I admit that I love looking at what’s happening in the Job market online. Firstly – you can see what the buzz is: who’s hiring, what they’re looking for, how much they pay. Secondly, you get a sense of what the new trends are and, thirdly, you can dream that somewhere, over the clicking rainbow there’s a JOB that I heard of once in a lullaby. Write it down, Toto – I want to do what we love, work with wonderful people and (naturally) earn a fortune.Recent posts on the Online Community Report caught my attention. Here were some of the bigwigs (Autodesk, eBay, Yahoo and Warner Bros. Records) actively looking for an Online Community Manager. Now, I admit that when I think about a community manager, my top-of-mind picture is quite 1969’ish: Arlo Guthrie, with long hair and soft style, (the headband is optional), bellbottom pants and stubble (male) or no bra (female). S/he plays Bob Dylan (or Janis Joplin), using a guitar & harmonica combination. Got the picture?
The Combos want someone who can write (makes sense, since communication is done in writing), who has exceptional communication skills, who can develop and nurture communities. So far, it looks like Arlo Guthrie could be a contender. Alas, they aren’t looking for Arlo, and more’s the pity. Instead they want someone who can “Ensure customer adoption and success through online content”, s/he needs to be “customer focused”, s/he needs to “have a passion for social media and online community from both the production/development and user experience perspectives” and carry “Top notch marketing analytic skills.” (All quotes are from recent job offers on the Online Community Report’s Jobs section.)
One doesn’t have to be a graduate of the Disney Channel (high) school (musical) of thought. The ‘community manager’ job is buzzword for a marketer – a person who works out how to sell things to people, how to find out what they want, how to get them going on to the purchase thing. In his seminal work “Alice’s Restaurant” (1967) Arlo said :
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant