The intention of the benchmark is to look at the following areas:
1. Member Experience: Do members feel like they are getting what they need, in a way only your organization can deliver?
2. Community Strategy and Management: Does your organization have clear goals around your discussion groups? Is the community being managed to these goals?
3. Technology: Is your technology platform supporting member needs and community goals? Is it capable of evolving?
Community Strategy and Management could arguably be broken out into 2 separate sections, but based on several conversations I’ve had of late, the role of community management, and specifically, the community manager is evolving. It’s not just about moderation anymore. The new role of the community manager is to actually manage all dimensions of the community experience (moderation, UX, funding, metrics, etc).
Discussion Groups: The catalyst for developing your community strategy « Bill Johnston
I am SO far behind in my feeds. As I struggle to catch up (podcasts while doing dishes, walking the dog, hailing cabs, etc) I am not posting as much. There are some BIG stories that hit in the last 4 weeks and I want to make sure I get all of them in my head before I start critiquing, commenting.
But this post from Bill Johnston last week is timeless and so good. I especailly love the comment about the role of the community manager being more about the community’s overall experience, rather than simply moderation.
This will make it to my next training manual, Bill. Thanks!
technorati tags:ocm, online-community, benchmarks
Blogged with Flock
Joi Podgorny 
Hey Joi – Thanks for the shout out!
I think the evolving role of the community manager (and the team charged with community experience) is one of the more interesting topics established communities are wrestling with.