College | Caffeinated

Quick note: This is something I’ve thought about for awhile. I know some Community Managers, they’re my friends and I look up to them. They’re intelligent people. Hell, I’d be a Community Manager. To be cliché, I’m not trying to hate the player. I’m hating the game.

It annoys me that more and more brands are adding a Community Manager to their payroll. They shouldn’t need one. Instead, they should be investing in new product development, improved customer service, or *gasp* a better marketing scheme that encourages a community to manage itself. Yes, that means giving up control. You’re foolish if you think you have that much control in the new media landscape, anyways.

Products and services don’t need to hire Community Managers. They already have them. Use your brand evangelists- the unpaid fans of yours that like you for you (I use “you” in the sense of product/service/brand). They are the best people to lead your community. They already are leading your community. For free.

Agencies and firms don’t need to hire Community Managers. They already have them. Actually, they usually have tons of them. Look at Fast Horse. Nobody is their ‘Community Manager’, but Mike Keliher, George Fiddler, and others have done an excellent job at managing their community. Same goes for the people over at Brains on Fire. People that love working in a strong community will take it upon themselves to manage that community. You’re already paying them. They’re already a part of your community.

Take away the Community Manager. The community will still exist. The community will take care of itself, because that’s what a community does.

Focus on building a community strong enough to manage itself. Don’t focus on hiring a community hitman – an outsider. That dilutes the word “community”.

You don’t need a community manager. You need a strong community. A strong community is it’s own community manager.

Shameless plug: at the end of every post this month, I’m putting a call to action to vote for Pepsi Refresh projects. Specifically mine, obviously. You can vote for an idea once every day and have 10 votes each day. That means you can vote for my idea, or others, but preferably mine, up to 28 times.

photo credit Flickr user eva101

I felt like I found the golden ticket!

While back in Minnesota, I was able to spend an afternoon at Fast Horse Inc., a boutique marketing agency in Minneapolis. This place is fantastic. Workspace: open. Comfy chairs, recliners, tables, bowls of candy, cupcakes, large windows (formerly garage doors). Everything tailored for open communication. People: awesome. Hard-working and hilarious, dedicated and laid-back. They got their work done, but had a great time doing it.

They even let me write a blog post for them. Naturally, I wrote about Lady GaGa. Head over to the Idea Peepshow and check it out!

I’d like to thank George Fiddler for allowing me to shadow him, taking me out to lunch, and showing me the ropes. I’d also like thank Fast Horse President, Jorg Pierach, for taking some time to sit down and talk with me about his agency and the industry as a whole. Finally, I’d like to thank the entire Fast Horse crew for a memorable experience. I truly did feel like I was Charlie touring the Charlie Factory. Minus oompa-loompas.

*photo credit Flickr user Hot Rod Homepage under CC license