Breaking: Online Community Consultant Discovers Brand New Concept (Again!)
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Online community consultants aren\\u2019t unlike consultants for any other area of work. Some are ethical, smart, and talented, and some aren\\u2019t. Consultants also don\\u2019t often make great guests for the show because they view it as yet another lead generational funnel for them to shout generalities into.
But hopefully an exception is this episode with community consultant\\xa0Jenny Weigle. On it, we discuss how being humble is often at odds with how many consultants promote themselves, as they place a certain importance on appearing authoritative and revelatory, even if that isn\\u2019t actually correct in the context of the history of this work.
Can you even be a community consultant or an online community resource if you haven\\u2019t taken a concept pioneered 30 years ago and thrown your logo on it?
We also discuss:
- An update on\\xa0past guest Tim McDonald\\u2019s\\xa0quest for a liver donor
- Self-promotion by community consultants
- Community professionals do roadshows, but are they ever invited to roadshows by other departments?
Big Quotes
When consultants and resources claim general concepts (3:57):\\xa0\\u201cI\\u2019ve seen plenty of [community] consultants and resources pop up over my 25 years and throw a logo on something. The commitment curve, the activity ladder, the mountain of progression\\u2026 how many different upward-facing shapes can we throw a logo on? I\\u2019ve seen a lot of that, and I\\u2019ve seen people claim something that has either been claimed decades ago or no one should be laying claim to.\\u201d -Patrick O\\u2019Keefe
How much of the talk in community work is brand new? (6:01):\\xa0\\u201cThere are very few things that happen in our field today that make me pause and say, \\u2018Wow,\\u2019 either to myself or out loud. When I\\u2019m putting out my materials and what I\\u2019m personally working on, I\\u2019m just doing what\\u2019s top of mind and mainly it\\u2019s influenced by what my clients need at the time.\\u201d -Jenny Weigle
The danger AI poses to community creativity (15:19):\\xa0\\u201c[With ChatGPT and similar AI tools,] I\\u2019m worried about elements of communities where creativity is usually needed. An easy example is the writing of content, the writing of posts, the writing of conversations, and how those things start. I\\u2019m worried about everyone sounding the same. I\\u2019m worried about everyone getting the same prompts. I\\u2019m worried about everyone rewriting their posts using the same tool that learns on the same data set, and will all move them closer to the same center. Ultimately, that\\u2019s the death of community.\\u201d -Patrick O\\u2019Keefe
Why community pros should read hospitality books (26:05):\\xa0\\u201cThere were so many things [that community builders can learn from the hospitality industry]. I was in awe as I turned each page of Danny Meyer\\u2019s book because he paid so much attention to wanting to know his customer\\u2019s preferences, their likes, dislikes, what was relevant going on in their lives at the moment, what would bring them in the door, and what would keep them from coming. These are all things that community managers are concerned about with their online communities, as well.\\u201d -Jenny Weigle
About Jenny Weigle
Jenny Weigle\\xa0has been creating, executing, and reviewing strategies for online communities for more than 10 years. She\\u2019s worked with more than 100 brands on various aspects of their community strategy and implementations, including launch, migration, programming, and planning. These brands include, Airbnb, Google, HP, Intuit, Pinterest, REI, Samsung, Sephora, Splunk, Stubhub, and Visa.
When she\\u2019s not geeking out on community strategy, Jenny spends time in Los Angeles with her partner, John, and stepdaughter. In her personal life, she is a proud member of a number of communities, including Southern California Gator Club, Spiritual Sisters of Los Angeles (which she founded), Oak Park LA (for CrossFit), Sofar Sounds, and D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.
Related Links
- Jenny\\u2019s website
- Tim McDonald on Community Signal
- Good news\\xa0from Tim!
- TimsLiver.com
- Jenny\\u2019s Substack
- The Hospitality Books That Made Me a Better Community Professional\\xa0by Jenny
- Danny Meyer\\u2019s book,\\xa0Setting the Table
- TV shows that deal with hospitality and customer service:\\xa0Hotel Impossible,\\xa0Bar Rescue,\\xa0Kitchen Nightmares, and\\xa0The Profit
- The 2-Hour Cocktail Party\\xa0by Nick Gray
- Be Our Guest\\xa0by The Disney Institute with Theodore Kinni
- Jenny\\u2019s Community Roadshow template
- Jenny on LinkedIn
Transcript
Your Thoughts
If you have any thoughts on this episode that you\\u2019d like to share, please leave me a comment or\\xa0send me an email. If you enjoy the show, we would be so grateful if you spread the word and supported\\xa0Community Signal on Patreon.
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