by Katie Gill
I was chosen to be the intern at TLED for the Fall, 2018 semester. I am due to graduate with my associate’s Social Media Communication at the end of the semester. My ultimate goal is to be an online community manager.
I fell into online community management long before I even knew that there was such a thing. Originally, when I started participating in groups and forums, I didn’t think much about them. They were just there.
In 2005, I started publishing short magazine-style articles for an online company that also had a community forum. It wasn’t long before I was spending more time in the community than writing articles. I had found my passion.
Eventually, they made me a volunteer moderator. In 2009 I left that forum and joined a new online community. I quickly became a volunteer moderator at the forum level and then moved up to the overall site level. In 2015, I was officially hired as staff. In 2017, I chose to leave that position to focus on school.
The best job I’ve ever had (at least until I find my dream community manager position) was as an air traffic controller. I absolutely loved it. I anticipate using many of the skills I acquired controlling aircraft in my role of community manager. The most important skill is formulating procedures and systems to help my community to run like a well-oiled machine.
I think most people are surprised by that, as they would think that communication is the most important skill. But I regard good communication as an essential part of an effective system, not something that stands on its own.
Beyond that, I have two grown children and I want a Vespa. Any questions for me? Ask away!
Contact: [email protected]
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