My Answer to “Do Startups Need Community Managers?”

Marshall Kirkpatrick is a Lead Author for the very popular web apps, web technology trends, social networking and social media website, ReadWriteWeb.  He posed an interesting question on Twitter;

marshallk “Thinking of writing a story about whether startups need community managers. Thoughts?”

In his own blog, Marshall said that he got twenty people to reply.  There were some great responses.  Look for his article on ReadWriteWeb.  Here is what I had to say:

If by “community managers” you mean someone that keeps track of what is happening in a certain community, then yes, startups need a community manager. Especially if that company pays attention to social media. Social media is so important for many companies these days, but the sheer volume of information that is shared can be a problem for them. I think it takes at least one person in a startup to “keep an ear to the ground”. That person should be reading feeds all day and paying attention for appropriate information and content. That person should be writing a blog and listening to their other networks. A social network community manager should learn about what is happening in that company’s field every day and report it to their team.

Doug Coleman

If anyone out there is looking for a community manager, I am looking for a job.  Feel free to contact me at: dougcoleman1@gmail.com

Upgrades to MM Lab at PCC Cascade

You do not have to go to an expensive state or private school to get a great education in multimedia.  Portland Community College’s Multimedia Program offers accessible and affordable training in multimedia design and development.  After all, your education is what you make of it, regardless of where you go to school.  In fact, I have seen other more expensive options that offered far less.

A couple of weeks ago, myself and several members of the PCC Multimedia Club tore down the old Mac lab and installed brand new Apple computers and software.

From an email by PCC Multimedia Coordinator Greg Walters :

“The PCC Multimedia Center recently upgraded it’s computers and software to the latest and greatest that our industry has to offer. Brand new Apple G5 Towers, 20” flat screen monitors, 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors, Final Cut Studio 2, Adobe CS3 Design Premium, and much much more. We also recently got state approval of our Video Production Certificate this past month, which we will begin offering to students along with our current Multimedia Certificate and Associates of Applied Science degree in Multimedia. What better time to be a multimedia student, eh?

If you have any questions about classes, events, degrees, and/or advising here in the Multimedia program, please don’t hesitate to contact us. All of our current information is available online at: http://www.pccmm.com ”

However you choose to pursue a multimedia education, be sure to network with fellow students and become involved in your community’s multimedia network, or “scene”.  One great way to do this is join the PCC Multimedia Club.  We are still sorting through administrative issues on our website, but you can contact meand I will get you set up.  Look for more posts about the exciting things we are doing in our community coming soon.