SteveW I am still excited about the product, even more about this community.
I don’t mind delays, I don’t mind the growing pains. It’s all part of the process; it’s all part of being present and saying hello while a new enterprise is being born.
But I always believed - and will continue to do so - that a community thrives when two pillars are solidified as foundation stones: communication and content.
A community is the fabric, a tight mesh where everything should be discussed, properly and calmly. Those conversations feed ideas; those talking points bring together customers and the brand, any brand.
@Carl and @David know this way better than me, but what I’ve learned while studying the behavior of a community is this: every single one of us is willing to invest their time to be here, moving as satellites while in the center there is a product, a company, an idea turned concept turned almost lifestyle.
Every single day I saw people creating great content, helping with respect, being funny and serious and logical, being here, refreshing and refreshing, wanting to know more.
This digital address started as a secluded place and continued like one. My advice is: pay attention to the people who love this home, take advantage of their help, recognize their content and give them the tools to shine even brighter.
Soon we’ll have a Community Manager and I truly hope that’s the missing link to complete the bridge. I don’t expect the CEO to be here every single day, but it is time to protect the core, the fabric. That, plus Moderators and the “Community Board Member” will make a difference, they need to.
The company is lucky - looking around me, I see a group of people that’s more than capable of articulating good feedback, that’s knowledgeable, and eager to be a part of something big and bigger.
All this to say that the ear (1) and any future products are not islands. It’s about conception and reception. Well, this community should be used for both, its inputs flailing in the center of it all.
