Community Strategy Insights

The latest insights on community strategy, technology, and value by FeverBee’s founder, Richard Millington

24/7 Moderator Coverage

Richard Millington
Richard Millington

Founder of FeverBee

The Google community was recently flooded with accusations of racism in search results.

Checking in on a Monday morning a few weeks ago, no-one seems to have been around over the weekend.

Once a perception forms, it’s hard to shift. Past a few hundred thousand members you need 24/7 moderator coverage to respond to issues like this.

The costs are relatively low and the risks are worryingly high.

What happens if on 5.01pm on Friday afternoon someone posts a suicide threat and no-one from the company reads it until 9.00am on Monday?

It’s a possible tragedy and a headline of “Company {x} did nothing for 4 days after member posts suicide threat”.

Now consider illegal/illicit activities, death threats, security bug reports and the whole gamut of worst-case scenarios. Hoping the community manager checks in on their days off isn’t a solution.

You don’t need someone there every second, but at least have someone checking in once or twice a day. Hire an intern for the weekend, use virtual assistants, hire paid moderators, or a professional moderation company. It doesn’t cost much and can avoid a catastrophe.

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