Balancing your (community) hats

Those of you who are, shall we say "seasoned," may remember watching Captain Kangaroo reading a book titled, "Hats for Sale," in which a hat salesman balanced his entire inventory on his head. Today's generation might retitle that book, "Communities to Manage."

Richard Millington, online community consultant to organizations such as United Nations and The Global Fund, says that an effective community manager must wear at least five hats:

1. "The friend engages people individually.
2. The recruiter persuades people to join the online community.
3. The enforcer keeps things clean.
4. The editor implements much of the community strategy.
5. The entrepreneur looks for opportunities to add value to the community."

Detailed descriptions of each of these roles can be found on Rich's blog.

Do you have a place to hang all of these hats in your organization? Are several different people working to execute these roles, or is one person doing the balancing act? Leave a comment and share your best practices.

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DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Getting your app on

According to Mary Meeker, Morgan Stanley analyst, in five years people will be using mobile technology to access the internet far more than they will be using any desktop devices. And, e-commerce spend seems to be rising in proportion to ease of connectivity. What does this mean to you? If you're not using mobile apps to reach out to your members/customers, now is the time.

MarketingProfs provides these quick get-started tips on how to build the mobile app of your dreams, including:

• Create a 'lite' version of your app
• Tune in to user behavior
• Don't buy into the idea that app development is too much work 

Does your organization have a mobile app available already? Do you have one in process? Leave a comment and share your best practices and lessons learned with the community.

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DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Your next favorite book

Whether your're intersted in your potential for creativity, in how to create and foster greater productivity, or in learning about the latest in leadership theory, the Harvard Business Review has a list of recommendations for books by today's hottest and most progressive authors, including:

 

Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead by Charlene Li

The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance byTony Schwartz, with Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy

The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Winby Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich

Reinventing Management: Smarter Choices for Getting Work Done by Julian Birkinshaw

 

See additional recommendations at Harvard Business Review.

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DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Standardizing the creative process

In 1981, Motorola developed its Six Sigma business management strategy. The objective of Six Sigma is to improve process quality by removing the causes of error and minimizing variability.

According to Advertising Age, "... marketing spend is the number 1 investment for most businesses - more even than IT or training." So why haven't agencies adopted the Six Sigma approach to standardize the development of marketing communications products and services? According to author Avi Dan, "Some people argue Six Sigma cannot work in an agency or any organization that depends on innovation. These people believe that creative organizations are often built on the principle of trial and error, and the rigorous confinement to the norm is too stifling. Yet others believe that a disciplined process is essential to optimize the client-agency relationship."

Avi suggests that Chief Marketing Officers should embrace the spirit and attitude of Six Sigma, but should apply it with a light hand.  He offers these ten suggestions for applying intelligent discipline to the creative process.

Do you currently use a process to help ensure creative quality? Do you think it is advisable? Possible?

 

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DigitalNow 2010 - a res