boucher, Community Manager at The Community Roundtable

TheCR Network logoSpring has finally sprung here and I don’t think that it is a coincidence that engagement has been growing like the flowers in my yard! Have you been seeing lots of new life in your community? Check what’s been going on inside TheCR Network this past month:

  • Internal Community Fundamentals (Training): We’re cranking through our first guided training class inside the Network and I have to say – engagement and participation is wowing even me. Members are sharing ideas, working through the content together and the excitement and growth is almost electric. Honestly, since this was the first time we rolled out a new program like this we were cautiously optimistic – but the interactions we are seeing that totally validated the idea to offer free training as part of membership.

  • Governance Matters: Steering a Community from Hostile to Helpful (Roundtable Call):
    Case Study: Improving Community SentimentModeration and governance, when applied well, contributes to productive and healthy community cultures. On this call we learned how one fast growing community went from hostile and unwelcoming to productive and helpful. The member team shared how they turned their community culture for the better with the implementation of clear governance policies and a no nonsense approach to moderation. (Want to learn more about this? You can download the case study here – even non-members!)
  • Getting Started – Best Practices for New Member On-boarding (Discussion Thread): Earlier this month a member started a discussion thread asking “Does anyone have a “Getting Started” page in their community to help newbies get rolling?” Lo and behold the answer was a resounding YES from other members – and a robust and lively thread took off. I love seeing our members connect, share and help solve each other’s community problems. In this case many members spoke up and posted page examples, UX tips and tricks, and engagement drivers. Definitely a highlight for me this month!

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Want to access our exclusive community programming for the benefit of your community work? Looking for community peers to share with and learn form? Reach out and ask us about membership in TheCR Network

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Announcing New Community Management Training for Members

March 1, 2016 By Jim Storer

By Hillary Boucher, Director of Networks at The Community Roundtable

I’m excited to announce that our already amazing membership in TheCR Network now gets you MORE! Our Community Fundamentals Training is now available to all members as part of your membership package through our new guided community management training program.

Guided community management trainingStarting this spring we’ll be running the training in the network as a six week training series, alternating between Internal Community Fundamentals and External Community Fundamentals – join the Network now and sign up for a training class today!

The training for online community managers will be a social learning experience that takes place in a private group where participants will progress through the modules as group. We’ll provide prompts and light facilitation in the group forums and we’ll host a weekly office hours to help participants block time on their calendar to participate.

Participants will have access to:

– Six training modules
– Private discussion group
– Private Slack channel for open office hours & impromptu discussions and support

If you are interested the Internal Community Fundamentals runs March 21-April 29 and the External Community Fundamentals runs May 9-June 26.Join TheCR Network Button

Join TheCR Network today to have access to this new perk – a $495 value – free to members!

Already a member? 

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guided community management training

Have questions? You can email me or comment below!

Best Practices for Online Community Platform Migration

February 9, 2016 By Jim Storer

Intrigued by TheCR Network, but want to learn more about what membership entails before joining?

Watch Hillary Boucher share a special look inside TheCR Network.  In January Hillary shared a look at the research, programming and professional development available exclusively to Network members and highlighted best practices for a community platform migration. It’s a must-see for any community professionals about to undertake a platform change.

This content has moved inside The Network.

TheCR Network Infographic 2015

December 29, 2015 By Jim Storer

By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable

With just a few days left in 2015 we wanted to share a look at the great year we had inside TheCR Network. I hope you’re enjoying the end of the year and we are excited to share even more community management resources in 2016!! Now onto TheCR Network infographic:

TheCR Network - Year End Infographic

 

Investing in professional development like TheCR Network is a powerful way to strengthen your community management skills. Make an investment in your community and your career with our community resource bundle – available for a limited time.

You’ll save 30% on full membership in TheCR Network, a community planning toolkit and get access the online community training class of your choice in TheCR Academy. A $2,299 value just $1,495 for a limited time. Use code “2015BUNDLE” at checkout to redeem this special offer.

Purchase the Resource Bundle

TheCR Network Sneak Peek: September 2015

September 24, 2015 By Jim Storer

By Georgina Cannie, Community Fellow at The Community Roundtable.

Despite my best efforts to cling to summer temperatures, to seems that Fall has arrived in full force. While I might be feeling a little reluctant to pull out my boots and scarves from the closet, I am more excited than to welcome TheCR Network members back from their summer vacations with a new wave of Network going-ons.

Here’s a sneak peek into what’s been going on inside TheCR Network

Community Careers and Compensation (Research): While this research (and the survey that fuels it) are public, we offered TheCR Network members the opportunity to collaborate on the second installment of what was formerly know as the Community Manager Salary Survey. Members met to help shape everything from the skills that should be included to what kind of tone and orientation would make the research most valuable to them when advocating for their role. Members even chimed in to help us brainstorm and vote on a new name!
Fall Programming (Events): Now that the kids are back in school and community professionals are looking towards 2016, we have launched a new line up of expert and member led Roundtable events. We are looking at Maximizing the Impact of a Small Community Team, “Socializing” your Executives and translating the 2015 State of Community Management research findings into tactical action plans- to name just a few.
Gamification Learning Group (Collaborative Learning): A handful of members have decided to take a Coursera-hosted training course on Gamification. They teamed up in TheCR Network to discuss their learning goals, support each other’s progress and trade insights.

Want to access our programming for the benefit of your community work? Reach out and ask us about membership.

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Intrigued by TheCR Network, but want to learn more about what membership entails before joining?

Join Hillary Boucher and a special community guest for a monthly look inside TheCR Network.  Each month Hillary will share a look at the research, programming and professional development available exclusively to Network members and her guest will share a short case study on how the Network helps them achieve their community goals.

Bring your questions and see how TheCR Network can provide the tools you need to excel in your community role.

Our next webinar takes place on Wednesday, October 7th at 3pm ET.

Register now! 

TheCR Network Sneak Peek: October 2014 Wrap Up

October 28, 2014 By Hillary Boucher

By Hillary Boucher, Community Manager at The Community Roundtable.

Oh, October, with your foliage, pumpkin spice lattes, and your community programming. It’s a great time to be a community practitioner and we’ve had a busy month inside the TheCR Network. Here are a few samplings of what’s been going on:

  • 10 Content Curation Techniques for Your Online Community (Roundtable): TheCR Champion Maddie Grant invited Ed Barrett, VP of Members & Marketing at the Global Business Travel Association, to discuss the content strategies he uses at GBTA. This call was a big hit with participants and we appreciated Ed’s focus on metrics driven decision making and practical ideas for sourcing content for your community.
  • The Social Executive Series (Working Group): We have another TheCR Champion, Jennifer Honig,  kicking off a new programming series for members that will focus on cracking the executive engagement nut in your online community. This month she posted a call for working group members, received buy-in from members, and then surveyed the group to find out the specific challenges they want to tackle together on the topic of executive engagement. I’m really looking forward to watching this group progress.
  • Intro to the Community Maturity Model (Pilot Training): We launched a pilot training program for new members of TheCR Network. This mini-training gives participants a crash course on the Community Maturity Model (CMM) and how we organize the network and our programming off the model. Participants are about to hear (today!) from two other members who have applied the CMM to their community work and the training wraps up with participants designing a project where they apply to the CMM to an aspect of their own work. We’re really excited to see how this pilot program is received. Our hope is that the better members understand the CMM, the more they are able to leverage our resources, making them more successful with their community efforts.

If you are interested in learning more about what it’s like to be a member of TheCR Network check out this extensive overview which shares our general programming opportunities and resources made available to members.

Want to access our fall programming for the benefit of your community work? Reach out and ask us about membership.

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Did you know that TheCR Network members work with all kinds of communities? In fact, about 25% work in either internal or external communities and 50% work with both! No matter what kind of community you work with membership in TheCR Network will save you time and improve the quality of your work by connecting you with peers, experts and curated information. Learn how joining TheCR Network can improve the work you do.

Introducing TheCR Champions: Maddie Grant

October 22, 2014 By Jim Storer

By Hillary Boucher, Community Manager at The Community Roundtable.

(This is the second post in our series highlighting TheCR Champion program. Read part one here.)

This month we announced a new leadership program — TheCR Champions – for TheCR Network. Today I want to introduce you to one of our new Champions!

Maddie Grant is a long time friend of TheCR and has facilitated Roundtable calls as a guest TheCR Expert a number of times over the past few years. We are thrilled to have her facilitating a working group and helping us to deepen our engagement, content and programming. Lucky us!

Maddie Grant

Want to learn more about Maddie, her expertise, and the working group she is facilitating? Read on!

Maddie, tell us a little bit about your background.

I’m a social/digital strategist and serial entrepreneur, based in Washington DC. I consult to mostly associations and nonprofits and my main company, SocialFish, is a large social media blog (about 35 writers) for that industry.  I currently run an Essentials of Community Management crash course.  I also consult through ICF Interactive, and two of my clients are big community management projects, both of which are basically relaunches after failed starts. (Reasons why they failed the first time? Lack of internal support and infrastructure, of course! I bet everyone here could have guessed that one!).

I also have a brand new consulting firm (you heard it here first!) called Culture That Works LLC with my partner (in life) Jamie Notter, who is also my co-author on our book Humanize: How People Centric Organizations Succeed in a Social World. We’re currently writing our next book, on millennial thinking, and the company is for the culture consulting work we do together. This relates directly to community building, because a lot of what we write about and consult on is internal and external collaboration, as well as culture change related to technology change.

So, it seems the common thread for all of this is online communities! Yay!

What working group will you be facilitating and what are your goals for the group?

I have been invited to TheCR (thanks Rachel and Hillary!) to facilitate the associations and nonprofits working group. My goals for the association and nonprofit group is first to help connect people to each other; I’ve been described as a “bridger” IRL (so to speak) and connecting the dots between people and between communities is something I do pretty naturally.  Second, my goal is to help bring in expertise related to nonprofits, which will hopefully be relevant to anyone in the CR.  Nonprofits and associations have important community-driven missions –to do with pushing our industries forward and/or changing the world for the better– that are directly tied to our ability to build community online. So connections and learning, those are my two big goals.

Do you have a community that you are especially passionate about?

A community on the side that I am crazy passionate about is this – I run social strategy for Artomatic, a huge nonprofit arts festival in DC. We attract about 75,000 people and 2500 artists and performers to each event, and the whole thing is volunteer run – so part of my job is corralling the hundreds of volunteers, both short term and long term.

Thank you Maddie! We are excited to collaborate with you.

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Want to take advantage of exclusive TheCR Champion programming inside TheCR Network? Join today.

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