Community Management

Expert Community Management resources for professionals. Explore the history, strategies, and practical guides to building online communities from a 25-year industry veteran.

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What is Community Management?

Community Management is a trust business. If you want lasting success, treat every interaction as a chance to build confidence and reinforce your group’s unique character. Don’t just create rules—live them, so people know what to expect. The best community managers invest as much in the “in-between moments”—the little nudges, warm welcomes, and transparent fixes—as they do in splashy campaigns or big events. When you focus on belonging and shared purpose, you’ll see participation soar and drama shrink. Want to turn a stagnant group around? Start a fresh, member-led discussion and invite feedback on everything, even your own leadership style. That creates ownership, and ownership leads to real community.

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Beatitudes of the Online Tribe

Blessed are the lurkers,for they remind us that listening is participation too. Blessed are the question‑askers,for they spark the conversations others didn’t know they needed. Blessed are the moderators,for they keep the peace without killing the joy. Blessed are the...

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Your Community Platform Isn’t Forever: Treat It Like a Living Strategy

Picking a community platform isn’t a final destination, it’s a checkpoint. What worked perfectly for your first 50 members won’t necessarily hold up at 5,000. The best communities don’t cling to tools out of nostalgia… they evolve their spaces as needs grow, technology shifts, and member expectations change. A platform isn’t the community itself. It’s the scaffolding, and sometimes scaffolding needs rebuilding.

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Meet David DeWald

David DeWald is a pioneering online community professional with over 25 years of experience building, managing, and evolving digital communities of all sizes—some reaching millions of members. Since the late 1990s, he has partnered with diverse organizations and businesses to establish impactful online presences that foster engagement and growth. David is widely respected among his peers for his deep expertise in community strategy, engagement, moderation, and advocacy development. Beyond managing communities, he actively contributes to the industry through thought leadership, including public speaking, and blogging, sharing actionable insights to elevate the practice of Community Management globally.

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David DeWald

Community Professional at Ciena