photo credit: Lhopfan

I’ve been writing about online community management for a long time. I started writing my book in 2003, launched this blog in 2008 and published the book in that year, as well. Before the blog, I wrote about the topic sporadically elsewhere, including SitePoint.

I love community management and I care about the space, which is why I enjoy writing about it and sharing my experiences. I don’t really do consulting, but I always listen to people who want me to consult. Not long ago, I turned down a reasonable gig because the person I was consulting with wanted to own the ideas that I gave them. I could have used the money, but I objected and that was the end of that deal. My ideas are mine to share.

In writing about community management and sharing thoughts and conversations with those who read this blog, my ideas spread and beautiful things happen, that I am proud of. This builds community around my writing. I thought I would share a few of the things that I love to see.

photo credit: barbourians

Friday will mark 4 years since the launch of ManagingCommunities.com.

In honor of this occasion, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has been supportive of this site and me. Thank you to those that read this blog, subscribe to it and spread the word by passing along my writing. What I am most proud of is when someone utilizes what I share here to improve the way that they manage their community.

In the last 4 years, I have come a long way and the online community profession has, too. It has been fun to watch and to be a part of. This space means a lot to me and I look forward to seeing where we can go in 2012.

Thank you for visiting and supporting ManagingCommunities.com.

photo credit: Dell’s Official Flickr Page

The third annual Community Manager Appreciation Day, originally started by Jeremiah Owyang, will be celebrated on January 23.

In honor of this event, Dell will be hosting an hour long Google+ Hangout on their Google+ profile, starting at 1 PM ET (UTC/GMT -5). During the hour, there will be a set of three live panels, organized by Connie Bensen, a Senior Community Strategist at Dell.

I will be featured on the first panel, “Chief Company Pinata & Cat Herder: Beyond a Day in the Life of a Community Manager,” alongside Amy Muller, Co-Founder and Chief Community Offer at Get Satisfaction and Mark Harrison, Community Manager for Google Earth and Google SketchUp. Following this session, others will speak, including Bill Johnston, Director of Global Online Community at Dell, who will be featured on the final panel with Owyang.

photo credit: Glyn Lowe Photos

Since this will be my last post of 2011, here at ManagingCommunities.com, I decided that we would take a look back at the 10 most read articles that were published here in the last 12 months.

It’s always fun when something that I write resonates so well that people pass it on and share it with their coworkers and friends. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word to make these articles popular.

What is the Best Forum Software? The Definitive Answer
The answer holds as true today as it did back at the start of March.

Only a Small Percentage of Your Customers Care Enough to Offer Feedback and You Should Listen
Of all of the things you can do to build your sales, caring is a very affordable option.

photo credit: vistamommy

Thank you to everyone who has visited and support this site in the past year, by reading, commenting and sharing my writing with others. I really appreciate it.

I look forward to continuing to talk about and expand on the profession of community management and hopefully help take it to new places in 2012.

I hope that you have a great holiday season and a happy, healthy and successful 2011.

Patrick

photo credit: proudcanadianeh

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it.

In honor of the day, I thought that I would take a moment to talk about a few things that I am thankful for right now, as they pertain to managing an online community.

I have a lot to be thankful for, both professionally and personally and this is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. Just some things that popped into my head as I pondered the question, “what, related to what I do with online communities, am I thankful for right now?”

Online Community Management as a Maturing Industry

When I started, the Community Manager role didn’t really exist. 99% of the platforms, tools and software that are now available – were not available.

I wanted to take a moment and share some of my upcoming speaking engagements. I love to meet people in person and the main way that I do that is through the conferences and events that I speak at.

On November 5, I will be speaking at WordCamp Philly (November 5-6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), a WordPress focused conference, on the topic of “Building Community Around Your WordPress Publication.”

For the 2012 edition of South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, I would like to reflect on what it means to manage the same online community for more than a decade. My proposal is titled “Lessons from a Decade of Community Management.”

In 2011, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of two of the online communities that I manage – KarateForums.com and phpBBHacks.com. I launched both of these communities and have managed them since day one. You aren’t this involved for this long with projects of this nature without them becoming a part of your life – without them becoming your baby.

photo credit: Gdpaule

How can I help you?

To be more specific, what do you want to know about? What online community or forums management related topic would you like to see me cover? Do you have any questions for me? What can I share with you?

I love to write articles that directly address questions that people have or things they want to know more about. So, I’d love to hear the topics you’d like me to cover and the questions that you’d like me to answer.

If you have any, please leave them in the comments or, if they are more sensitive, you can email me directly at patrick@ifroggy.com. Thank you for giving it some thought.

After taking a speaking break for a few months, it is time to get back on the road.

This fall, I am joining the Social Media Masters tour from Social Media Club. The conference series bills itself as “an advanced level conference for marketing and communications professionals.” It’ll hit five cities and I’ll be speaking at the Atlanta and Los Angeles and stops.

The Atlanta event is on August 26 and Los Angeles is on September 9. With the coupon code SMMPO30, you can received 30% the ticket price.