Who Manages The Community Manager That Manages Your Community? — forbes.com

Community management is among the fastest-growing job areas in recent years. The increasing popularity of the social networks means that companies are ever-mindful of the need to have a presence in an environment where being absent means the conversation is taking place without you, and so have cast their nets in a bid to hire community managers with a wide range of profiles. Naturally enough, the market has responded to fill the gap. Overnight, courses in community management have appeared from nowhere, a modern version of the gold rush. And once again, the people making the money are those selling shovels, pans and maps. Needless to say, when it comes to training to be a community manager, there are good, mediocre, bad, and really bad courses out there, once again proving that as with all things, training can contribute toward excellence, but is far from being the only factor. Experience in managing online communities, having run one’s own blog or community, awareness and sensitivity, common sense, and knowledge of the industry are still key factors when it comes to doing a good job in this area. What’s more, this is a job that has increasingly been shown to be of strategic importance when handled badly or not at all.

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