#CMMeetup with @HolidayMatinee @JPedde @Eqx1979 @BSimi

Last night I went to #CMMeetup (Community Manager Meetup) on Effectively Managing Online Communities organized by Katy Zack, Vadim Lavrusik, Lea Marino and Zach Seward.

Mark Coatney, Media Evangelist for Tumblr, kicked off the event by talking about his experience creating a Tumblr for Newsweek. He made the voice of his Tumblr funny, irreverent and hip –quite unlike the tone of the magazine – but it introduced a whole new audience to Newsweek. He was amazed when he realized there were 16 year old following the Newsweek Tumblr.

He said he started the Tumblr account without telling anyone so in case he was captured Newsweek could deny all knowledge of him. One of his favorite comments from a  fan of the Newsweek Tumblr: “Because of this Tumblr, there is now a non-zero chance I will become a paying Newsweek subscriber.”   


The members of the panel included Brian Simpson, Director of Digital Media at Vikram Chatwal Hotels, Jenn Pedde, Community Manager for MSW @ USC, Dave Brown, Social Media Specialist at Etsy and Chrysanthe Tenentes, Community Manager at Foursquare.
Some of my favorite quotes of the night (not in quotes because I’m paraphrasing):

I’ve never been very religious, but it’s a spiritual experience to work with such a vibrant community. –- Dave Brown

Five years ago, no one knew what “community management” was, but everyone was doing it. — Chrysanthe Tenentes

The difference between a community and an audience is that a community will fight for you while an audience will watch you go down. — Brian Simi

It’s important to humanize our brand. There’s a real person behind our Twitter and Facebook, not a robot. — Dave Brown

Sometimes people just want to know that someone is listening. — Jenn Pedde

Ninety percent of people are drinking the same drink. If someone has a questions, others will too. Be proactive. Don’t wait for people to come to you with problems. — Dave Brown

If you’re not getting the support you need, leave. - Brian Simi

You can read more great takeaways on this event at the 360i blog and the Composure Marketing blog.