5 ms·

What it sounds like you want to do is be one step up from the "community manager" job. It's definitely possible to self-create your own role here - I would ima

What it sounds like you want to do is be one step up from the "community manager" job. It's definitely possible to self-create your own role here - I would imagine there are probably 50 people on this board who would pay you to do exactly that job on a limited basis. You just need to be out in front of them with exactly what you can do. That takes a little self-marketing - what if you worked with the original poster here to turn around several of his largest customers?

Mz 16y ago
I'm not a religious person, so I'm not sure how viable it would be to work with church groups. Maybe it would be fine. I just don't know. It isn't that I want to be a community manager. It's just that community building is a little like raising kids: "Do as I say, not as I do" is one of the most ineffective (and even counterproductive) ways to try to pursue the goal. So what you see a lot of in public forums is that moderators and owners get frustrated with bad behavior and then publicly get all over someone's case for it in an effort to "improve" the situation. This typically amounts to putting out the fire with gasoline. Anyway, the point is that giving people examples is the single most effective means to foster community. Way more effective, efficient, and fast than trying to tell people what to do. So I am not sure that it would be reproducible to simply put together an information packet or peruse the forum and critique what they are doing. Those might offer some improvements but the single most effective, efficient, long-lasting means I know of to breathe life into a forum and turn a little pile of twigs into an impressive bonfire is to just be there myself and do what I do. I have no idea how I would price that or how well that would work for forums on topics I have zero knowledge about. But, yes, I have been seriously considering trying to find some means to turn this into a business opportunity because it does appear to be an unusual skill and there is clearly a "market" (ie people who need this and don't know how to do it themselves). Researching that and thinking on it is the real reason for this submission of mine: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209 Thank you for the feedback.

Mz 16y ago

I'm not a religious person, so I'm not sure how viable it would be to work with church groups. Maybe it would be fine. I just don't know. It isn't that I want to be a community manager. It's just that community building is a little like raising kids: "Do as I say, not as I do" is one of the most ineffective (and even counterproductive) ways to try to pursue the goal. So what you see a lot of in public forums is that moderators and owners get frustrated with bad behavior and then publicly get all over someone's case for it in an effort to "improve" the situation. This typically amounts to putting out the fire with gasoline. Anyway, the point is that giving people examples is the single most effective means to foster community. Way more effective, efficient, and fast than trying to tell people what to do. So I am not sure that it would be reproducible to simply put together an information packet or peruse the forum and critique what they are doing. Those might offer some improvements but the single most effective, efficient, long-lasting means I know of to breathe life into a forum and turn a little pile of twigs into an impressive bonfire is to just be there myself and do what I do. I have no idea how I would price that or how well that would work for forums on topics I have zero knowledge about. But, yes, I have been seriously considering trying to find some means to turn this into a business opportunity because it does appear to be an unusual skill and there is clearly a "market" (ie people who need this and don't know how to do it themselves). Researching that and thinking on it is the real reason for this submission of mine: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2126209 Thank you for the feedback.