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Got to practice my short-story telling skills during Lessons Learned a few weeks ago. It was great to hear stories from my colleagues and to share my own. Check it out!

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really good graph

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I’m not going to wait for some dude to write about wrestling from my perspective.

I can do that on my own.

<3 cab

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ICYMI

Some pretty exciting news! My friends over at @wesupportnyc have let me join their crew as a regular contributor/link-wrangler/tweeter.

I can’t wait to share the latest in community news, gifs, best practices, and maybe a few bad jokes and puns with all of you. 

<3 cab p.s. you can sign up for the weekly newsletter here!

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I like a lot of the advice that’s shared here. One that stood out was the comment about burnout from Sean McComb. 

After reading, Katherine asked me what words of wisdom I would share if I was interviewed in a similar fashion. Themes of going rogue, making rules and then breaking them, and asking for forgiveness rather than permission stood out in my mind. After I silenced the moody teen that lives in my brainwaves, I said “question everything and do anything.”

Question everything

Don’t be afraid to say no. Be inquisitive. Strive to understand “why.” Make rules, break them, and then make better ones.

Do anything

Accept challenges with vigor. Go on new adventures. Meet new people, eat strange foods, show emotion, and learn everyday.

<3

cab

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Create guidelines for the community you want to foster

Last week, my colleague and I attended a Diversity & Culture Summit. We got to speak with people from a bunch of other companies and one conversation that stood out revolved around establishing community guidelines. One attendee wasn’t sure how to establish an internal consensus on what type of content shouldn’t be allowed on their platform. The answer came pretty naturally to me, and a few days later, I’m still confident in my response, so I’m going to share some of the feedback that I provided. Here goes! 

Hold your community to the same standards that you hold yourself.

I’m super proud to belong to a company made up of pretty humble and hardworking individuals. It’s also made pretty clear that any assholery won’t be tolerated. And the same goes for our community. Our first listed community guideline is “Don’t be a jerk.”

Start moderating message boards or comments and it shouldn’t take long to figure out who’s being a jerk and who is actually trying to contribute to a conversation (note: the two might not be in opposition every time).

As Monica would say, don’t take it personal.

If we deleted everything on the internet that a single person found offensive, there would be no internet. While a gut-check is a good filter for determining what is and isn’t acceptable content, don’t rely too much on what offends you. It’s not about you. It’s about creating a space where people feel comfortable conversing and sharing. If someone was visiting your site for the first time and saw the content at hand, would they participate in the conversation or turn away? 

Establish a suitable “filter” with your team and use it as a baseline for determining what content can stay and what absolutely needs to go. Other examples of filters:

What would my mom think if she saw this? (You can even ask her.)

What type of reputation does this content establish for your website/business?

Is this content hurtful or harmful?

Write it out.

It’s 2015. It’s the internet. If you don’t have community guidelines posted publicly, start drafting them ASAP. Keep them short and sweet and allow yourself some wiggle-room to leave things open to interpretation. Don’t list out every possible offense. You’re creating a space for your best users, not to block out eons of hypothetical bad ones.

Link to these guidelines in all places where they might be applicable (forums, comment sections, chatrooms...are chatrooms still a thing?).

And while you’re drafting, be sure to get the help of the people that will be enforcing the guidelines. Whether this is your Community team, volunteer moderators, or deputized community members, they have the most experience talking to users and have the most knowledge about what offenses are most common. Involve them in the process of creating (and updating) these guidelines.

Let the community decide.

Give your community some channel to let you know about offensive, harmful, or hurtful content. Also give them the opportunity to “up-vote” content that’s good. They contribute actively to this space so give them (a little) control of it.

>> The end! Moderation work can be dark at times, but I really think that a solid set of community guidelines can help a lot. I wrote our current set of guidelines (with lots of help from other Community Team friends), so let me know if you have any questions! :)

<3 cab

p.s. I’ll probably share more from the summit later!

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What’s a good day?

Hai blog! I know that it’s been a while...you can take my silence as a sign that I’ve been busy. Work is busy and planning a wedding takes up time and energy. All of that said, I thought it would be a little relieving and fun to reflect on what makes a “good day” in my world. Here goes:

Flouncy, non-greasy looking curls (this is harder than it sounds)

Leaving the house in an outfit I feel confident about (it’s usually all black)

Sitting in a coffee shop, drinking coffee & reading with my bae

Having a good interaction with someone that needs help (on the subway or on Twitter, wherever)

Shipping something that I’m proud of (big or small, modal copy, personal blogpost, a revision to our rules, or a new mailer –– something that I know will have a positive impact)

Having a conversation with a stranger (a lady watering her plants, the barista that I see every morning, the person that lost something on the sidewalk)

Coming through for my teammates

Washing all of the dishes by hand

Good health!

Putting away all of the clothes after I get them back from the laundromat

An unexpected text, email, or letter from a loved one

Rocking a playlist that the whole office can vibe out to

Cooking something that my fiancé really likes

Hitting the gym & avoiding church recruiters on my way home (sorry, not sorry)

Sharing

Kale, a perfectly poached egg, or an iced dirty soy chai. Or all of those, yum!

Watching Rocky IV

Laughing with my fiancé or doing the ChokeSlam to Hell™ on my fiancé (sorry, corny, right?)

Chilling with my frienzzz

Seeing my neighbor’s cat on the steps when I come home from work

As I write out this list, I realize that there’s so much that can help make a good day...maybe I just need to reflect on that more often. :)

<3 cab

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This is pretty useful. How many of these have you been using incorrectly? Does your style guide address commonly misused words and phrases?

<3

cab

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Tweets on Tweeting

For the past few months, I’ve been channeling my inner social media guru...

Just kidding. Can you believe that I just used the words channeling, inner, social, and guru in the same sentence? If you’re still reading this, you’ve lost some brownie points, seriously.

Anyway, I’ve been tweeting from @KickstarterTips and sharing pointers from skilled creators and from the Kickstarter canon (aka the FAQ, it’s a good one, I promise. This is an unbiased perspective). 

@KickstarterTips has also given us an outlet to answer questions that come our way via Twitter. We don’t have the bandwidth to devote ourselves to 24/7 social media support, but this account has given us some room (and a voice) to answer the few questions that come our way throughout the week, and most certainly an outlet to direct our community to resources and people that can help them create cool things and use our platform effectively.

Here are a few tweet-length tips (give or take a few characters) for those of you considering whether it’s time to take the leap into Twitter support:

You don’t need a dedicated “support” account. Your community is probably already asking questions, how can you answer them head on & via your existing channels?

Don’t pass the buck. There’s no such thing as a “support issue,” there are simply people that have questions about your service. Work with other teams to deliver the right answers.

If the question is simple enough, answer it publicly. If there’s any supporting documentation on your site (there should be), include a link.

Be mindful. If info is potentially sensitive or requires you to ask questions about the person’s account, move it over to DMs.

Don’t rush to answer complex Qs. Consult with colleagues, track down the account. Fast & wrong answer < the correct answer a few minutes later.

Mind your tone. Always be professional but do loosen up! Challenge yourself to keep things friendly and fun.

Share (and seek) information proactively. Ask your internal teams about commonly asked questions and brainstorm ways to share this info with a larger audience.

Hope this helps! I also have to give props to Travis and Niina who have dived into the mentions of Twitter with me. Honestly, the idea of writing tweets never excited me before...but helping people have a great experience and sharing the wealth of knowledge that creative people have to offer is totes my thing.

<3

cab

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Do something for someone.

Today, my company’s HR department circulated some information about iMentor. I filled out the application, asked some people if they’d be willing to act as a reference, and next I’ll schedule an orientation session, woohoo!

I’m super stoked for this opportunity to offer a young(er) person some advice and guidance. I’ve had so many great people and resources available to me throughout my life...this seems like a great way to do something meaningful and positive for someone else.

Let’s see how it goes!

<3 cab

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big vs small vs me

I’ve been asked a few times whether I prefer working at a large or small company. Both have their unique perks and challenges .

Over the past few years, I’ve worked at companies with a staff of over 31,000 (Gannett) to businesses that operated out of a tenement building with just over 60 employees (Kickstarter, now at 116!). Here are some things that I think made each of these positive workplaces and a little bit of what hasn’t been the most enjoyable.

Larger companies usually have a policy for everything. 

Now before you scoff, policy can be a good thing! It provides clarity, helps people define their roles, and gives you a level of certainty and confidence when you’re going about your job. There are few things better than a well-crafted and maintained policy. But the maintenance part is tough...especially when you’re organization is massive and built with tons and tons of policies!

Policies can only be effective when people are encouraged to question and test them (to a certain degree) and when they’re updated often.

It’s a sure-fire sign that something is broken when you ask about a specific policy, workflow, or tool and the response is “That’s just how we’ve always done things.” That’s not a valid answer. The way individuals and your team works should be efficient and balance the needs of your community with keeping a sane workplace. Ancient workflows and documentation are sure to lead to confusion and disgruntlement all around. 

Think of it like electric wiring or plumbing left unmaintenanced for decades. At best, you’ll get away with just a few leaks here and there...At worst:

Smaller companies communicate face-to-face. 

When I worked at Kaplan (21,000 employees), I communicated with fellow employees across the globe on a daily basis. We’d talk on the phone (I know, right) and over email. At its best, it was fun and together we helped ensure students were having a great experience but at its worst it was tough, extremely time-intensive and heated. I quickly learned that no one teaches email etiquette in school (or so it seems).

There was lots of miscommunication, lots of misunderstandings, and lots of forwarding of emails to managers. Perhaps this could have been solved by some communication etiquette standards or even by putting a face to each of us rather than just a random email address or phone number. 

When I started at KSR, I was really delighted to see that people still talked to each other. Phew.

I had a one-on-one with the founder, we had regular team meetings, we had a company All Hands (in person!), we had events where we could bring friends and family, we even had a block party where MY MOM got to meet the CEO. Some of these things are obviously more sustainable than others, but if you can’t remember the last time you had a (purposeful) meeting with your teammates, it might be time to call one and talk it out.

As we’ve grown, communication between people and teams has obviously become more of a challenge. But it’s something that we’re aware needs continuous work and mindfulness. Don’t put communication on the back-burner.

All companies have perks. 

Some have a pingpong table, others have iced coffee kegs, an annual retreat, an in-office daycare, etc. If you’re choosing a job based solely on the perks, you might come to some harsh realizations later on. Free laundry service at work might sound great...until you realize that you have to drop off your laundry there because you literally have no time away from work to get it done on your own. Perks should exist to make your time at work more enjoyable, they shouldn’t exist to keep you in the office for 12 hours at a time.

Know your network.

Whether you’ve worked at start-ups or Fortune 500s, chances are that the people in your network have some thoughts or experience with the company you’re thinking oh joining. Get their perspective. Ask about the company culture and plans for growth and sustainability. 

Identify how the company handles a crisis. 

Have they had to roll back a product release? Did they recently go public? Ever had layoffs? Learning about how a company communicates (both internally and externally) during times of positive and not-so-positive change and maybe you’ll have a better idea of whether you want to work there or not.

So, what do I like in a company?

I like places that respect my autonomy. 

I appreciate organizations that are dedicated not only to the success of the business, but also to the success of the individual employees.

I enjoy working with people that exude positive energy.

I find it admirable and humbling when a company is willing to talk about its successes and its failures...and when they’re eager to learn from both.

There’s nothing better than working at a place where people trust and respect one another, and some of your coworkers become your closest friends and confidantes. 

<3 cab

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Great companies assume they can trust people and can rely on relationships, not just rules and structures. They are more likely to treat employees as self-­determining professionals who coordinate and integrate activities by self-organizing and generating new ideas.

[c0py-righter]

Great read and the observations can be applied to all types of teams, meetings, and interactions.

<3 cab

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“Management isn’t about accruing power, it’s not additive in that way. Management is about letting go of your old power (the power to write great code or design an awesome feature yourself) and putting that into the hands of your team. It’s about enabling the people on your team and supporting them to do their very best work. And yeah, sometimes that will mean giving someone some feedback on their work or helping them think their way out of a jam, but those moments are in service of empowering them, not you. Your new power is hiring great people and removing roadblocks, not becoming one yourself.”

Nicely said, Cap! And thanks to KP for sharing.

<3

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reading list

Short update, but here’s what’s on my reading list right now:

Americanah

The E-Myth Revisited

5 Tips on Retaining Your Support Staff (but anyone, really)

Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?

<3 cab

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Working on brand messaging? It’s tough business! 

Breakthroughs are exciting, but usually take months of drafting, brainstorming, collaboration, notepads, and GoogleDocs. How can we ease that process and perhaps make it more enjoyable for everyone? No definite solutions here, but I love these exercises that Netflix proposes and I think they’re a great way to get writers and other brand stakeholders on the same page.

<3

cab