community engagement

...

Hello! You may notice that this title card doesn’t actually contain a title.

[ setting the scene ]

Before starting in on the “meat” of this discussion, let’s take a few seconds to provide some context.

topic: sense of citizenship

The topic for today’s discussion is that sense of citizenship that makes open source communities really communities.

...as opposed to clever marketing, designed to evoke the sense of community. Sometimes that’s difficult to discern, especially by the marketers.

2000: engineer 2002: engineer

2007: community 2005: engineering mgr

2009: community 2010: community

2011: community

I’ve spent my career at companies who endeavor to build community around their products, first in engineering, then in community management.

These companies feel that if they can surround themselves with an “ecosystem” (with sarcastic quotes), they can increase their value. Sometimes they’re right.

define: citizenship

But I’m not sure the word “citizenship” applies. It suggests membership, possession, special privileges, responsibilities, and rules. It sounds exclusive and restrictive, and companies ultimately cannot afford to be so presumptuous.

Developers will show allegiance to communities based around commons, but not based around firms. Well, sometimes it happens...but it should be a pleasant surprise if it does.

citizenship

engagement

attachmentdevotion

togethertudebelongingness

The right word to describe what companies are striving for, therefore, is not citizenship. It’s engagement.

community engagement

A ha! we have a title for this talk now.

this topic is broaderthan open source

This isn’t just about open source. Lots of companies want to engage with technical audiences...some of that is based around open source, some of it isn’t. Either way, the same social truths prevail.

[ reasons to engage ]

So why do companies want to build community?

Maybe it’s because building community allows them to connect with people who are cooler than they are? After all, how else could they connect with San Francisco hipster intelligentsia like this guy?

Or maybe it’s because someone told them to? Their investors might have suggested it, or a customer.

Some people just like to check boxes.

Because they think an assembly of unpaid code robots will magically assemble, willingly take direction, and make their product more valuable?

We’ve all debunked that over and over again, but that doesn’t mean people don’t still believe it.

Or - and this is my favorite - because underneath their mean callous heartless exterior they really just want to be loved?

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

companies who think they need a community strategycompanies who will benefit from their community strategy

These are all awful reasons, and one of the reasons why we have a community bubble today. The number of people who think they need community is far larger than those who actually do.

[ a tangent on wizardry ]

I hate to do this to you, but I have to complain about something that irritates all community managers.

“community magic”

Business people who understand the potential of community but fundamentally misunderstand its spirit often ask you to do some “community magic”.

This is patronizing and disrespectful. Our users are not orcs. If you ever hear the term “community magic”, start asking questions because whoever said it doesn’t understand how people work.

engineersare not allesotericgeniuses

engineersare not allanti-social

engineersare not

rock stars

“Rock star” is not a term that engineers apply to themselves. It’s a term that other people apply.

Don’t call an engineer a “rock star”. The smile you receive in return is not happiness, it’s pity.

Engineers are PEOPLE. People like you and me. They like what people like and they behave how people behave. They are all different.

People in my profession stand in giant auditoriums and say stupid things like “oh, developers love getting compensated with beer”. Really? All of them?

engagementius totalus!

...so there is no magic. Only reason. If there’s one secret to community management, it’s this: put your effort into truly understanding the people around you and then simply do what makes sense.

[ standard wisdom ]

There are things that all community managers do. These are a list of the common tools that we all use.

forums

IRC

mailing lists

SCM

governance

contests certifications

licensing

trade shows speaking

PR social media

hackathons

tools

process

programs

hustle!

meetups

contributor agreementsI’m not going to cover these in much detail, go read Jono Bacon’s book.

But someone has already broken all of the rules. Have Apple managed to build engagement with their app store? You bet your ass they have.

Openness and community are inconsistent with their corporate strategy. How do you surprise people with products if you don't keep secrets and control information?

People rail against Apple, get pissed off, blog , complain, say they’re going to revolt and go to other platforms - and many of them do.

But the Apple App Store continues to be wildly successful and highly engaging. Why?

Because they have a desirable product with universal appeal. Users lust for it, developers flock to it because of its market penetration and innovative capabilities. It inspires people enough that they put up with all the BS.

forums

IRC

mailing lists

SCM

governance

contributor agreements

contests certifications

licensing

trade shows speaking

PR social media

hackathons

tools

process

programs

hustle!

meetups

Does Apple worry about any of these things? Hell no. I mean, they do these things, but let’s face it...they’re not really trying. At my last company, I did all of these things...but I failed because our team didn’t have a product that the community could build on.

no amount of hard work or dedication can overcome bad strategy

or bad timing

A guy asks his ailing friend “what’s wrong?” He replies, “I was trying to make orange juice from concentrate and all I got was a really bad headache”

[ basic ingredients ]

Just like you can’t make orange juice by concentrating, you can’t will a community into being simply through willpower alone. It’s like gardening...you don’t make the plant grow...you just create the space and scatter the seeds.

So what are the seeds? I would argue that there are three key ingredients: substance, opportunity, and charm. They’re all frustratingly intangible.

I struggled with how to explain what “substance” is. If your product is useful, cool, interesting, practical, or otherwise desirable, you probably have substance. Let’s put it like this... you can tell how much substance you have when someone asks you if your product is cool.

If you start tapdancing around the issue and say something like “oh well ya it’s cool if you blah blah blah and you are in a particular situation blah blah”, then something is missing and you know it.

You also need to provide the opportunity for people to engage. Leave room for improvement, and make it obvious how people should engage..

I’ve heard this described as a “jagged binding surface”...a product with lots of ways for people to stick.

But variety is also important. You need to provide opportunities for lots of different kinds of people who want to engage at lots of different levels.

technical skill

avai

labl

e tim

e

report crashes

report a bug

translate strings

update docs

build extensions

rate

review

plan releases

write code

write docs

translate docs

web design

help others

moderate forums

fix bugs

Make sure this chart is full.

The third essential ingredient is charm. This is the most intangible one. The other two are practical, this one is emotional.

Charm is what will draw people to your product or platform, makes them feel a connection to you, and compels them to engage with you.

Vision and tone go a long way. “Making the web a better place” is a practical goal expressed in a passionate way. It makes people want to do their part.

People look at this billboard and think “I want to relax with technology like that. I want it to bend to my will. That could be me.” Developers think “someday, people will integrate my app into their life”.

Another inspiring example. Fast, secure, easy-to-use. Most importantly, it’s disruptive...that’s its charm.

If your product causes an idea to spring into someone’s mind, that’s a really good start.

Arduino has charm because it allows people to innovate with hardware in ways they never could before.

World of Warcraft has a very extensive add-ons ecosystem because the game is well-crafted enough that people value the experience, yet complex enough that there is room for optimization

So I guess that if I have to summarize this point, it’s this: If you have substance, opportunity, and charm, but no active community management tactics, there is a chance that you can succeed.

However, if you have tactics but no substance/opportunity/charm, you will fail.

[ engagement resistance ]

Once you have the perfect storm of engagement, you don’t have to strain and stress over how to create engagement from nothing. You can simply manage the demand and optimize people’s experience.

For example, at Talend, the next few slides demonstrate all of the different steps that people have to go through in order to become engaged.

these people need an integration solution

these people know about Talend

these people start to download Talend

these people finish the download(523MB!!)

these people install Talend

these people understand how to use it

these people use it once

these people become regular users

these users help others

this user innovates

?

what makes someone become

a Talend user?

?

what makes a user engage?

?????????

what can go wrong along

the way?

?

Once you understand what is in your community’s way, you’re far better informed to make good tool decisions.

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www.talend.com