Proving Your Value The Hard Way

Can I suggest a wacky idea?

When the community manager takes a 2-week vacation, don't find a replacement.

Or, at most, find someone to remove any spam/offensive material and let the rest be.

Track your data to watch what happens.

Is there a significant dip in growth or activity?

Are there upset members threatening to start their own community?

Do you have a full-scale mutiny on your hands?

2 weeks might not be a long enough time-line to show what difference a community manager makes, but it should give you some indication.

Don't make this standard practice, but every once in a while it might be interesting to see what difference your community manager makes. It's useful for proving your value.

Comments

[Mbhahn]

That is actually a good idea while i can see why it isnt recommended for obvious reasons.

[Irvin Carrero]

I believe in the power the social-networks have with its in-built capacity to crowd-source leadership and group like-minded people; So…What about integrating a robust polling app that could provide an automatic-steady-flow-of-pre-supported-candidates (for the role of manager) by its own community (akin to a form of micro-e-governance)? What if the members of your network could vote for their own managers? What are your thoughts about that?

[Richard Millington]

I'd recommend against it.

What makes a community manager popular and what makes them good at their jobs aren't the same thing.

Sometimes you need to do something unpopular e.g. change the site, takes sides on an issue, kick out a popular member, for the benefit of the community.

Besides, it's a utopian idea. Whilst it sounds nice, I dread to think about the practicality of implementing it either technologically or socially.

[Irvin Carrero]

I not sure if that is a good or bad label "utopian". I looked it up and it actually seems to serve rather than demean the idea. Still I'm not quite sure if you really meant that the concepts was perhaps "idealistic"? or maybe both? I fully understand the implications of such a system. I know that people could elect another administrator over me, and I could be out of a job. What kind of entrepreneur would implement a system that could get himself fired out of his own creation? Steve Jobs and Ted Turner must have felt awful when they where demoted out of the CEO position.

[Irvin Carrero]

I hit the post button with finishing properly. I want to thank you for your answer and letting me post my opinion. When I read back my post it does sound as humble as I wanted it be. Please forgive me if it sounds harsh. If you delete the post I will understand. I'm grateful for the chance to dialog with you. Sincerely Irvin.