Podcasts by Community Signal
Community Signal is a podcast for experienced online community professionals, including those working in audience engagement, association management, developer relations, moderation, trust and safety, and more. It's released every two weeks and hosted by industry veteran Patrick O’Keefe.
This is a very community-focused program. There are plenty of social media and marketing podcasts out there. That’s not what this is. Social media is a set of tools. Community is a strategy you apply to those tools. Marketing brings new customers. Community helps you keep them.
Further podcasts by Patrick O'Keefe
Podcast on the topic Management
All episodes
Breaking: Online Community Consultant Discovers Brand New Concept (Again!) from 2023-07-24T09:30
Online community consultants aren’t unlike consultants for any other area of work. Some are ethical, smart, and talented, and some aren’t. Consultants also don’t often make great guests for the ...
Listen
Kinks vs. Crimes and Gender-Inclusive Content Moderation at Grindr from 2023-05-01T09:30
Bodies aren’t moderated equally on the internet. Content moderation efforts, especially those at large, mainstream platforms, can suffer from policy-based bias that results in moderation centeri...
Listen
Safeguarding a Diabetes Charity Community and Knowing if You’ve Done the Right Thing from 2023-03-27T09:30
Safeguarding is a term used in Ireland and the United Kingdom that covers efforts to protect the health, wellbeing, and human rights of people, especially children and those who are otherwise vu...
Listen
Empowering Employee Resource Group Leaders With Your Internal Community Platform from 2023-01-23T10:30
Employee resource groups (ERGs) can do a lot to create a greater sense of belonging at your organization. But the folks who volunteer to lead these groups may find themselves in need of help whe...
Listen
The Chief Community Officer Hype Machine from 2023-01-09T10:30
As we celebrate Community Signal’s 7th birthday, Patrick takes questions from Community Signal listeners and supporters in this first ever “Ask Patrick Anything” episode of the show.
Ques...
Listen
Elon Musk’s Quest to Make Twitter Worse from 2022-11-21T16:49
Elon Musk’s presence has loomed over Twitter since he announced plans to purchase the platform. And for these few weeks that he’s been in charge, many concerns have proven to be justified. Musk ...
Listen
When Community is on 3 Teams in 5 Years from 2022-10-24T09:30
As Zendesk’s customer base and product offerings have grown, so has its community. The Zendesk community started in 2008, under the support organization, ...
Listen
Why Community on the Product Team Works, From a Product Leader’s Perspective from 2022-09-26T09:30:45
Recently, community pro Danielle Maveal joined Community Signal to discuss her experiences reporti...
Listen
Lessons in Building Safe, Inclusive, and Functional Spaces for LGBTQ+ Folks from 2022-08-29T09:30:32
If you’re wondering how you can more actively foster safety and belonging for LGBTQ+ folks in your online community, there’s precedent to learn and borrow from. In this episode of Community Sign...
Listen
Bridging Continents and Countries in a Professional Association Community from 2022-08-01T09:30:16
Do you manage an international community? How do you thoughtfully foster community across different continents, languages, and norms? Listen
When Companies Sponsor Their Employees to Contribute to Open Source Software from 2022-07-18T09:30:46
WordPress, the popular open source CMS, powers a reported 43%+ of the web, including this site. It is backed by a global community of contributors who...
Listen
The Disappearing News Media Comment Sections from 2022-06-20T09:30:54
As the former director of community for HuffPost, where he led the management of an active, massive comment section, Tim McDonald has had a ...
Listen
The Community Management Jobs You Turn Down from 2022-06-06T09:30:43
What are the reasons why you would voluntarily end the interview process for a community role? If you give it some thought, you’ll probably come up with some!
Building Up Your Community Members, One Phone Call at a Time from 2022-05-23T09:30:28
Is speaking one-on-one with your community members part of your community strategy? For Tosin Abari, when building paid professional commun...
Listen
Making Room for the Next Generation of Community Professionals from 2022-04-04T09:30:14
Which community leaders helped you grow as a professional? Who in the industry do you study from or reference? On Listen
Deepfakes in Your Community are Inevitable from 2022-03-21T09:30:42
This conversation with Mohamed Mohammed, a community manager and a PhD student studying deepfakes, is timely. Just last week, Listen
Providing a Safe and Functional Community for Cancer Survivors from 2022-03-07T10:30:22
Online communities are can be essential for people impacted by illness. For those directly affected, their families, and support systems, these communities can provide a much needed place to sha...
Listen
Leveling Up Your Community Team With Specialized Roles from 2022-02-21T10:30:30
As community leaders, we’re responsible for people. The people in our communities and the people that serve them. In this episode, Chris Catania, head of c...
Listen
Misuse of Community is Endemic in Web3 from 2022-02-07T10:30:16
By now, even if you’re not super well-versed in the terminology of Web3, you’ve probably encountered some of the conversation around its relationship with community. Like with any innovation or ...
Listen
Online Community Building Lessons From Collaborative Board Games from 2022-01-17T10:30
When was the last time that you trusted your community with the responsibility of collaboration? In this episode of Community Signal, Matt Leacock shares l...
Listen
The Elder Scrolls Online Community, and the Power of Guilds from 2022-01-03T10:30
What metrics and indicators of success are you, your colleagues, and community excited about for 2022? Whether you’re hoping to better demonstrate the impact of the community on your business’ b...
Listen
Bettering Health Outcomes Through Peer Support at Mayo Clinic from 2021-12-20T10:30
Do you have a 60-second pitch for your community? In this episode of Community Signal, Colleen Young, community director for Listen
Embodying Work-Life Balance as a Community Professional and Manager from 2021-12-06T10:30
Are you able to step away from your community for days at a time? When you return, are your team and the community still running smoothly? If you answered yes to these questions, then congratula...
Listen
Are You Gardening, or Are You Managing Waste? from 2021-11-22T10:30
Earlier this month, blogging pioneer Jason Kottke tweeted that “social media would be a b...
Listen
Cohort-Based Online Communities: Exploitation or Real Connection? from 2021-11-01T09:30
If you threw a random group of people together, united primarily by a shared educational goal that they can accomplish with or without the group, and had two weeks to build a sense of community ...
Listen
Building a Database of CSAM for AOL, One Image at a Time from 2021-10-18T16:24:49
If you work in content moderation or with a team that specializes in content moderation, then you know that the fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is a challenging one. The New...
Listen
Shifting Revel, a Community for Women Over 40, from In-Person to Online Overnight from 2021-10-04T09:30
As community practitioners, we often serve communities that we don’t necessarily belong to. But how would you approach designing a community platform, events, and policies for a demographic that...
Listen
How Telehealth Provides More Efficient Healthcare for Patients and Providers – and the Role Online Communities Can Play from 2021-09-20T09:30
How did the pandemic impact your relationships with your healthcare providers? Did telehealth enable you to continue seeing or connecting with your providers to receive the care that you needed?...
Listen
How Teleheath Provides More Efficient Healthcare for Patients and Providers – and the Role Online Communities Can Play from 2021-09-20T09:30
Denzil Coleman, a telehealth coordinator, discusses how the adoption of telehealth interactions and practices during the pandemic may lead to continued and more long-term improvements and efficienc...
Listen
While Making a Mixtape, Asher Roth Built an Online Community from 2021-09-06T09:30
In between his three albums, rapper Asher Roth has released several mixtapes, including 2011’s Pabst & Jazz and his The Greenhouse Effect ...
Listen
Here’s How Anti-Vaxxers Are Spreading Misinformation Despite Your Best Moderation Efforts from 2021-08-23T09:30
What moderation tactics have you used or seen as a mechanism to curtail the spread of misinformation in communities and on social media platforms? Word detection, link blocking, and digital stic...
Listen
Fostering Resiliency for Community, Moderation, Trust, and Safety Pros from 2021-08-09T09:30
When was the last time you mandated that your community, moderation, trust, and safety colleagues schedule time for out of queue activities? When was the last time you led by example and took a ...
Listen
What Makes an Online Community a Home? from 2021-07-12T09:30
May 21st, 2021 marked 20 years since the launch of KarateForums.com. In this episode of Community Signal, Patrick speaks with five forum members that have...
Listen
Dismantling the Model Minority Myth and Fostering Safer Communities, One Conversation at a Time from 2021-06-28T09:30
For this episode of Community Signal, we’re joined by community professionals Jenn Hudnet, Listen
Helping Online Community Members Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis from 2021-06-14T09:30
Crisis Text Line offers free, 24/7 support via text message to anyone facing a mental health crisis. Some organizations partner with Crisis Text Lin...
Listen
Whistleblower: Facebook is Allowing Dictators to Mislead Their Citizens from 2021-05-31T09:30
Last month, Sophie Zhang, a former data scientist at Facebook, Listen
Why It’s Harmful to Label Community and Community Pros as Underdogs from 2021-05-17T09:30
If you were designing a curriculum to teach undergrads about community management, what would you cover? Georgina Donahue’s approach in...
Listen
Lessons from Community Memory, the First Publicly Available Social Media System from 2021-05-03T09:30
Lee Felsenstein’s work in tech and social organizing led to the creation of the Listen
Creator Tools Drive Community Interest and Revenue for Old Call of Duty Games from 2021-04-19T09:30
The Zombies game mode within the popular Call of Duty video game franchise has created a massive community of fans and players who not only play and connect with the developers...
Listen
Building a Financially Self-Sustaining Community of Muslamic Makers from 2021-04-05T09:30
In addition to practicing community management as a profession, many of the listeners, guests, and even members of the team behind Community Signal, manage communities part-time. These might be ...
Listen
Holding Communities for Community Professionals to a Higher Standard from 2021-03-15T09:30
The field of community management is buzzing. We have more tools available to us than ever before and an abundance of communities and resources to connect us with fellow professionals who know o...
Listen
Facebook’s Australian News Ban Will Lead to Even More Misinformation from 2021-02-22T10:30
What would happen if you woke up tomorrow and couldn’t share any news articles on Facebook? How would that impact the communities that you manage or the way you share information with family and...
Listen
Traumatic Weather Events and Climate Change Denial at Weather Underground from 2021-02-08T10:30
What are the topics of discussion that you would expect to come across in a weather community? Storms, climate change, and forecast accuracy are part of the conversation.
As a community s...
Listen
Are Associations Being Taken Advantage Of? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's a lot of money in the association space, especially when it comes to helping associations connect their members online.
Listen
Fighting for Community Buy-In at The Economist from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
All community professionals want to work at organizations where they have the buy-in to deeply invest in community. But many of us don't. We're fighting for that buy-in, so the true value of commun...
Listen
Cultural Anthropology and Online Communities from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
"The branch of anthropology concerned with the study of human societies and cultures and their development." That's cultural anthropology, per Oxford.
Listen
Moving the News Industry From Clickbait to Community from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
According to our guest on this episode, much of the news industry is engaged in a battle they can't win, a fight over eyeballs and ad revenue with companies like Google and Facebook, where the term...
Listen
How to Transition a Community Team After You Acquire Their Company from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
One of the reasons that companies get acquired is because of the community they have. When a company with a strong community is acquired, what should the new company do with their community team?
Listen
Moderating Live Video from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Last month, a man used Facebook’s live video feature to confess to a murder, shortly after videos were uploaded that showed him announcing his intent and committing the act.
Listen
The ROI of an Anonymous, Nonprofit, Mental Health Community from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
SANE Australia is a charity that helps Australians affected by mental illness. Their popular online community, SANE Forums, serves as one of their primary initiatives.
Listen
Why Do People Love NASA? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
I define community in two ways: 1. Community on a specific platform, like a Facebook group or a forum. 2. Community that connects around a topic, interest or pursuit in a decentralized way, across ...
Listen
Improv for Community Pros from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When you think “improv,” you might picture a group of comedians at a local club, riffing on audience suggestions. But the skills of improvisation are skills that aide successful community professio...
Listen
Making Room for Newbs in Competitive Gaming from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gaming is a vertical that has a massive footprint in the online community space. Gamers took to online communities really early, and have been using online tools to connect for as long as pretty mu...
Listen
Closing Your Community Right from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jessamyn West is a member of mlkshk, an online community that's closing. She's part of a community-led effort to build the next place where this group of people will get together.
Listen
Managing a Cancer Community from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The reason that people come to your community impacts how you manage that community. It is one of the factors that guides the choices you make and the strategies and processes that you deploy.
Listen
Lessons From The WELL + Making a World Where the Sun Rises the Next Morning from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
With a career in online community spanning more than 25 years, including 20+ leading influential online community The WELL and 13 as director of communities for Salon, Gail Ann Williams is a pionee...
Listen
Rewarding the Local Guides That Make Google Maps More Useful from 2021-01-25T10:30
If you have ever used Google to look up a restaurant you wanted to eat at or to research before visiting someplace new to you, you’ve probably depended on information contributed by a Local Guid...
Listen
Why Has Clubhouse Been Plagued by Trust and Safety Issues? from 2021-01-11T10:30
If you were building a community product, how would you start? Who would you choose as your first hire? What efforts would you make to ensure that the product is inclusive, safe, and well-modera...
Listen
Fostering Inclusivity for Neurodivergent Community Members and Colleagues from 2020-12-21T10:30
There are many different categories of diversity and, as community practitioners, continuously learning about them and questioning our assumptions will only help us build more inclusive communit...
Listen
Managing a Community of Safety Professionals During a Global Pandemic from 2020-12-07T10:30
This episode marks 5 years of Community Signal! If you tune in, you’ll hear Patrick share a thank you for the incredible guests and collaborators that have helped get us here, in addition to the...
Listen
Can We Help These Experienced Community Pros Find Work? from 2020-11-23T10:30
In this episode of Community Signal, Patrick talks to four past guests of the show, Paula Rosenberg, Listen
The Community That Teaches Languages and Powers Duolingo from 2020-11-09T06:36:56
As classrooms have gone virtual and people are spending more time online, Duolingo has seen an influx of students and educators on their platform. Luckil...
Listen
Don’t Miss One-on-One Meetings With Your Team from 2020-10-26T09:30
At this point, we likely all know someone that has lost their job or had to make budget cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a narrative in the community industry that we must always b...
Listen
Section 230 and the Freedom to Remove Objectionable Content from 2020-10-12T09:30
Section 230 is a vitally important law for online community builders in the U.S. That’s why we’ve consistently talked about it on Community Signal, and the growing threat to its existence.
<... Listen
BlackPlanet’s Founder on Building Impactful Platforms and Communities from 2020-09-28T09:30
“Let the people see what I have seen.”
This is what Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, said when Listen
Is Your Open Source Project Healthy? from 2020-09-14T09:30
When you contribute to open source projects, Dawn Foster makes it abundantly clear that even if “you’re there on behalf of [a] company, you need ...
Listen
The Toll of Ageism and Abuse on Community Professionals from 2020-08-31T09:30
On Community Signal, we’ve spoken to several professionals that have left the industry for other pastures. While their reasons are never exactly the same, there’s certainly a trend amongst profe...
Listen
Level Up Your Community with Amy Jo Kim’s Principles of Game Thinking from 2020-08-17T09:30
Amy Jo Kim‘s work building social systems and online experiences for The Sims, Rock Band, Ultima Online, and the New Yor...
Listen
Building Inclusive Communities, Workplaces, and an Inclusive Profession from 2020-08-03T09:30
If you’re reading this, we’re guessing that you are in the community management profession. Hi, how are you holding up? Between the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and too many oth...
Listen
The Most Accessible Deserted Island Conference Ever from 2020-07-20T09:30
How many virtual conferences and events have you attended recently? Now compare that to the amount of time you’ve spent playing video games during the past few months. Not giving too much away, ...
Listen
Community Management Before Section 230, When You Had to Print Out Every Post from 2020-07-06T09:30
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has been a frequent topic of conversation on Community Signal. Its existence as we know it seems unt...
Listen
Facebook Promoted Divisive Content to Boost User Engagement from 2020-06-22T09:30
For years, Facebook executives have persistently shut down efforts to make the site less divisive, Listen
Trump’s Executive Order is a Danger to Online Communities from 2020-06-08T09:30
As community professionals and hosts, we have the power to cultivate thoughtful spaces online. We serve communiti...
Listen
How HER Puts Its LGBTQ+ Community’s Safety First from 2020-05-18T05:23
People have gotten crafty when it comes to staying connected during this time of social distancing. Zoom calls with family and friends, Listen
Building Community During a Pandemic at Pandora and SiriusXM from 2020-05-04T02:01:34
We’re several months into the COVID-19 pandemic and the daily loss of lives is still devastating and the longterm effects on our communities and society as a whole have yet to be seen. For many ...
Listen
Community Programs for Brands, Ambassadors, and Your Team from 2020-04-20T09:30
Nicholas Tolstoshev is talking programs. Brand representative programs, where brands pay you for access to your community. Ambassador pro...
Listen
Managing Communities of IT Pros and MMORPG Players from 2020-04-06T09:30
Every community has its own shared language and for the Spiceworks community, that shared language revolves around IT. Made up of IT professionals and service providers that support them, Listen
How Online Communities are Responding to Coronavirus COVID-19 from 2020-03-23T09:30
We started recording this episode about a week before its release, and since then, coronavirus COVID-19 has continued to spread across the globe. News and governmental guidance is being updated ...
Listen
When Your First Day as an Online Community Manager is Your First Day at a Computer from 2020-03-09T09:30
As community professionals, the array of platforms, reading material, conferences, and thought leaders available to us only continues to grow. And if you’ve read or written a job description for...
Listen
LEGO IDEAS and the Building Blocks of a Successful Crowdsourcing Community from 2020-02-24T10:30
Every company has the challenge of managing how to respond to customer feedback. But what if you’re managing a crowdsourcing community and actively asking people for their ideas and feedback? Ho...
Listen
Going From Shapeways to Northwestern Mutual from 2020-02-10T10:30
Community pro Andrew Thomas was recruited by Northwestern Mutual while working at Shapeways. On ...
Listen
Applying Agile Product Management Principles to Community Management from 2020-01-27T10:30
From Engineer to Community Manager to Engineer to Community Manager from 2020-01-13T10:30
As we’ve shared on many episodes of Community Signal, community professionals come from numerous career paths, educational backgrounds, and areas of interest. In this conversation, Patrick talks...
Listen
Threats to Section 230 Threaten the Very Existence of Our Communities from 2019-12-23T10:30
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a frequent topic of conversation on Community Signal....
Listen
Crisis Communications for Online Communities from 2019-12-09T16:11:01
Data breaches, distasteful ads or marketing campaigns, offensive content left unmoderated for far too long… as community professionals, we’ve studied these situations when they arise and many of...
Listen
Moving a Community for Women Over 40 From Facebook Groups to a Paid Subscription App from 2019-11-25T05:17:02
If you’ve ever Googled a medical condition or a new symptom that you’ve experienced you know that the search results leave much to be desired. When Listen
Don't Let "Scale" Get in the Way of Good Community Strategy from 2019-11-11T10:30
Communities are good for business, but are businesses good for communities? This question has come up on the show before, specifically when Listen
Attention Verizon Media: Yahoo Groups Deserves Better from 2019-10-30T22:23:29
Earlier this month, Verizon Media, the parent to Yahoo, announced that users of Yahoo Groups had until October 28th to continue posting ...
Listen
How Community is Funding the Fourth Estate in South Africa from 2019-10-14T09:30
For communities that come with a membership fee, direct revenue might seem like the top benefit for your company. But the Daily Maverick’s...
Listen
The State of Community Management in Germany from 2019-09-29T19:08:30
On this episode of Community Signal, community management consultant Tanja Laub gives a full report on what it’s like to work as a community manager...
Listen
How Gaming Community Knowledge Translates to Other Industries from 2019-09-15T22:21:49
On Community Signal, we talk to community professionals across all industries, from gaming, to healthcare, to photography, and more. And while our respective communities might convene over diffe...
Listen
Heather Champ and the Biggest Threats to Great Online Communities from 2019-08-05T09:30
A few weeks ago, the Community Signal team was discussing the upcoming schedule for the show and talking about the then recent news that Listen
The Loot Chest That Launched a Career in Community Management from 2019-06-17T09:30
If you work in games, social media, or community management, then you know that running any communications or programming around conventions like E3 and PAX requires intense planning and coordin...
Listen
How Online Communities Can Disappear if Section 230 Gets Repealed from 2019-05-20T09:30
How would the internet change if Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is repealed? For U.S.-based online communities and the professiona...
Listen
Join for the Code, Stay for the Community from 2019-05-06T09:30
When did you first realize that community management was an actual job? Many of the guests on Community Signal, including Patrick and this week’s guest, ...
Listen
Building and Nurturing Atlassian’s Community Leaders Program from 2019-04-22T09:30
When Trello was acquired by Atlassian, Erica Moss went from being a team of one to a community manager wit...
Listen
How Front Porch Forum is Empowering the Citizens of Vermont from 2019-04-08T09:30
For all of of the convenience and value that tech companies and platforms provide, we’re also starting to see just how much they take away. In this episode, Listen
The Sunset of Google Plus Communities and the Sunrise of a National Geographic Society Community from 2019-03-25T09:30
If you’re working on launching a new community initiative, there are so many case studies, tools, and knowledgeable community professionals to help you along your journey. But what if you’re tas...
Listen
Machine Learning by Communities, for Communities from 2019-03-04T10:30
When was the last time you thought about that blank text field where members of your community can leave comments? That text field and blinking cursor are the closest we have to pauses between h...
Listen
Why Southwest Airlines Has an Online Forum from 2019-02-18T00:27:28
When you’re booking your next flight and wondering about your in-terminal dining options or which seat will give you the best takeoff and landing views, check to see if you’re preferred airline ...
Listen
The Role of Credibility in Community Management from 2019-02-04T05:46:46
With a global network of content moderators, it seems that Facebook might be the largest employer of community professionals in the world. But even with these resources, their content moderation...
Listen
The Dark Side of Algorithms from 2019-01-21T10:30
Major social media platforms are using algorithms in spite of the best interests of their users, says Bruce Ableson on this episode of Community Signal. They are focused on serving you an ad at ...
Listen
How Data and Teenagers Power the Future of Online Community from 2019-01-07T05:04:08
In 2018, a common thread across Community Signal conversations was knowing how to clearly communicate the success of community across an organization. It’s fitting that for our first show of 201...
Listen
Threats to Section 230 Should Unleash the Political Power of Community Professionals from 2018-12-17T02:30:18
This week, Patrick and Scott Moore continue Listen
Retaining Talented Community Pros and What Makes a Great Boss? (3 Years of Community Signal) from 2018-12-03T10:30
This week, Community Signal proudly celebrates three years of conversations with community professionals. We’re taking this opportunity to talk to Patrick about his experience running the show a...
Listen
How The New York Times is Building Thoughtful Comment Sections in the Trump Era from 2018-11-19T10:30
Over the past few months, Patrick has spoken to several leaders in the world of journalism and for this episode, we’re welcoming back Bassey Etim, commu...
Listen
Build Something People Care Enough to Get Angry About from 2018-11-05T10:30
Jason Falls knows where your customers are talking. He’s studied conversations for several years and, time and time again, he’s shed light on an inconvenient...
Listen
How Spotify’s Rock Star Program Empowers and Rewards Community Super Users from 2018-10-22T09:30
Spotify’s Rock Stars are super users, officially recognized by the company and given tools, resources, guidance and ...
Listen
News Membership as a Community Model from 2018-10-08T09:30
Local newsrooms are tasked with representing their local communities and the issues and topics that matter to them. For that reason, it seems especially important for there to be reader advisory...
Listen
The Community Manager You Think You Can’t Afford from 2018-09-24T09:30
As community professionals, we have more tools than ever to help us do our jobs. That said, the qualities that make an online community and an online community professional successful are likely...
Listen
A New York City Dive Bar in Online Community Form from 2018-09-10T09:30
What if the intro song to Cheers wasn’t about a bar, but instead about an online community where everyone knows your name? That’s what Stacy Horn cr...
Listen
The State of Online Community as a Career from 2018-08-27T09:30
Consider this episode of Community Signal your community career advisor on speed dial. If you’re looking for a new job, growing your team, or thinking about your career advancement options, Patr...
Listen
The Struggle to Ban Alex Jones + Membership Models for News Organizations from 2018-08-13T09:30
There’s so much to unpack in this extremely timely chat with Jay Rosen. Jay teaches journalism at New York U...
Listen
No Room for Holocaust Deniers from 2018-07-30T09:30
As community professionals, it’s our duty to create inclusive spaces for our community members. This means setting the stage for them and making sure that they have everything they need to be su...
Listen
The Value of Developer Relations from 2018-07-16T09:30
Every community professional has had the challenge of explaining their role and job duties to others within their organization. For many of us, that means always being prepared with qualitative ...
Listen
Higher Education’s Troll Hunter from 2018-07-02T09:30
Great teachers always seem to have command over their classroom, but what happens if your classroom meets online and has thousands of students? Even the greatest teachers in these situations mig...
Listen
Community Management in France from 2018-06-18T17:00:47
The role “community manager” can mean different things at different companies and the responsibilities for this role can often be conflated across different teams and areas of expertise. But how...
Listen
Acing Your Next Community Job Search from 2018-06-03T20:25:09
When was the last time you looked at your resume? How about the last time you wrote down a list of everything you’ve worked on and accomplished at your current gig? If it’s been a while, this ep...
Listen
Never Put All of Your Eggs in One Community Basket from 2018-05-21T09:30
Can you recall the community-related news and trends of last summer? Let us refresh your memory.
YouTube announced new guidelines for advertisers that inadvertently led to significant cha...
Listen
When Community Managers and Middle Managers Join Forces from 2018-05-07T09:30
Think about the last time you were working on a new product, tool, or resource for your community. You probably looked through feedback that they had shared with you and compiled a list of all t...
Listen
Snapchat Story-Sized Humanity from 2018-04-23T09:30
What brings you to your favorite social networks? Is it the people that you know you’ll find there or the topics and content that you know you’ll be able to discover? In this episode of Communit...
Listen
Building a Community That Won’t Cash Out from 2018-04-09T12:11:27
RPG (RolePlayGateway), a community of game designers, world builders, and storytellers scripting entire universes, is entering its 14th year of ex...
Listen
LEGO Wasn’t Always Open to Your Ideas from 2018-03-26T09:30
LEGO might be open to your ideas now, but it wasn’t always like that. Afraid of legal blowback, they once turned away ideas – and largely ignored their adu...
Listen
When the Secret Service Visits You Because of Your Community from 2018-03-12T17:30:08
Once worried that big social media companies would displace online forums, Vlad Dusil is now “pretty damn confident” that niche forums are not only alive and well, but here to stay. He’s the COO...
Listen
He Hacked My Website from 2018-02-26T18:25:20
Jared Smith found my community when we were both teenagers. He got to see me early in my career. He became a great contributor to the community, as ...
Listen
Why Ubisoft Created a Community Content Team from 2018-02-12T10:30
Ubisoft’s community content team helps the gaming company’s community developers and managers by creating polished content, inspired by and sometimes deriv...
Listen
From Civil Engineer to Community Manager from 2018-01-29T21:23:55
Lana Lee spent 15 years as a civil and structural engineer, before switching careers and, shortly thereafter, becoming a community manager.
On this ...
Listen
Ending the Millennial Conversation, Customer Experience Insurance and Other Short Stories from 2018-01-08T10:30
Not every segment we record on Community Signal makes it into the final episode. One of the perks of being a supporter of the show on Listen
The Making of Community Signal (Episode #100) from 2018-01-01T10:30
For the 100th episode of Community Signal, we’re talking about the show itself. How it came to be, what drives it and how we make it each week.
My guest is the producer of all 100 episode...
Listen
90%+ of Members Felt Less Alone After Joining This Community from 2017-12-18T10:30
Sue Ryder, a well-known charity in the UK, provides support for end of life care and bereavement. In 2015, after more than 60 years of operation, they laun...
Listen
Online Communities in the Post-Facebook Era from 2017-12-11T10:30
Matt Mecham‘s code has powered far too many online communities to count. Developing popular online community software since 2001, he worked on YaBB a...
Listen
How Community Platforms Address the Member Life Cycle from 2017-12-04T10:30
When a member makes a post on your community, there is a status associated with that post. How long they have been a member, how many contributions they have, their reputation, whether or not th...
Listen
Building Executive-to-Executive Online Communities from 2017-11-27T10:30
A lot of value can be found for executives within an online community of their peers. But how can you get them make time to participate, and to let their guard down enough to actually share mean...
Listen
A Forums-Focused Digital Agency from 2017-11-20T10:30
Audentio, the parent of ThemeHouse, is a forums-focused digital agency, with high profile clients like AVForums, Mac Rumors and Android Forums. There aren’t too many (any?) agencies focused this se...
Listen
Building a Community for People With Dementia from 2017-11-06T10:30
Most of the members of the Alzheimer’s Society’s Talking Point community don’t have dementia. But 4% do. And that creates a unique challenge when it comes to designing an online community.
Listen
Online Community for a Funeral Insurance Company from 2017-10-30T09:30
We’ve covered a lot of community use cases on Community Signal. Here’s a new one: An online community for a funeral insurance company.
That is just one of many communities that Listen
Delphi Forums, the Enduring Legacy of an Online Pioneer from 2017-10-23T09:30
Pioneering online service Delphi, launched in 1981, has been a lot of things over the years, as ownership changed hands several times and priorities shifted. But in 2017, what’s the enduring legacy...
Listen
The One Community Metric to Rule Them All from 2017-10-16T09:30
You just took a new community job, and you're already feeling the pressure to prove your worth. You need some quick community wins. What metric should you focus on?
Listen
When You Ask a Room Full of Senior Staff What Community Is from 2017-10-09T09:30
In January, Project Management Institute community engagement specialist Marjorie Anderson delivered a presentation to a room full of senior staff. She asked them a question: “Can anyone tell me wh...
Listen
Community Experience is Part of the Customer Experience from 2017-10-02T09:30
After 8 months at construction software provider Procore Technologies, Jenn Chen is close to the finish line. The company will soon launch their online community.
Listen
The Cost of Being a Prominent Woman on Wikipedia - and Online from 2017-09-25T09:30
Emily Temple-Wood joined Wikipedia at 12, and become an administrator at 13. In 2016, she was honored by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales as Wikipedian of the Year. For nearly her entire time on th...
Listen
The Ups and Downs of My Community Management Job Search from 2017-09-18T09:30
As I mentioned on our last episode, I recently made a big career change. We talk about careers in community management, and how to advance, fairly regularly on the show. I also love to talk to gues...
Listen
Students Who Use the Community Pass More Exams - and Pay More Tuition from 2017-09-04T09:30
While at online education company Penn Foster, Daniel Marotta was able to prove that not only did students who participated in their online community took more exams and pass more exams, but they a...
Listen
Digital Community in the 1970s from 2017-08-28T09:30
When we talk about the beginnings of online community, we often discuss The WELL, which launched in 1985. It’s easy to forget that some people, like our guest on this episode, were building digital...
Listen
The Election Year That Never Ended from 2017-08-21T09:30
Usually, at 18-year-old online community MetaFilter, a U.S. presidential election year means a big increase in heated political discussion. But once a victor is declared, and the transfer of power ...
Listen
The Broken Windows Theory from 2017-08-14T09:30
“If a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken.” So says the broken windows theory, introduced by George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson...
Listen
How a Strict Paywall Affects Community at the Financial Times from 2017-08-07T03:13:01
Many online news media outlets, especially those that were borne out of print publications, have paywalls. You might be able to view a handful of articles, but you have to pay to keep reading. Howe...
Listen
Keeping Open Source Software Developers Connected to Users from 2017-07-31T09:30
You might not realize it, but you use open source software, where the source code has been released with a license enabling it to be freely used, changed and distributed.
Listen
National Geographic Turns to Online Community to Find Amazing Photos from 2017-07-24T09:30
4 years ago, National Geographic, the 129 year old publication known for big, bold photography, launched a photo sharing community.
Listen
Photobucket Just Damaged Millions (Billions?) of Posts in Online Communities from 2017-07-17T09:30
Many online communities do not allow members to upload images to include in their posts. In such cases, members often rely on third party image hosting services. Among the most popular of these, fo...
Listen
Facebook Doesn't Protect Black Children, But They Did Add "Community" to Their Mission Statement, So… from 2017-07-10T11:30
There has been a lot of talk in the community industry about the Facebook Communities Summit, and how the company announced they had added the word "community" to their mission statement.
Listen
Why You Should Befriend Your Competitors from 2017-07-03T11:30
In May of 2001, I launched a martial arts community with a focus on respectful discussion and a generally family friendly atmosphere. The very next month, Bob Hubbard did the exact same thing.
Listen
Threats to Civil Discourse Online from 2017-06-26T11:30
It feels like the quality of discourse in the United States, and many other countries, gets worse every single day. But in online community settings, it is possible to identify the the threads to c...
Listen
Facebook's Wake-Up Call for Jive and Enterprise Social Networks from 2017-06-19T11:30
Six and a half years ago, Kim England, global community director at multinational publishing company Pearson, led the company’s transition from a disjointed collection of more than 130 intranets, t...
Listen
GoDaddy's Community Move from 2017-06-12T17:08:11
When GoDaddy hired Christopher Carfi in 2014, it caught my attention. GoDaddy was a company that, at one time, I thought I would never want to be a customer of. Didn’t like the brand, didn’t like m...
Listen