The Community Roundtable

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

Sonny Gill on Social Media Participation in Education

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The Community Roundtable has partnered with Voce Communications to produce a new podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.” In this series, TheCR’s Jim Storer joins forces with Voce’s Doug Haslam to speak with people from a variety of industries about their efforts with community and social media management.
Our sixth episode features Sonny Gill, Community Manager for DeVry University.

Highlights include:

  • Regulatory hurdles for social media participation in the education sector
  • The importance of integrating and harnessing the disparate internal communities at educational institutions
  • The importance of students as an, ever-changing and tech-savvy resource to help drive community-building
  • Extending connections beyond the current faculty and students to incoming freshmen and alumni- is that happening enough?
  • A discussion of “Community Chat,” which Sonny ran with Bryan Person on Twitter andFriendFeed (and how to keep momentum going in community- bring the chat back, guys!)

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MUSIC CREDIT: “Bleuacide” by graphiqsgroove.

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

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Shwen Gwee on using Social Media Tools to Grow Community

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The Community Roundtable has partnered with Voce Communications to produce a new podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.” In this series, TheCR’s Jim Storer joins forces with Voce’s Doug Haslam to speak with people from a variety of industries about their efforts with community and social media management.

Our fifth episode is an interview Shwen Gwee, who works in the health care and pharma industries, and heads up a network called SocialPharmer* and the blog Med 2.0.

Highlights of the conversation include:

  • Taking a community cultivated at a conference and continuing to grow it online with social media tools
  • Conversely, how online groups (like Twitter chats) can be used to lead to more substantial offline events
  • The reluctance in highly-regulated industries like pharmaceuticals to using social media, and how to counter those
  • How growth in industry participation has actually taken off in some areas, particularly Twitter, and Facebook, which has seen many popular Fan Pages grow up around support for people with certain diseases
  • Lessons learned from live events, including: the ability for people to talk across different verticals, the opportunity to speak with patients in an informal setting, and in-depth discussions of the mutual trust needed to keep social media use growing in pharma

Download this episode.

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MUSIC CREDIT: “Bleuacide” by graphiqsgroove.

* Note: SocialPharmer is currently a Ning group, but with the announcement that Ning will stop support for free groups, Shwen has told us that he is working on moving the network to a new platform, to be determined soon.

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Rachel Happe on Social Media Vs Community

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The Community Roundtable has partnered with Voce Communications to produce a new podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.” In this series, TheCR’s Jim Storer joins forces with Voce’s Doug Haslam to speak with people from a variety of industries about their efforts with community and social media management.

Our third episode features an interview with Rachel Happe, co-founder of The Community Roundtable.

Conversation highlights include:

  • Introduction of the topic: the difference between the roles of social media manager and community manager. Rachel has been thinking on this topic, with posts such as “Social Media is Not Community“
  • Rachel discusses social media as content-based, while community is more specifically relationship-based
  • How should a CMO hire a social media manager? What should they look for?
  • How the type of company effects the need for deeper relationships or less deep connections (is it a scaling problem?)

Download this episode.

Subscribe to this podcast series.

MUSIC CREDIT: “Bleuacide” by graphiqsgroove.

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Ryan Paugh on Tone and Passion in Community

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The Community Roundtable has partnered with Voce Communications to produce a new podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.” In this series, TheCR’s Jim Storer joins forces with Voce’s Doug Haslam to speak with people from a variety of industries about their efforts with community and social media management.

Our third episode features an interview with Ryan Paugh, co-founder (with Ryan Healy and Penelope Trunk) and Director of Community for Brazen Careerist.com. From their web site:

Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-generation professionals. It exists to give everyone an opportunity to build and nurture a network of trusted peers. Think of it as a 24-7 virtual networking event, filled with people who can help you get ahead in your career.

Conversation highlights include:

  • The challenge of managing a community where the community is the product
  • How much attention to pay to “tone” when your community caters to a specific demographic (in this case, “Generation Y”)
  • The role of passion for your topic/category when managing a community
  • The freedom to mix in new tools and technology with a community of early adopters

Download this episode.

Subscribe to this podcast series.

MUSIC CREDIT: “Bleuacide” by graphiqsgroove.

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Tim Walker on Community Manager Vs. Social Media Manager

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The Community Roundtable has partnered with Voce Communications to produce a new podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.” In this series, TheCR’s Jim Storer joins forces with Voce’s Doug Haslam to speak with people from a variety of industries about their efforts with community and social media management.

Our second episode features an interview with Tim Walker, Social Media Manager at Hoovers. From their web site:

We deliver comprehensive insight and analysis about the companies, industries and people that drive the economy, along with the powerful tools to find and connect to the right people to get business done.

Conversation highlights include:

  • Knowing when to use what tools… Twitter, Facebook, email, phone or a walk down the hall.
  • A discussion of the difference between being community manager and a social media manager.
  • Understanding the balance between “on-domain” and “off-domain” engagement.
  • What community management and The Dating Game have in common. (!!)

Download this episode.

Subscribe to this podcast series.

MUSIC CREDIT: “Bleuacide” by graphiqsgroove.

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Mark Wallace on His Experience with Community

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Mark and I worked together at three different companies between 1996 – 2007. During that time we worked on social media and community projects of all shapes and sizes. When he told me he was leaving to take on a lead role in EDR‘s Commonground community I was thrilled. He has a deep passion for community and this just seemed like a great fit (it is!).

Due in large part to Mark’s hard work and dedication, Commonground was recently awarded a Forrester  Groundswell Award for Outstanding B2B Customer Support Community. I congratulated Mark soon afterward and asked him to join me for a podcast to explore what he’s learned along the way. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with this brilliant idea. Another former colleague (and good friend) Aaron Strout asked Mark to do an email interview with him that same day! In the end it worked out better for you, because you get two for the price of one!

I had the chance to read Aaron’s interview before I chatted with Mark and took the opportunity to take our conversation in a little bit of a different direction. I think you’ll agree it’s a great listen. Enjoy!

Download this podcast (19 minutes/17.3mb)

 

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Aaron Strout on Measurement and Best Practices

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tough night I’ve been friends with Aaron since he and I were on the team together at Shared Insights. We worked on community projects like “We Are Smarter than Me” and traveled the country recording podcasts with industry rockstars. It was a bit odd interviewing Aaron since we’d tag-teamed so many interviews in the past, but we muddled through. 🙂

On the podcast, Aaron shares more about Powered, including how their “four super powers” – Strategy, Content, Measurement and Platform – support communities for clients like Radio Shack, Sony, HP and Atkins. We dug into content and measurement in detail, exploring how companies should think about these important facets of community building.

We also talked about Aaron’s role as an evangelist (or the Kevin Bacon of social media as Adam Cohen noted) and what best practices he’s picked up along the way. Given Aaron’s success and influence this is must-listen stuff. He’s humble of course, but shares a lot of nuggets about the secrets to his success.

Download this podcast (22 minutes/19.8mb)

 

About Conversations with Community Managers*
To better reflect the diverse conversations our podcast covers we’ve changed the name of our long-running series to Community Conversations.
Community Conversations highlights short conversations with some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space, exploring what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
These episodes are a great way to begin to understand the nuances of community strategy and management.
Each episode is short (usually less than 30 minutes) and focuses on one community management professional.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Conversations with Community Managers – Diane Hessan

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Diane Hessan from Communispace is one of the most approachable CEOs you’ll meet. When you meet her for the first time she really wants to get to know you and listens intently. It’s not surprising she runs a successful social media company given this trait and it’s also not surprising she has her team actively (and publicly) sharing via a group blog.

We talked about the blog and what executives need to think about when they’re getting started in social media. Her advice in a nutshell? Start slow and be prepared to mix business with personal. Diane does a good job of this with her popular @communispaceCEO Twitter profile, where she shares what she’s thinking about and reading and isn’t afraid to be herself. It shouldn’t surprise you that Diane was named the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce last month. Enjoy the podcast!

Download this podcast (18.7mb/21 minutes)

 

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Conversations with Community Managers – Michael Brito

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I found Michael Brito (@britopian) through a mention on Twitter. He’d written a blog post called “Social Media Marketing Will Soon Become a Commodity Skill Set” and it somehow found it’s way into my stream. I agreed with the premise and let Michael know on Twitter. We had a back and forth and before long I asked him to join me for a podcast. We spoke a couple days later the the rest is history (captured on this podcast for your enjoyment).

We talked about listening and responding via social networks, humanizing brands and what happens when those humans move on and finally talked about the blog post that originally brought us together. It was a great chat – I hope you enjoy it!

Download this podcast (17mb/18 minutes)

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Conversations with Community Manager – Shawn Morton

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I met Shawn last March while on the Innovator’s RoadTrip. He joined us for a beer in Columbus and talked about the innovative work he was doing at Nationwide. We soon realized we had a lot of friends in common and ended up at a lot of the same “social gatherings” at SXSWi. Good times!

During this podcast Shawn talks about what it’s like getting a large organization started in social media, the importance of executive sponsorship and how demonstrating quick wins is a good strategy when you’re just getting started. He also talks about Nationwide’s use of Yammer and how it’s a good first step for people getting used to the power of social media. Finally, Shawn shares the innovative way he works with the legal team at Nationwide to make sure they’re comfortable with how the team is interacting on social networks. Enjoy!

Download this podcast (22 minutes/20.6 mb)

 

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