A People Person(ality)

I'm a people person with a colorful personality. Currently one of the community managers for Focus.com and design cakes in my spare time. I'm passionate about startups, technology, communities, social media, human relationships and chocolate. When I'm offline, you can usually find me enjoying the local foodie culture or hanging out with my pup, Lucy. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24239284-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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Gorgeous #SF skyline tonight. (Taken with Instagram at Alameda Beach)

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Sweet dreams #lucykobe. 😘 (Taken with Instagram at Alameda)

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#Sonoma bound with @mauricetrudell. #oakland #sunset #sfo (Taken with Instagram at I-880 North)

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Smooth sailing... (Taken with Instagram at Da Beach)

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Remembrance. (Taken with Instagram at USS Arizona Memorial)

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Best #italian dinner I've had in a LONG time! #honolulu #hawaii #arancino (Taken with Instagram at Arancino Restaurant)

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Veggie time! #honolulu #hawaii (Taken with Instagram at Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Dining)

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Never paid to cook my own food before, but man it's so good! #Honolulu #hawaii (Taken with Instagram at Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Dining)

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'Opaeka'a Falls! #kauai #hawaii (Taken with Instagram at Opaekaa Falls)

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Wailua Falls! (Taken with Instagram at Wailua Falls)

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Hibiscus? Maybe?? 🌺 (Taken with Instagram at Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach)

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Happy Friday! #kauai #poipu #beach #hawaii (Taken with Instagram at Poipu Beach)

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My Next Adventure!

Three and a half years ago, I chose to accept an entry-level inside sales job with a company who, at the time, was called Tippit. I knew nothing of the B2B media industry and certainly knew nothing of the work that would be required of me, but I rationalized "what the hell" and jumped in head first.

As Tippit slowly morphed into Focus.com, I slowly morphed from a Lead Delivery Analyst to a Content Manager/ Editor to a Community Manager. I've built lifelong friendships and business relationships with people I never expected to meet. I've learned more about the business world than I ever expected to learn. And I've grown more as a professional than I ever thought would be possible in such a short amount of time.

To sum it all up, last 3+ years have been nothing short of an adventure. But now it's time for a new adventure, and as many of you know, today is my last day with Focus.com. I'll be forever grateful for the experience and lessons learned, but am looking ahead to the new challenges and opportunities. In mid-February I'll be joining the very talented team at Get Satisfation as Community Support Manager. I'm very excited for this opportunity and can't wait to tell you more. :)

But for now, it's time for some aloha!

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Today we (Focus.com) published the 2012 Technology Marketer's Handbook. There's a ton of actionable advice and tips for all marketers, but especially for those handling marketing for technology companies.

I contributed quite a few pieces to this guide, specifically the Recipe for Viral Content. :) Check it out!

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Community Manager Certification Courses

Here's a few online certification courses that I've found for community managers. One starts tomorrow!

Community Specialist Online Certificate Program

Hosted by: WOMMA, ComBlu and The Community Roundtable

Begins: January 24, 2012

Cost: $395 USD for members, $550 USD for non-members

Online Community Manager Training & Certification Course

Hosted by: Get Satisfaction

Begins: February 7, 2012 

Cost: $395 USD

The Pillar Summit: Professional Community Management

Hosted by: The Pillar Summit

Begins: February 20, 2012

Cost: £5,000

I'll try to update this list as I find new courses.

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Update 1/26/2012: Community Management superhero, Blaise Grimes-Viort, just published a huge list of community management courses! Check it out: http://blaisegv.com/community-management/a-selection-of-online-community-management-courses-to-be-a-better-community-manager/

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Another Community Management Prediction for 2012

Earlier today, Mashable published an article titled 4 Community Management Predictions for 2012. The article was written by their in-house Community Manager, Megan Peters, and was, in my opinion, very well done. Megan pointed out 4 things that community managers will need to keep tabs on this year: timing of posts, user-driven content, mobile optimization and niche social networks (think Pinterest). There is one other detail that I think us CM practitioners will need to be aware of - certifications.

As I mentioned on Focus.com, the community management industry is very young and has experienced a viral explosion of growth over the last year in particular. Because of this growth, and because of the perception of many companies that interns can be effective community managers, there's a huge need for standardization. Right now, "Community Manager" means a different thing for every organization. We need to standardize our role, skills and processes in order to grow the industry and protect the market value for every community manager.

Certification programs will play a big part in standardizing the community management industry. The Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has recently partnered with The Community Roundtable and ComBlu to offer an online certificate program for community managers. This is the first certification program for community managers that I've seen so far, and I don't think it'll be the last. My prediction for 2012? More certification programs designed to help advance the industry.

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Teamwork. A fitting picture for my Dad & MLK's birthday. #pixar #ratatouille (Taken with Instagram at Alameda)