Care & Feeding of Social Communities: #TChat Recap
Ex-change /iks’CHanj/
Verb: The act of giving one thing and receiving another (esp. of the same type or value) in return.
Give to get. It is a concept as old as civilization. And it is a dynamic that lives at the core of every successful community — large or small, business or otherwise.
It is also the principle that brought together the TalentCulture World of Work tribe last night, as we gathered around the #TChat table to share ideas and experiences about the essential elements that make brand and talent communities work.
During a single hour of speed sharing, nearly 400 contributors exchanged 2,900 #TChat tweets — which in turn generated 17.3 million impressions across the Twitter universe. Now that’s proof of social media’s power to enable community engagement and outreach! (To see highlights from the session, scroll through the Storify slideshow below.)
Of course, as many in the community know, #TChat’s gravitational pull doesn’t stop on Wednesday nights. It continues throughout each week, as contributors apply the #TChat hashtag to ad-hoc posts and informal discussion threads.
It may seem like a small thing, but those cumulative posts add up! In fact, on HRMarketer’s latest list of top 100 hr-related Twitter hashtags. #TChat actually ranks #2 — behind only #HR itself.
Community: “What’s In It For Me?”
Hashtags aren’t communities, of course. They’re only evidence that a strong social community exists, and that begs the question: What do smart, talent-minded professionals receive in return for their contributions each Wednesday — and throughout the week? Several participants offered their feedback last night:
“Has anyone coined the expression “Crowd-Learning”? Because that’s what it feels like being on this chat!” @bcoelho2000
“I’m new to community management, reading you guys chat and discuss and going to your links is really helping me — thank you all.” @JuFriendlyChat
Last night was indeed a master class in social communities — focused on how successful communities begin, and how to best nurture them over time. In particular, these issues sparked strong interaction:
- Do the strongest communities generate spontaneously and grow organically?
- Under what circumstances do “manufactured” communities work, if ever?
- Regardless of a community’s source, what is required to sustain a cohesive agenda and a sense of momentum?
Community: Postcards From the Edge
Because many #TChat participants are involved in talent or brand communities, this topic tends to spark debate and deep conviction. Best practices are a work-in-progress, but #TChat-ters are leading the way. Consider this taste of eloquent ideas, plucked from yesterday’s stream…
“Social media is NOT Community. It’s communication.” @Historian
“It’s hard to build a relationship with a corporation. Community managers humanize.” @joetatulli
“Community Manager is the connector, conversation starter, information resource, listener, marketer, moderator, promoter, salesman.” @TimJBarry
“Leaders hear this: Community Managers have the power to guide, inform, teach, and inspire. MAJOR ROI for brands.” @jocelynaucoin
“Individuals may cause the movement, but the community sustains the momentum.” @ValaAfshar
“Too much control on a community becomes a cult – no organic development – no change.” @IncentIntel
“We can learn a lot from cmtys of practice experience: nurture rather than manufacture; light touch-not control.” @4km
Want to learn more? For complete insights from the discussion stream, see the highlight slideshow at the end of this post.
SPECIAL THANKS are in order for our guest moderator this week, Tim McDonald (@tamcdonald), community manager at HuffPost Live, founder of My Community Manager, and co-organizer of #cmgrUN. The breadth of Tim’s knowledge and expertise brought wonderful depth and dimension to this week’s discussion.
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Highlights & What’s Ahead on #TChat
Did you miss the #TChat preview? Go here. Are you looking for the highlights slideshow? Keep scrolling to the end of this post.
NOTE: If you’re a blogger, and this #TChat session inspired you to write about social communities, we’re happy to share your thoughts with others! Just post a link on Twitter (at #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll add it to our archives. There are many voices in the #TChat community — with many ideas worthy of sharing. So let’s capture as many of them as possible!
We hope you’ll join us next Wednesday at 7pmET/4pmPT for another #TChat. We continue our focus on communities, as we discuss technologies that enable community development and management. Look for the preview early next week via @TalentCulture and #TChat. Enjoy your weekend!
Image Credit: “Hands,” courtesy of Marco Michelini
#TChat INSIGHTS Slide Show: Social Communities by Sean Charles (@SocialMediaSean)
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#TChat INSIGHTS: The Sound of a Talent Community
Storified by TalentCulture · Thu, Oct 25 2012 07:32:18
e future is bright for the #cmgr. Conversation is shifting from do we need to which one do we need #TChatSean Charles
reates customer. #tchatMichael Clark
ecause i love the topics, contributions, and am passionate about what i learn from it. i get excited to share it #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
y & credibility. #tchatJoe Sanchez