Inspiring Awe in Your Community

Online communities have the potential to create amazing, awe-inspiring moments. But they can sometimes get lost in a sea of cynicism and the day-to-day work of community management.

After 10 years in community, with stints at Cisco and Intuit, Rachel Medanic is “passionate about awe.” What does that mean? And how do you encourage awe in your community? Plus:

Building a community vs. building an audience Enterprise social networks and how small efforts by a community manager can lead to big gains Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Jigsaw’s introduction of Perspective, a tool aimed at improving online conversation Big Quotes

“Are your people, that are engaged and following you, talking to and having relationships and building trust with each other? Are they doing that? If they’re not doing that, it’s probably an audience, not a community.” -@vampituity

“I think that the community manager’s role is not to be the star of the show, but to find and nurture the upcoming stars of the show.” -@vampituity

About Rachel Medanic

Rachel Medanic is a seasoned community professional and content marketing enthusiast. In her consulting business, Communituity, Rachel works with companies who want to embrace the community. She has spent the last 10 years building community, developing content and growing social media audiences for technology startups and Fortune 500 companies. Before that, Rachel was a marketer for startup companies and non-profits. She has always worked closely with customers to amplify their voices.

Currently, Rachel is working with Talk Social to Me as a consultant, spreading the gospel of employee communities. She has always loved the arts, animals and nature. Rachel has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 21 years, 17 of which have been in Oakland, California.

Related Links Community Signal on Amazon Alexa-enabled devices Rachel on Twitter Communituity, Rachel’s consultancy Talk Social to Me, where Rachel works as a consultant Trump, Clinton and Online Communities by Jena McCormick at The Huffington Post, which Rachel described as “post-election insight on impassioned audiences, not community” Workplace by Facebook, an internal version of Facebook for companies, introduced last October Greater Good Science Center, which studies the psychology, sociology and neuroscience of well-being The Science of Happiness, a free online course offered by the Greater Good Science Center Joe Anzalone, Patrick’s Facebook friend that loves the “wow” reaction Now Anyone Can Deploy Google’s Troll-Fighting AI by Andy Greenberg at Wired Perspective, an API from Alphabet Inc.’s Jigsaw “that makes it easier to host better conversations” Plume, the “world’s first adaptive WiFi” Communituity on Facebook Communituity on Twitter The Playlist: Songs of Community Managers by Rachel Sounds of the Women’s March on Washington D.C. by Rachel, a playlist of songs inspired by the Women’s March on Washington D.C. Transcript View the transcript on our website Your Thoughts

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