Global trends in the future of online community management. Presented by Swarm co-founder and co-founder of Australian Community Managers Venessa Paech at Swarm 2017 in Sydney, Australia. This keynote offered a detailed overview of major trends in digital and business and how they are likely to impact online communities and the work of online community professionals.

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Community Management: Present & Future
Venessa Paech
SWARM Co-Founder
@venessapaech
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• Gap is closing
• 94 % of mature communities have a documented strategy
Strategy is imperative
State of Community Management 2017

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• Engagement has become consistent between average & best-in-class
• 86 % best-in-class report value generation (v. 62 %)
• 67 % best-in-class measuring questions answered (v. 47%)
• 55 % best-in-class executive participation (v. 38%)
Quality over quantity:
State of Community Management 2017

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• 75 % best-in-class have for establishing new communities (v. 48 %)
• 81 % best-in-class have regular audits & health checks (v. 44 %)
• 56 % best-in-class have formal crisis planning (v. 29 %)
Process & policy is a scaffold for success
State of Community Management 2017

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Size of community
2017 Community Value and Metrics Report

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Role of community
2017 Community Value and Metrics Report
• Customer Support or Service 26 %
• Acquisition or Advocacy 23%
• Product Ideation, Innovation & Feedback 13 %

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Image: Epic Progress
Why is my community so cynical?
TRUST CRISIS

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Image: Jennifer Dionisio
TOXICITY
Why is everyone in my community on edge?

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CONVERGENCE
How is my community different?

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How does my community level-up?
QUESTIFICATION
Image: London Economist

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My community is where ever I am
LIVE STREAMING
Image: Geek and Sundry

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Ok Google, how is my community feeling today?
VOICE INTERACTION
Image: Amazon

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Image: Ready Player One
MIXED REALITIES
What will I look like today in my community?

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BLOCKCHAIN
What decisions can I pass to the community?

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MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
How can AI make my community better?

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Frontline
Strategy
FrontlineHolistic
Strategy
Holistic
Community1990s… 2000s…

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The future of community management is like teaching.
Everyone will do it.
Some people will be good at it.
Some people will do it professionally.
- Rachel Happe, Founder The Community Roundtable (CR)
The future of business is the ‘mesh’: sharing boldly, peer-to-peer.
- Lisa Gansky, entrepreneur and author
To build a great team, you have to dive into how people engage with one
another and reveal areas that need more focus. You have to build a safe
place to listen to feedback and come away with actions where everyone feels
heard.
- Jens Schumacher, Atlassian Head of Software Teams
The time has come to obliterate the false distinctions between digital ties
and the ones that bind us in the physical world.
- Kyle Chayka, Journalist

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Information is no longer power
Community = power

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Data
≠
Information
≠
Knowledge
≠
Wisdom
Perception
Emotion

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Empathy & insight
Meaningful connection
Sense of purpose
Influence & agency
Diverse perspectives
Collaboration instincts
Safe experimentation
Peer support
Intrinsic motivation
Reward & recognition
Resilient momentum
Exponential growth

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Empathy & insight
Meaningful connection
Sense of purpose
Influence & agency
Diverse perspectives
Collaboration instincts
Safe experimentation
Peer support
Intrinsic motivation
Reward & recognition
Resilient momentum
Exponential growth
Better teams
Better ideas
Better products
Better organisations
Better institutions
Better governance
Better societies
Better civilisation

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Empathy & insight
Meaningful connection
Sense of purpose
Influence & agency
Diverse perspectives
Collaboration instincts
Safe experimentation
Peer support
Intrinsic motivation
Reward & recognition
Resilient momentum
Exponential growth
Better teams
Better ideas
Better products
Better organisations
Better institutions
Better governance
Better societies
Better civilisation
Human infrastructure for the 21st century

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It is not the strongest of the species that survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.
- Charles Darwin