Expert Community Management resources for professionals. Explore the history, strategies, and practical guides to building online communities from a 25-year industry veteran.
Starting a new online community is a lot like launching a business or hosting a big event: it takes way more work than most people expect, especially in the early days. If you want your community to thrive, you have to be the one putting in the hours, setting the...
The biggest issue is that Discord is basically like trying to build a community in a rushing river - everything just flows by and disappears. If someone shares an amazing resource or has a brilliant discussion on Monday, good luck finding it by Friday! The real killer...
Remember the last time you walked into a party where you didn't know anyone? That overwhelming feeling of being lost in a sea of faces? That's exactly how members feel in large, unsegmented online communities. The Magic of Breaking Things Down Think of your online...
Let me share some things that transformed my work life - when you're spending hours connecting with members and coworkers, the right tools make all the difference. Here's my curated list of game-changers that any community professional would love to unwrap. And unlike...
Updated Dec. 4, 2024 Recently, there has been a notable shift of people moving to BlueSky, including many community managers and professionals seeking a fresh space for connection and collaboration. This platform offers a unique opportunity to engage with others in...
What is PLATO? PLATO, which stands for Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations, made its debut in 1960 at the University of Illinois. While it was initially designed to facilitate computer-assisted learning, PLATO quickly evolved into a vibrant online...
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.
Tim has worked with No Kid Hungry, Cinnabon, and Carvel Ice Cream where he lead the overall marketing vision, strategy and execution of social media activations, including blogger programs and influencer relationships. In the two years working directly on the No Kid Hungry campaign, Giving Tuesday fundraising increased from $56,000 to over $249,000 in 2015.
Previously the Director of Community for The Huffington Post, where he set strategy and oversaw a team of moderators, support and standards for the leading online news site with over 300 million comments and 70,000 bloggers. Prior to this position, Tim built and managed a community for Huffington Post's live streaming network, HuffPost Live, resulting in over 9,600 guests from more than 85 countries have joining live on-air and over 1.3 million comments on the platform.
