Congrats @erictwillis, I am looking forward to the book(s)! Having built successful communities yourself, what do you think is the most efficient way to sustain the vibe and keep the community engaged?
@gozdeaksay I think the best example we have it the one set by the Product Hunt team. They are constantly thinking of new ways to engage and "delight" the community. @rrhoover practically lives in twitter and is constantly engaging with users seemingly every minute he's awake. A community often takes on the behavior of its leaders and Ryan engages in a positive manner and obviously loves products. The community feeds on that and even though the company has grown dramatically, it remains intimate because the founder is still extremely involved in welcoming members to the community and also engaging the rest of us.
@eriktorenberg has also done an excellent job with extending that engagement offsite. I first met Erik as a Product Hunt meetup and that can't be overlooked as a driver that connects people with the brand. It makes it feel "real" and he's lead some of those meetups all over the world. Some of those meetups, like the latest one in Berlin, had over 2,000 participate. That's massive. Erik also very actively engages the community on the site, on twitter, in multiple slack community, etc.
Then the different podcasts like Product Hunt Radio and Maker Stories provide more ways to interact with the brand...it takes you deeper into the community and also provides enough variety that it keeps the brand fresh.
So you need to be constantly engaging with your community and also keeping that relationship interesting and "fresh".
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Congrats @erictwillis!! Can't wait to read the book. Little question... What did you learn the most out of writing your book?
@jordyvdboom I have this quote that I always find myself revisiting "The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers.
The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question." I've learned just how important it is to ask the right questions. All the content I produce for this book is driven by the questions being asked. If I ask weak questions, I'll often end up with less usable content. It's important and respectful to be highly prepared for interviews so that you can ask thought-provoking questions that engage the person you're interviewing and that also help you get closer to discovering something new that serves your goal. Or asking the right questions might reveal that you're down a less interesting path and that you need to make that right turn at the fork in the road ahead. So it's important to know as much about the person you're interviewing and the sector they're working in so that you know how to frame your questions.
You know you have a great moderator when the whole community comes out in support! #Backed; proud to be a Product Hunt/Maker Hunt member.
Between everyone here there are few if any questions left to be asked.
Q: As community platforms develop new interfaces over the years (from something like vbulletin forums to reddit and now slack), what changes in the form of engagement and sense of community have you witnessed? Where do you think online communities are headed and what do you think is going to be the catalyst or spark for evolution (blab?)
Q: A more personal question about @erictwillis the man... Being someone who cares, how has being a moderator of influential communities affected who you are as a person and do you believe (as I do) that fulfilling your role adds to the feeling of satisfaction or sensation of involvement in everyday life for you and the community?
@tbajwa Hello Taimoor.
Slack is like a modern version of IRC. In this case, I don't think it's the interface that's new as much as the way it's been applied to work communications (and then communities have just adopted it for their own use cases). I do think we're seeing interfaces that allow us to communicate in a more personal manner. The real-time aspects of slack really allow you to get closer to people that you wouldn't normally communicate with on that level. I think you're seeing the same thing with apps like Meerkat and Blab. They're very personal and intimate.
I don't think we'll see a revolution as much as a gradual evolution of more personal applications like slack, live streaming apps like Meerkat, , Periscope, Blab, and different functionality in Snapchat like stories.. a lot of that is being driven by smartphone adoption and also people becoming more comfortable with sharing their personal lives after years of being exposed to ephemeral apps. Live streaming, for instance, is becoming "normal".
To the second question: I think caring about other's success has helped me become a better learning. In order to truly help someone, you need to understand where you can add value. This means you need to both understand them well and the problems they are facing. So you really need to be patient, empathetic, and inquisitive. That requires being a good listener. I've always been a good listener, but now I really focus in so that I can figure out the best way to help.
I do feel a lot of satisfaction when someone truly feels like I've helped them in some way.
@dylanlacom Yeah. I think that could be included :)
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Superb launch Eric but that's no surprise! I'm amazed at your hustling skills, especially how you've built Maker Hunt a few other guys.
My q: If you weren't being an entrepreneur, what would you do?
@fredrivett It's hard for me to imagine not being an entrepreneur. I was the kid selling candy at grade school :)
Every time I had a response, it would always have some type of entrepreneurial spin in it. haha. I would be a physicist. I often dream of going back in time and majoring in physics and continuing with that.
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@erictwillis Interesting dude! Always gives another insight hearing what people's 'b plan' would be.
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